Robert Gavin, R.S.A. (1827 – 5 October 1883) was a Scottish painter.

Biography

Gavin was the second son of Peter Gavin, a merchant at Leith, where the painter was born in 1827. His father was a ship chandler with premises on Commercial Street opposite the Customs House and living at 1 Great Junction Street at the foot of

Leith Walk Leith Walk is one of the longest streets in Edinburgh, Scotland, and is the main road connecting the centre of the city to Leith. Forming most of the A900 road, it slopes downwards from Picardy Place at the south-western end of the street to the ...

. He was educated at the Leith High School, and when about twenty-one years of age he entered the School of Design 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 ...

, and studied under Thomas Duncan. From 1846 he lived with his parents in a larger house at James Place facing

Leith Links Leith Links ( gd, Fìghdean Lìte) is the principal open space within Leith, the docks district of Edinburgh, Scotland. This public park is divided by a road into two main areas, a western section and an eastern section, both being largely flat ...

. From 1853 he left the family home and rented rooms at 15 Gayfield Square at the top of

.Further Traditions of Trinity and Leith by Joyce Wallace ISBN 0-85976-282-3 Gavin painted a large number of familiar and rustic subjects, mainly landscape compositions with figures of children, which became very popular. Some of these, such as the ''Reaping Girl'' and ''Phœbe Mayflower,'' were reproduced in chromo-lithography. He was elected an associate of 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 ...

in 1854. About three years later he appears to have become dissatisfied with his progress as an artist, and entered into partnership with a wine merchant; but after about a year he resumed the practice of his art. He was a regular contributor to the exhibitions of the Royal Scottish Academy, and between 1855 and 1871 exhibited a few pictures 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 London. In 1868 he made a tour in America, and painted several characteristic phases of negro life. Soon after his return home he went to

Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to ...

, and resided for some years at

Tangier 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 cap ...

, where he painted numerous

Moorish The term Moor, derived from the ancient Mauri, is an exonym first used by Christian Europeans to designate the Muslim inhabitants of the Maghreb, the Iberian Peninsula, Sicily and Malta during the Middle Ages. Moors are not a distinct or se ...

pictures. In 1879 he became an academician, and presented as his diploma work ''The Moorish Maiden's First Love,'' a damsel caressing a beautiful white horse; this picture is now in the collections of th
Royal Scottish Academy of Art & Architecture
He returned to Scotland in 1880, and continued to paint subjects of Moorish life and manners until his death, which took place at his residence, Cherry Bank, Newhaven, near

, on 5 Oct. 1883. He was buried in

Warriston Cemetery Warriston Cemetery is a cemetery in Edinburgh. It lies in Warriston, one of the northern suburbs of Edinburgh, Scotland. It was built by the then newly-formed Edinburgh Cemetery Company, and occupies around of land on a slightly sloping si ...

External links

Biography

Picture

References

* ;Attribution {{DEFAULTSORT:Gavin, Robert 1827 births 1883 deaths People from Leith 19th-century Scottish painters Scottish male painters Alumni of the Edinburgh College of Art Painters from Edinburgh 19th-century Scottish male artists