Robert Alexander RSA RSW (1840–1923) was a 19th and early 20th century Scottish artist. He had a special interest in dog and horse portraits.

Life

Robert was born in

Dalgarven The tiny village of Dalgarven in North Ayrshire, Scotland is located just north of Kilwinning on the road to Dalry, Ayrshire, Dalry. History In 1881 some two hundred people lived in the village, the mill being at its heart, with a Sunday schoo ...

near

Kilwinning Kilwinning (, sco, Kilwinnin; gd, Cill D’Fhinnein) is a town in North Ayrshire, Scotland. It is on the River Garnock, north of Irvine, about southwest of Glasgow. It is known as "The Crossroads of Ayrshire". Kilwinning was also a Civil Pa ...

Ayrshire Ayrshire ( gd, Siorrachd Inbhir Àir, ) is a historic county and registration county in south-west Scotland, located on the shores of the Firth of Clyde. Its principal towns include Ayr, Kilmarnock and Irvine and it borders the counties of Re ...

. He was apprenticed to a painter and decorator in Irvine around 1854, who also taught him how to paint landscapes. Around 1860 he obtained a position in the workshops of the

Royal Scottish Museum The National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh, Scotland, was formed in 2006 with the merger of the new Museum of Scotland, with collections relating to Scottish antiquities, culture and history, and the adjacent Royal Scottish Museum (opened 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 ...

. From 1868 he fully adopted oil painting as his profession, largely painting rural scenes and animals. He was elected ARSA in 1878 and RSA in 1888. In 1887–88 he visited

Tangiers Tangier ( ; ; ar, طنجة, Ṭanja) is a city in northwestern Morocco. It is on the Moroccan coast at the western entrance to the Strait of Gibraltar, where the Mediterranean Sea meets the Atlantic Ocean off Cape Spartel. The town is the capi ...

with

Joseph Crawhall III Joseph Crawhall (20 August 1861 – 24 May 1913) was an English artist born in Morpeth, Northumberland. Life Crawhall was the fourth child and second son of Joseph Crawhall II and Margaret Boyd. Crawhall specialised in painting animals and b ...

, Pollock Nisbet and his son

Edwin The name Edwin means "rich friend". It comes from the Old English elements "ead" (rich, blessed) and "ƿine" (friend). The original Anglo-Saxon form is Eadƿine, which is also found for Anglo-Saxon figures. People * Edwin of Northumbria (die ...

. He was an influence on the artist George Denholm Armour and accompanied him on a second trip to

. He visited

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

in 1906 and was greatly influenced thereafter by the Impressionists. His main patron was the

Duke of Portland Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are rank ...

. He died in

on 2 August 1923 and is buried in

Dean Cemetery The Dean Cemetery is a historically important Victorian cemetery north of the Dean Village, west of Edinburgh city centre, in Scotland. It lies between Queensferry Road and the Water of Leith, bounded on its east side by Dean Path and on ...

. His grave faces northwards to an east–west path in the inner north-west section, but is concealed behind larger graves.

Family

He was married twice, his second wife being Jemima Jane Martin. He had three children by his first wife and four by his second. His sons included the artist

Edwin Alexander Edwin John Alexander RSA RSW RWS (1870–1926) was a Scottish artist known for his pictures of animals and birds. Life He was born in Edinburgh in February 1870 the eldest son of the artist Robert Alexander and his wife. In 1887 and 1888 ...

RSA RSW (1870-1926) and sculptor Martin Alexander. His son Robert Love Alexander was father to Rear Admiral

Robert Love Alexander The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of '' Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory, honou ...

.https://www.rnsubmusfriends.org.uk/mothership/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/RL-Alexander-Career-History.pdf His daughter Jean Alexander married the artist

Alexander Ignatius Roche Alexander Ignatius Roche (17 August 1861 – 10 March 1921) RSA NEAC RP was a Scottish artist in the late 19th century and an important figure in the "Glasgow Boys". Life He was born in the Gallowgate in Glasgow, the son of a milliner, Alex ...

Known Works

*''Portrait of a

Malamute The Alaskan Malamute () is a large breed of dog that was originally bred for its strength and endurance to haul heavy freight as a sled dog and hound. It is similar to other arctic breeds such as the husky, the spitz, the Greenland Dog, Can ...

'' (1876) *''The Happy Mother'' (1878) - a collie and pups *''Springer Spaniel'' (1881) *''Scottish Donkey in a Stable'' (1890) *''A Bay Horse and a Terrier in a Stable'' *''Skye Terrier'' *''The Dead Stag'' *''Study of a Horse''

References

1840 births 1923 deaths People from North Ayrshire Burials at the Dean Cemetery {{Scotland-painter-stub