James Archer RSA (10 June 1823 – 3 September 1904), was a Scottish painter of portraits,

genre works Genre art is the pictorial representation in any of various media of scenes or events from everyday life, such as markets, domestic settings, interiors, parties, inn scenes, work, and street scenes. Such representations (also called genre works, ...

, landscapes and historical scenes.

Life

James Archer was born 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 ...

, the first of four children to Andrew Archer, a dentist, and his wife, Ann Cunningham Gregory. His sister was Georgina Archer who founded an early college for women in Germany. The family lived at 25 Hanover Street in the First New Town, close to

Princes Street Princes Street ( gd, Sràid nam Prionnsan) is one of the major thoroughfares in central Edinburgh, Scotland and the main shopping street in the capital. It is the southernmost street of Edinburgh's New Town, stretching around 1.2 km (thr ...

. He was educated at the Royal High School and studied at the Trustee's Academy in Edinburgh under

Sir William Allan Sir William Allan (178223 February 1850) was a distinguished Scottish historical painter known for his scenes of Russian life. He became president of the Royal Scottish Academy and was made a Royal Academician. Life and work Allan was born ...

and

Thomas Duncan (painter) Thomas Duncan (4 May 180725 April 1845) was a Scottish portrait and historical painter. Life Duncan was born in Kinclaven, Perthshire on 4 May 1807. Educated at the Perth Academy, he began studying law, but abandoned it for art. Beginnin ...

. In 1840, he was accepted as a student at the

Royal Scottish Academy The Royal Scottish Academy (RSA) is the country’s national academy of art. It promotes contemporary Scottish art. The Academy was founded in 1826 by eleven artists meeting in Edinburgh. Originally named the Scottish Academy, it became the ...

and first exhibited there in 1842, with the biblical painting, "The Child St John in the Wilderness". He became an associate of the academy in 1850, and in 1858 an Academician (RSA). York Place 21, Edinburgh

In 1844, he was listed as living at 21 York Place in Edinburgh's New Town. In 1848, he joined the Edinburgh Smashers Club: a sketching club (which probably also involved alcohol). The_Death_of_King_Arthur_by_James_Archer_(1860)

The_Death_of_King_Arthur_by_James_Archer_(1860)

Archer worked in

oils An oil is any nonpolar chemical substance that is composed primarily of hydrocarbons and is hydrophobic (does not mix with water) & lipophilic (mixes with other oils). Oils are usually flammable and surface active. Most oils are unsaturate ...

, pencil and chalk, and at the beginning of his career specialised in portraiture, his best-known work includes children and people in costume as its subjects - in fact, he was the first Victorian painter to do children's portraits in period costume. In 1849 he exhibited his first historical picture 'The Last Supper' at the Royal Scottish Academy. His work after that mostly consisted of scenes taken from literature or legends that were popular at the time, such as Shakespeare and King Arthur. In about 1859 he began to paint a series of Arthurian subjects, including several versions of ''La Mort d'Arthur'', which depict a melancholy king being led to his death by Merlin, and ''Sir Lancelot and Queen Guinevere''. In 1864, he moved to

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 ...

, living at 21 Phillimore Gardens, moving in 1882 to 7 Cromwell Place. In the 1880s, Archer travelled to the United States, where he painted

Andrew Carnegie Andrew Carnegie (, ; November 25, 1835August 11, 1919) was a Scottish-American industrialist and philanthropist. Carnegie led the expansion of the American steel industry in the late 19th century and became one of the richest Americans in ...

's portrait, and to India, where he painted landscapes and people in costume. Archer died on 3 September 1904 in

Haslemere The town of Haslemere () and the villages of Shottermill and Grayswood are in south west Surrey, England, around south west of London. Together with the settlements of Hindhead and Beacon Hill, they comprise the civil parish of Haslemere in ...

Surrey Surrey () is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant ur ...

. He was buried in the churchyard at Haslemere.

Family

In 1853 he married Jane Clerk Lawson, daughter of the Edinburgh lawyer James Lawson WS of 4 Malta Terrace in the Stockbridge district. At the time of his death he had one son and three daughters.

Works

Archer mainly worked on historical and religious scenes of a figurative nature. He received multiple commissions for portraits. Notable subjects include

James G. Blaine James Gillespie Blaine (January 31, 1830January 27, 1893) was an American statesman and Republican politician who represented Maine in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1863 to 1876, serving as Speaker of the U.S. House of Representati ...

, Lady Dufferin,

Lord Dalhousie James Andrew Broun-Ramsay, 1st Marquess of Dalhousie (22 April 1812 – 19 December 1860), also known as Lord Dalhousie, styled Lord Ramsay until 1838 and known as The Earl of Dalhousie between 1838 and 1849, was a Scottish statesman and co ...

Sir George Trevelyan, 2nd Baronet Sir George Otto Trevelyan, 2nd Baronet, (20 July 1838 – 17 August 1928) was a British statesman and author. In a ministerial career stretching almost 30 years, he was most notably twice Secretary for Scotland under William Ewart Gladstone an ...

, John Stuart Blackie, Sir Henry Irving,

Edwin Arnold Sir Edwin Arnold KCIE CSI (10 June 183224 March 1904) was an English poet and journalist, who is most known for his work ''The Light of Asia''.Daniel Macnee Sir Daniel Macnee FRSE PRSA LLD (4 June 1806, Fintry, Stirlingshire – 17 January 1882, Edinburgh), was a Scottish portrait painter who served as president of the Royal Scottish Academy (1876). Life He was born at Fintry in Stirlingshir ...

References

External links

*
James Archer online
(ArtCyclopedia)
Paintings by Archer
(Art Renewal Center)
Summertime Gloucestershire
(childhoodinart.org) * {{DEFAULTSORT:Archer, James 19th-century Scottish painters Scottish male painters 20th-century Scottish painters Scottish portrait painters Scottish landscape painters 1822 births 1904 deaths People educated at the Royal High School, Edinburgh Alumni of the Edinburgh College of Art Royal Scottish Academicians 19th-century Scottish male artists 20th-century Scottish male artists