Colvin Smith RSA (1795 – 21 July 1875) was a Scottish

portraitist A portrait is a painting, photograph, sculpture, or other artistic representation of a person, in which the face and its expressions are predominant. The intent is to display the likeness, personality, and even the mood of the person. For this re ...

Life

The grave of Colvin Smith, Brechin Cathedral

Smith was born at

Brechin Brechin (; gd, Breichin) is a city and former Royal burgh in Angus, Scotland. Traditionally Brechin was described as a city because of its cathedral and its status as the seat of a pre-Reformation Roman Catholic diocese (which continues today ...

, in

Angus Angus may refer to: Media * ''Angus'' (film), a 1995 film * ''Angus Og'' (comics), in the ''Daily Record'' Places Australia * Angus, New South Wales Canada * Angus, Ontario, a community in Essa, Ontario * East Angus, Quebec Scotland * An ...

, the son of John Smith, a merchant, and his wife, Cecilia Gillies. He studied art in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

at the

Royal Academy Schools 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 purpo ...

and worked in

Joseph Nollekens Joseph Nollekens R.A. (11 August 1737 – 23 April 1823) was a sculptor from London generally considered to be the finest British sculptor of the late 18th century. Life Nollekens was born on 11 August 1737 at 28 Dean Street, Soho, London, ...

's studio. He then proceeded to work in Italy, where he executed some fine copies after

Titian Tiziano Vecelli or Vecellio (; 27 August 1576), known in English as Titian ( ), was an Italian (Venetian) painter of the Renaissance, considered the most important member of the 16th-century Venetian school. He was born in Pieve di Cadore, nea ...

; and at Antwerp he made studies after the works of Rubens. Returning to Scotland in 1827, he settled in

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian on the southern shore of t ...

, occupying the house and studio which had formerly belonged to the Scottish painter Raeburn at 32 York Place. Soon he attained a wide practice as a portrait-painter, and among his sitters were Lord Jeffrey,

Henry Mackenzie Henry Mackenzie FRSE (August 1745 – 14 January 1831, born and died in Edinburgh) was a Scottish lawyer, novelist and writer sometimes seen as the Addison of the North. While remembered mostly as an author, his main income came from legal rol ...

, author of ''The Man of Feeling'', and many of the most celebrated Scotsmen of the time. In 1840 he was living at 32

York Place, Edinburgh York Place is a street in central Edinburgh of almost exclusively 18th century buildings, linking Queen Street to Broughton Street and Leith Walk. The street's architecture remains almost completely intact but it is one of the busiest streets ...

. The property was purpose-built as an artist's studio by its predecessor,

Sir Henry Raeburn Sir Henry Raeburn (; 4 March 1756 – 8 July 1823) was a Scottish portrait painter. He served as Portrait Painter to King George IV in Scotland. Biography Raeburn was born the son of a manufacturer in Stockbridge, on the Water of Leith: a ...

His portrait of

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' ...

was so popular that he executed some twenty replicas of it, for seven of which he received fresh sittings. His works are distinguished by excellent draftsmanship, by directness and simplicity of treatment, and by well-marked individuality. His portrait of

Thomas Brown of Lanfine and Waterhaughs Thomas Brown of Lanfine and Waterhaughs FRSE FFPSG (1774 – 16 March 1853) was a noted Scottish surgeon with an interest in botany, mineralogy and fossil collecting. He is best remembered for his large donation of his entire lifetime collection ...

hangs in the Court Office of the

University of Glasgow , image = UofG Coat of Arms.png , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of arms Flag , latin_name = Universitas Glasguensis , motto = la, Via, Veritas, Vita , ...

. He died in Edinburgh on 21 July 1875. He is buried with his parents in the churchyard of

Brechin Cathedral Brechin Cathedral dates from the 13th century. As a congregation of the Church of Scotland, which is Presbyterian, the church is not technically a cathedral, in spite of its name. It is in the Pointed style, but suffered maltreatment in 1806 at ...

. The grave lies south of the round tower.

Influence

Smith's students included James Irvine, who went on to be one of Scotland's best portrait painters.L. H. Cust, ‘Irvine, James (1822–1889)’, rev. Jennifer Melville, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 200
accessed 10 Sept 2013
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References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Colvin 1795 births 1875 deaths 19th-century Scottish painters Scottish male painters Scottish portrait painters People from Brechin 19th-century Scottish male artists