Sir George Scharf KCB (16 December 1820 – 19 April 1895) was a British art
critic
A critic is a person who communicates an assessment and an opinion of various forms of creative works such as art, literature, music, cinema, theater, fashion, architecture, and food. Critics may also take as their subject social or governmen ...
,
illustrator
An illustrator is an artist who specializes in enhancing writing or elucidating concepts by providing a visual representation that corresponds to the content of the associated text or idea. The illustration may be intended to clarify complicat ...
London
London is the capital and 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 down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
miniature painter
A portrait miniature is a miniature portrait painting, usually executed in gouache, watercolor, or enamel. Portrait miniatures developed out of the techniques of the miniatures in illuminated manuscripts, and were popular among 16th-century eli ...
, and older brother to Henry Scharf, actor and illustrator. He was educated at University College school, and after studying under his father and obtaining medals from the
Society of Arts
The Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce (RSA), also known as the Royal Society of Arts, is a London-based organisation committed to finding practical solutions to social challenges. The RSA acronym is used m ...
, entered the schools of 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 1838.
Travels
In 1840
Charles Fellows
Sir Charles Fellows (31 August 1799 – 8 November 1860) was a British archaeologist and explorer, known for his numerous expeditions in what is present-day Turkey.
Biography
Charles Fellows was born at High Pavement, Nottingham on 31 August ...
engaged Scharf to join him on his second journey to
Asia Minor
Anatolia, tr, Anadolu Yarımadası), and the Anatolian plateau, also known as Asia Minor, is a large peninsula in Western Asia and the westernmost protrusion of the Asian continent. It constitutes the major part of modern-day Turkey. The re ...
and on the way spent some time in Italy. Three years later he again visited Asia Minor in the capacity of draughtsman. He made drawings of views and antiquities from Lycia, Caria, and Lydia, which are now in
British Museum
The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docum ...
. A selection of these illustrations with text by Fellows was published in 1847.
Career
After his return to England, Scharf exhibited his paintings of the tombs in
Myra
Myra ( grc, Μύρα, ''Mýra'') was a Lycian, then ancient Greek, then Greco-Roman, then Byzantine Greek, then Ottoman town in Lycia, which became the small Turkish town of Kale, renamed Demre in 2005, in the present-day Antalya Province of ...
and
Xanthos
Xanthos ( Lycian: 𐊀𐊕𐊑𐊏𐊀 ''Arñna'', el, Ξάνθος, Latin: ''Xanthus'', Turkish: ''Ksantos'') was an ancient major city near present-day Kınık, Antalya Province, Turkey. The remains of Xanthos lie on a hill on the left b ...
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 1845 and 1846. He also illustrated books relating to art and antiquity, of which the best known are Macaulay's ''
Lays of Ancient Rome
''Lays of Ancient Rome'' is an 1842 collection of narrative poems, or lays, by Thomas Babington Macaulay. Four of these recount heroic episodes from early Roman history with strong dramatic and tragic themes, giving the collection its name. M ...
'' (1847); Milman's ''Horace'', (1849); Kugler's ''Handbook of Italian Painting'' (1851); and Dr Smith's classical dictionaries. In addition, he produced thirty-seven illustrations for the 1845 illuminated ''Book of Common Prayer'' designed by
Owen Jones
Owen Jones (born 8 August 1984) is a British newspaper columnist, political commentator, journalist, author, and left-wing activist. He writes a column for ''The Guardian'' and contributes to the ''New Statesman'' and '' Tribune.'' He has two ...
.
He also engaged largely in lecturing and teaching, and took part in the formation of the Greek, Roman and Pompeian courts at
the Crystal Palace
The Crystal Palace was a cast iron and plate glass structure, originally built in Hyde Park, London, Hyde Park, London, to house the Great Exhibition of 1851. The exhibition took place from 1 May to 15 October 1851, and more than 14,000 exhibit ...
. He acted as art secretary to the great Manchester
Art Treasures Exhibition
The Art Treasures of Great Britain was an exhibition of fine art held in Manchester, England, from 5 May to 17 October 1857.National Portrait Gallery. The remainder of his life was given to the care of that institution.
Scharf acquired an unrivalled knowledge of all matters relating to historic portraiture, and was the author of many learned essays on the subject. In 1885, in recognition of his services to the Portrait Gallery, he was made CB, and on his resignation, early in 1895, KCB and a trustee of the Gallery. He died at his home 8 Ashley Place, London in April 1895 after a long illness.New York Times Obituary https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1895/04/20/102455402.pdf