John Horsburgh (1835-1924)
| Artist Name | John Horsburgh (1835-1924) |
|---|---|
| Title | Victorian Portrait of a Gentleman |
| Description | A fine huge oil on canvas which dates to 1877. it was painted in Edinburgh by John Horsburgh the noted Scottish portrait artist who also had a photographic studio in the late Victorian period. It is a very large period portrait of a distinguished gentleman. Signed lower left. |
| Provenance | Midlands estate |
| Medium | Oil on Canvas |
| Size | 50 x 40 inches |
| Frame | Framed in a fine gilt gallery frame 60 inches by 50 inches. In excellent condition. |
| Condition | Good gallery clean unlined condition with craquelure |
| Biography | John Horsburgh (1835-1924) was born in Eddleston, Peeblesshire, the son of a shoemaker. He was apprenticed to a silk mercer in Edinburgh in his youth, but his interest soon turned to photography. By 1863 he had set up his studio in Edinburgh in South Bridge, which moved briefly to 17 Princes Street and finally to 131 Princes Street by 1868. By the 1871 Census, he was living at 13 Abbortsford Park Edinburgh and he was employing 3 photographers and 3 artists, presumably to colour in the photograhs, which was often done in those times. In the 1881 Census he was a man of 46, listed as an Artist and Photographer and living at 10 Strathearn Road. Between 1889 and 1898, his business changed to John Horsburgh & Son (This son being John Alfred Horsburgh, born 1862, who also painted). In 1891 he was living at 'Albania', 48 St. Albans, Edinburgh, where he was working from home as an Art Consultant and Painter. After 1898, when John Senior retired from the photography business, the business became John A. Horsburgh until 1915 at 4 West Maitland Street. By the 1901 Census, he was listed as a Retired Artist and Portraitist at Aberdour House, Aberdour, Fife. (This house was used by Admiral Beatty of Jutland fame during WWI) However, he was still offering his services as a portraitist in the 1920s, according to his letter head, where he offered 'portraiture without tedious life sittings' at The Langham Hotel in London, in private residences, chambers and clubs, and in Corstorphine in Edinburgh. Possibly he based his portraits on photographs to avoid the sittings. At some stage, he was apparently elected a Fellow of the Royal Scottish Society of Arts, as some of his paintings show FRSSA after the signature. John Horsburgh died at the end of September 1924, as his obituary appeared in The Scotsman on 1st October 1924. He had 10 children by his wife Agnes, nee McIntosh, who he married in 1856, 8 of whom survived him. |
| Price | SOLD |
