Samuel John "Lamorna" Birch, RA, RWS (7 June 1869 – 7 January 1955) was an English artist in oils and watercolours. At the suggestion of fellow artist Stanhope Forbes, Birch adopted the ''soubriquet'' "Lamorna" to distinguish himself from Lionel Birch, an artist who was also working in the area at that time.

Biography

Lamorna Birch was born in Egremont, Cheshire, England. He was self-taught as an artist, except for a brief period of study at the Académie Colarossi in Paris during 1895. Birch settled in

Lamorna Lamorna ( kw, Nansmornow) is a village, valley and cove in west Cornwall, England, UK. It is on the Penwith peninsula approximately south of Penzance. Lamorna became popular with the artists of the Newlyn School, including Alfred Munnings, La ...

Cornwall Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a historic county and ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people. Cornwall is bordered to the north and west by the Atlantic ...

in 1892, initially lodging at nearby Boleigh Farm. Many of his most famous pictures date from this time and the beautiful Lamorna Cove is usually their subject matter. He was attracted to Cornwall by the Newlyn group of artists but he ended up starting a second group based around his adopted home of Lamorna. He married Houghton (Mouse) Emily Vivian, the daughter of a mining agent from Camborne and they lived at Flagstaff Cottage, Lamorna.

Exhibitions

He exhibited at the Royal Academy from 1893, was elected as an Associate (ARA) in 1926 and made a Royal Academician (RA) in 1934, and showed more than two hundred paintings there. He held his first one-man exhibition at the

Fine Art Society The Fine Art Society is a gallery based in both London and in Edinburgh's New Town (originally Bourne Fine Art, established 1978). The New Bond Street, London gallery closed its doors in August 2018 after being occupied by The Fine Art Society si ...

in 1906 and is said to have produced more than 20,000 pictures. Like a number of his contemporaries, he was profiled as an 'Artist of Note' in '' The Artist'' magazine, by Richard Seddon, in the June 1944 edition. * ''Shades of British Impressionism Lamorna Birch and his Circle'' was shown at Warrington Museum & Art Gallery in the Mezzanine in October 2004. This details his links with

Henry Scott Tuke Henry Scott Tuke (12 June 1858 – 13 March 1929), was an English visual artist; primarily a painter, but also a photographer. His most notable work was in the Impressionist style, and he is best known for his paintings of nude boys and you ...

and Thomas Cooper Gotch and many others who settled in the

artists' colony An art colony, also known as an artists' colony, can be defined two ways. Its most liberal description refers to the organic congregation of Artist, artists in towns, villages and rural areas, often drawn by areas of natural beauty, the prior exi ...

in the 1880s and 1890s. "These painters helped to change the face of British art. Their emphasis on colour and light, truth and social realism brought about a revolution in British art." says the catalogue for the show. * ''Entranced by a Special Place: The Art of S J Lamorna Birch'' – at

Penlee House Penlee House is a museum and art gallery located in the town of Penzance in Cornwall, and is home to a great many paintings by members of the Newlyn School, including many by Stanhope Forbes, Norman Garstin, Walter Langley and Lamorna Birch ...

, Penzance, part of the Royal Academy's 250th anniversary celebrations.

Today

Birch has paintings at Penlee House and in the collection of Derby Art Gallery.Winter
Lamorna Birch, accessed August 2011

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Birch, Lamorna 1869 births 1955 deaths 19th-century English painters 20th-century English painters Académie Colarossi alumni Painters from Cornwall English male painters Lamorna Art colony Newlyn School of Artists People from Wallasey Royal Academicians 20th-century English male artists 19th-century English male artists