William Henry James Weale

William Henry James Weale (8 March 1832 – 1917) was a British art historian who lived and worked most of his life in Bruges and was one of the first to research the Early Netherlandish painting (then better known as "Flemish Primitives") extensively. He was also a pioneer in the study of early bookbinding, and a staunch promotor of Gothic Revival architecture.

William Henry James Weale was born in Marylebone, London, in 1832 as the son of James Weale (died 1838) and Susan de Vezian (died 1855). His father was the librarian to John Baker Holroyd, 1st Earl of Sheffield and had a large book collection of his own. He studied at King's College London between 1843 and 1848. He was the headmaster at a school in Islington.

In 1854, he married Helena Amelia Walton, and the next year, after the death of his mother, they moved to Bruges. Weale was already interested in early Flemish art, and could pursue that interest much better in Flanders. He produced his first books on the topic in 1861. He was a member of the Belgian Royal Commission for Art and Architecture from 1860, and the Belgian Royal Commission for Monuments from 1861 on.

In August 1863, he founded the Guild of Saint Thomas and Saint Luke, an association to study and promote Christian art. Weale was a devout converted Roman Catholic and was inspired by Augustus Pugin and his 1841 work The true principles of pointed or Christian architecture. Besides Weale as secretary, other members of the initial guild included the first president, the Belgian Charles-Joseph Voisin, and as vice-presidents the Dutch Joseph Albert Alberdingk Thijm and the German Franz Johann Joseph Bock.

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