Thomas Stuart Burnett ARSA (4 July 1853 – 8 March 1888) was a Scottish sculptor in the 19th century. His two principal claims to fame is as one of the chosen sculptors of the figures depicting characters from the novels of

Sir Walter Scott Sir Walter Scott, 1st Baronet (15 August 1771 – 21 September 1832), was a Scottish novelist, poet and historian. Many of his works remain classics of European literature, European and Scottish literature, notably the novels ''Ivanhoe'' (18 ...

on the Scott Monument on

Princes Street Princes Street () is one of the major thoroughfares in central Edinburgh, Scotland and the main shopping street in the capital. It is the southernmost street of Edinburgh's New Town, Edinburgh, New Town, stretching around 1.2 km (three quar ...

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

and for the famous sculpture of

Robinson Crusoe ''Robinson Crusoe'' ( ) is an English adventure novel by Daniel Defoe, first published on 25 April 1719. Written with a combination of Epistolary novel, epistolary, Confessional writing, confessional, and Didacticism, didactic forms, the ...

at Alexander Selkirk’s birthplace of

Lower Largo Lower Largo or Seatown of Largo is a village in Fife, Scotland, situated on Largo Bay along the north side of the Firth of Forth. It is east of, and contiguous with, Lundin Links. Largo is an ancient fishing village in the parish of Largo, ...

Fife Fife ( , ; ; ) is a council areas of Scotland, council area and lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area in Scotland. A peninsula, it is bordered by the Firth of Tay to the north, the North Sea to the east, the Firth of Forth to the s ...

Life

He was born in

, the son of James Burnett, a

lithograph Lithography () is a planographic method of printing originally based on the miscibility, immiscibility of oil and water. The printing is from a stone (lithographic limestone) or a metal plate with a smooth surface. It was invented in 1796 by ...

ic printer and Japanner living at 34 Toddrick's Wynd on the

Royal Mile The Royal Mile () is the nickname of a series of streets forming the main thoroughfare of the Old Town, Edinburgh, Old Town of Edinburgh, Scotland. The term originated in the early 20th century and has since entered popular usage. The Royal ...

. He studied under William Brodie and at the School Board of the Trustees on Picardy Place (run by the trustees of the

Royal Scottish Academy The Royal Scottish Academy (RSA) is the country's national academy of art. It promotes contemporary art, contemporary Scottish art. The Academy was founded in 1826 by eleven artists meeting in Edinburgh. Originally named the Scottish Academy ...

). There he won their gold medal for the year in 1875. In 1876 he entered the RSA Life School, focussing upon the human form and won the Stuart Prize in 1880. In 1881 he is recorded as living with William Geddes at Gowan Brae Cottage, Perth Street, Perth. He was elected an Associate of the

in 1883. He died in

in 1888 (several newspapers gave the cause of death as 'congestion of the lungs') and is buried in the north section of the original

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 o ...

, towards the western end, with his wife Margaret Irving. The red sandstone celtic cross is eroding but has a fine profile head of Burnett, sculpted by John Stevenson Rhind.

Works

*Low-relief bronze panels on the base of the statue to the Duke of Buccleuch on the edge of Parliament Square, the first statue on the

. *Statue of Rob Roy (1885),

Scottish National Portrait Gallery National Galleries Scotland: Portrait is an art museum on Queen Street, Edinburgh. Portrait holds the national collections of portraits, all of which are of, but not necessarily by, Scots. It also holds the Scottish National Photography Collec ...

*Statue of General Gordon,

*Statues of Davie Deans and Effie Deans (from the novel "The Heart of Midlothian") on the Scott Monument both on the north side, facing

. *Mr David Raiker (1874) *Mr and Mrs Andrew Dougal (1876) *Ebenezer H. Murray (1878) *William Hannah (1879) *James Wilson (1879) *John Blair (1879) *Norman M. Henderson (1880) *

Rip Van Winkle "Rip Van Winkle" () is a short story by the American author Washington Irving, first published in 1819. It follows a Dutch-American villager in Colonial history of the United States, colonial America named Rip Van Winkle who meets mysterious Du ...

(1880) *William Grubb of Dundee (1881) *The late Thomas Sprot WS (1881) *Eugene Aram (1881) *Mrs Denovan Adam (1883) *David Pryde LLD (1884) *Edmund Edmunds (1884) *Thomas Mansfield Guthrie (1885) *Arthur Edmunds (1885) *William Forrest HRSA (1885) *The late Rev Davidson (1885) *

Thomas Carlyle Thomas Carlyle (4 December 17955 February 1881) was a Scottish essayist, historian, and philosopher. Known as the "Sage writing, sage of Chelsea, London, Chelsea", his writings strongly influenced the intellectual and artistic culture of the V ...

(1885) *The late David Jack JP (1886) *

(1886) (sited on a building in

) *HRH Albert Victor (1886 and 1887) * W. E. Gladstone PM (1886 and 1887) *The late Robert Riddle Stodart (1887) *Monument to Robert Bryson in

Warriston Cemetery Warriston Cemetery is a cemetery in List of graveyards and cemeteries in Edinburgh, 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 o ...

(1887) *John Reid (1888) *James Irving (1888) *Edmund Burton, engraver (1888) *

Robert Burns Robert Burns (25 January 1759 – 21 July 1796), also known familiarly as Rabbie Burns, was a Scottish poet and lyricist. He is widely regarded as the List of national poets, national poet of Scotland and is celebrated worldwide. He is the be ...

(1888)

References

External links

Blouinartinfo.comVangelligallery.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Burnett, Thomas Stuart 1853 births 1888 deaths Artists from Edinburgh Scottish sculptors Scottish male sculptors 19th-century Scottish sculptors