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| Archibald Thorburn (1860–1935) | ||||||||||
| A Scottish artist specialising in wildlife, Thorburn was born in Lasswade, Midlothian, and was the fifth son of prominent miniaturist Robert Thorburn. From an early age, he displayed a strong interest in nature and began to sketch plants and animals. He received coaching from his father before studying at Dalkeith and Edinburgh, and later entered St John's Wood Art School in London. He was a pupil of the ornithological artist Joseph Wolf. Thorburn began exhibiting at the Royal Academy from the age of twenty and started illustrating for publications in 1882, his first commission being J.E. Harting's Sketches of Bird Life. His accuracy in depicting his subjects, fine attention to detail, and overall realism were praised following his contribution to Coloured Figures of Birds in the British Isles, published in 1888. His reputation soon grew, as did demand for his work. Initially working in oil and watercolour, he painted mainly in watercolour after 1900, feeling it allowed a more accurate depiction of feather texture. Some of his works depict birds in flight—something other artists often avoided due to the difficulty of achieving accuracy. Thorburn was considered one of the greatest bird artists of the nineteenth century. He was appointed Vice President of the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds in 1927. He died in Hascombe, Surrey. | ||||||||||
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Art