Alexander Carse (c. 1770 – February 1843) was a Scottish painter known for his scenes of Scottish life. His works include a large canvas of
George IV's visit to
Leith
Leith (; gd, Lìte) is a port area in the north of the city of Edinburgh, Scotland, founded at the mouth of the Water of Leith. In 2021, it was ranked by '' Time Out'' as one of the top five neighbourhoods to live in the world.
The earliest ...
and three early paintings of football matches.
Life
Carse was born in
Innerwick
Innerwick ( gd, Inbhir Mhuice) is a coastal civil parish and small village, which lies in the east of East Lothian, from Dunbar and approximately from Edinburgh.
Name
The name Innerwick is of Anglo-saxon origin and means inland farm or dwel ...
in
East Lothian to William and Catherine Carse, and was baptised early in 1770. Carse started at the
Trustees Drawing Academy of Edinburgh
Edinburgh College of Art (ECA) is one of eleven schools in the College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences at the University of Edinburgh. Tracing its history back to 1760, it provides higher education in art and design, architecture, histor ...
in 1801; here he studied
Dutch painting, which influenced his later representations of interiors. He was taught by
David Allan, who was a strong influence on his early style. By 1808 he was described as the best painter of village scenes by the Scottish antiquarian the
11th Earl of Buchan.
[
]
In 1795 Carse painted a group portrait of himself and what are believed to be his mother and sister. The painting shows a painter's room, with his mother reading the Bible to her two children, now adults. This work is currently in the National Galleries of Scotland collection.
By his early thirties Carse was exhibiting paintings in London at the Royal Academy
The Royal Academy of Arts (RA) is an art institution based in Burlington House on Piccadilly in London. Founded in 1768, it has a unique position as an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects. Its pur ...
and at the British Institution.[
In 1812 – the year that he moved to London – Carse exhibited ''Country Relations'', which is regarded as one of his best works. For the next eight years he worked hard to establish himself as a competitor to ]David Wilkie David Wilkie may refer to:
* David Wilkie (artist) (1785–1841), Scottish painter
* David Wilkie (surgeon) (1882–1938), British surgeon, scientist and philanthropist
* David Wilkie (footballer) (1914–2011), Australian rules footballer
* David ...
. In 1819 they both painted versions of Allen's ''Penny Wedding'' (A Penny Wedding is a Scottish custom where the guests pay for the wedding and the surplus funds the new household.) Both paintings were exhibited but it was Wilkie who sold his painting to the Prince Regent. Despite Carse's attempts to take on Wilkie's style his business proved unsustainable and Carse moved back to Scotland.[
]
One of his largest and most detailed paintings is of the Royal visit by George IV to Leith in 1822. This was a rare visit by a reigning monarch to Scotland, which was arranged and organised by Sir Walter Scott
Sir Walter Scott, 1st Baronet (15 August 1771 – 21 September 1832), was a Scottish novelist, poet, playwright and historian. Many of his works remain classics of European and Scottish literature, notably the novels ''Ivanhoe'', ''Rob Roy (n ...
. The painting is , and contains hundreds of figures and a large number of portraits. From 1810 Carse also made three paintings of football matches,[ which are said to be amongst the earliest pictorial records of the game.
Carse is believed to have had two sons, who were both painters: William Carse and James Howe Carse.][Lucy Dixon, 'Carse, Alexander (bap. 1770, d. 1843)', Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004; online edn, Oct 200]
accessed 12 Oct 2013
/ref> William worked in Scotland, whilst James emigrated to South Australia.[James Howe Carse]
Design and Art Australia Online, retrieved 13 October 2013
In the 1830s "Alexander Carse, portrait painter" is listed as living at 68 Abbey Hill, just north-east of Holyrood Palace
The Palace of Holyroodhouse ( or ), commonly referred to as Holyrood Palace or Holyroodhouse, is the official residence of the British monarch in Scotland. Located at the bottom of the Royal Mile in Edinburgh, at the opposite end to Edinbu ...
in Edinburgh
Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...
. Carse died in poverty in February 1843, although the precise place and date of his death are unknown.[
]
Legacy
There are numerous paintings by Carse in public collections in Dundee
Dundee (; sco, Dundee; gd, Dùn Dè or ) is Scotland's fourth-largest city and the 51st-most-populous built-up area in the United Kingdom. The mid-year population estimate for 2016 was , giving Dundee a population density of 2,478/km2 or ...
, Glasgow and Edinburgh
Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...
.
References
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Carse, Alexander
People from East Lothian
18th-century Scottish painters
Scottish male painters
19th-century Scottish painters
1770s births
1843 deaths
Alumni of the Edinburgh College of Art
19th-century Scottish male artists