James Saxon (1772 – in or after 1819) was an English portrait painter.

Life

Born in

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

, he was son of John Saxon. He entered

Manchester grammar school The Manchester Grammar School (MGS) in Manchester, England, is the largest independent school (UK), independent day school for boys in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1515 as a Grammar school#free tuition, free grammar school next to Manchester C ...

in January 1783. In 1797, he was in practice as a portrait-painter at 4 York Street, Manchester; shortly afterwards, he moved to London. He visited Scotland in 1805. Saxon later went to

St. Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

, where he practised successfully for several years. On his return, he spent a short time in Glasgow, when he painted a portrait of David Hamilton the architect. He finally settled again in London, where he died.

Works

Saxon's portraits show the influence of

John Opie John Opie (16 May 1761 – 9 April 1807) was an English historical and portrait painter. He painted many great men and women of his day, including members of the British Royal Family, and others who were notable in the artistic and literary ...

. He exhibited 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 ...

in 1795 and 1796, and a total of 17 portraits by 1817. The portrait of

John Clerk of Eldin John Clerk of Eldin FRSE FSAScot (10 December 1728 – 10 May 1812) was a Scottish merchant, naval author, artist, geologist and landowner. The 7th son of Sir John Clerk of Penicuik, Bt, Clerk of Eldin was a figure in the Scottish Enlightenm ...

from 1805 has a background showing a system of naval evolution conceived by Clerk, by

William Anderson William Anderson may refer to: Arts and entertainment * William Anderson (artist) (1757–1837), painter of marine and historical paintings * William Anderson (theatre) (1868–1940), Australian stage entrepreneur * William Anderson (1911–1986), ...

(1757–1837); it went to the

Scottish National Portrait Gallery The Scottish National Portrait Gallery is an art museum on Queen Street, Edinburgh. The gallery holds the national collections of portraits, all of which are of, but not necessarily by, Scots. It also holds the Scottish National Photography Co ...

. In the same year, he painted a 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' ...

, which was engraved in stipple by

James Heath James Heath may refer to: * James Heath (historian) (1629–1664), English royalist historian * James Heath (engraver) (1757–1834), English engraver * James P. Heath (1777–1854), U.S. congressman from Maryland * James E. Heath (active since 18 ...

, as an illustration to ''

The Lady of the Lake The Lady of the Lake (french: Dame du Lac, Demoiselle du Lac, cy, Arglwyddes y Llyn, kw, Arloedhes an Lynn, br, Itron al Lenn, it, Dama del Lago) is a name or a title used by several either fairy or fairy-like but human enchantresses in the ...

'' (1810). A companion portrait (1810) of Lady Scott was engraved by George Baird Shaw for

John Gibson Lockhart John Gibson Lockhart (12 June 1794 – 25 November 1854) was a Scottish writer and editor. He is best known as the author of the seminal, and much-admired, seven-volume biography of his father-in-law Sir Walter Scott: ''Memoirs of the Life of Sir ...

's ''Life of Scott''.

Notes

External links

* ;Attribution {{DEFAULTSORT:Saxon, James 1772 births Year of death uncertain 18th-century English painters English male painters 19th-century English painters English portrait painters Artists from Manchester 19th-century English male artists 18th-century English male artists