Samuel A. Rayner (15 April 1806 – 1879) was an English

landscape A landscape is the visible features of an area of land, its landforms, and how they integrate with natural or man-made features, often considered in terms of their aesthetic appeal.''New Oxford American Dictionary''. A landscape includes the ...

artist, known for his paintings of buildings and their interiors, including abbeys, churches and old mansions. He achieved the distinction of having a work accepted for exhibition 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 ...

at the age of 15. His wife, Ann Rayner, was an engraver on

Ashford Black Marble Ashford Black Marble is the name given to a dark limestone, quarried from mines near Ashford-in-the-Water, in Derbyshire, England. Once cut, turned and polished, its shiny black surface is highly decorative. Ashford Black Marble is a very fine- ...

and six of their children went on to be professional artists.

Biography

Samuel Rayner was born in 1806, at Colnbrook in

Buckinghamshire Buckinghamshire (), abbreviated Bucks, is a ceremonial county in South East England that borders Greater London to the south-east, Berkshire to the south, Oxfordshire to the west, Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-ea ...

(now in

Berkshire Berkshire ( ; in the 17th century sometimes spelt phonetically as Barkeshire; abbreviated Berks.) is a historic county in South East England. One of the home counties, Berkshire was recognised by Queen Elizabeth II as the Royal County of Berk ...

); afterwards the family moved to

Marylebone Marylebone (usually , also , ) is a district in the West End of London, in the City of Westminster. Oxford Street, Europe's busiest shopping street, forms its southern boundary. An Civil parish#Ancient parishes, ancient parish and latterly a ...

in London where he was possibly trained by his grandfather. By the age of fifteen, Rayner was training as a draughtsman with the antiquary John Britton when Rayner had a picture of

Malmesbury Abbey Malmesbury Abbey, at Malmesbury in Wiltshire, England, is a religious house dedicated to Saint Peter and Paul the Apostle, Saint Paul. It was one of the few English houses with a continuous history from the 7th century through to the dissolution ...

accepted by the

. A fellow student and artistic influence were George Cattermole.Simon Fenwick, ‘Rayner, Samuel (1806–1879)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 200
accessed 15 March 2011
/ref> Matlockbath1832

Samuel Rayner and his wife, Anne Manser Rayner, founded a "painting family". In 1823, he eloped with Anne Manser, who was four years older than him and was already known as an artist. They married in 1824. Their first child was born in London but he soon died. Six of their children became painters in turn. Rayner's house was a museum in Matlock Bath in the 1830s where Louise, William Henry and Rhoda (Rose) were born. The engraving by

Arthur Jewitt Arthur Jewitt (1772–1852) was an English topographer. Life Jewitt was the eldest son of Arthur and Mary Jewitt. His mother was the daughter of Jonathan Priestley of Dronfield and she gave birth to Arthur in Sheffield on 7 March 1772. At the a ...

illustrated shows Rayner's house in Matlock Back in 1832. There are two extended entrance ways to museums in the picture. The museum on the right was John Mawe's museum whilst on the left was ''Vallance's Royal Centre Museum''.Samuel Rayner
at the "Dudley Mall" website Vallance and Rayner were in partnership. There is a view of Matlock Bath engraved by Ann Rayner which also shows their house and it is now in

Buxton Museum __NOTOC__ Buxton Museum and Art Gallery focuses its collection on history, geology and archaeology primarily from the Peak District and Derbyshire. The museum is located at Terrace Road, Buxton, England. The museum opens Tuesday to Saturday al ...

. This engraving was made by Samuel's wife with a diamond on

which was mined locally. Derbys First Exhibition 1839

Rayner's painting of the 1839 Derby Exhibition which illustrates the early years of what to become

Derby Museum and Art Gallery Derby Museum and Art Gallery is a museum and art gallery in Derby, England. It was established in 1879, along with Derby Central Library, in a new building designed by Richard Knill Freeman and given to Derby by Michael Thomas Bass. The collect ...

's collections. This painting includes

Joseph Wright of Derby Joseph Wright (3 September 1734 – 29 August 1797), styled Joseph Wright of Derby, was an English landscape and portrait painter. He has been acclaimed as "the first professional painter to express the spirit of the Industrial Revolution". Wr ...

's painting Romeo and Juliet: the tomb scene which is on the left of the back wall. Louise Rayner is the best known of Samuel and Ann's children: her siblings were Ann ("Nancy"), Margaret, Rose, Frances, and Richard. Nancy Rayner was influenced by

Octavius Oakley Octavius Oakley RWS (27 April 1800, in Bermondsey – 1 March 1867, in London), was a British watercolour portrait, figure and landscape artist. Life Oakley was born in Bermondsey, London on the 27th April 1800. Initially he worked for a ...

and she was the first to be recognised as a distinguished artist but she died of consumption at the age of 28. Samuel was elected an associate of the

Society of Painters in Water Colours The Royal Watercolour Society is a British institution of painters working in watercolours. The Society is a centre of excellence for water-based media on paper, which allows for a diverse and interesting range of approaches to the medium of wat ...

in 1845 but was excluded from the Society in 1851 after a financial scandal. Some of his work can be seen at

References

External links

Family history
at the "Louise Rayner Artist" website {{DEFAULTSORT:Rayner, Samuel 1806 births 1879 deaths 19th-century English painters English male painters English watercolourists Landscape artists People from Slough 19th-century English male artists