Bust of Allan Cunningham, by Henry Weekes, 1842, SNPG

Allan Cunningham (7 December 178430 October 1842) was a Scottish poet and author.

Life

He was born at Keir, near

Dalswinton Dalswinton is a small village in the historical county of Dumfriesshire in Dumfries and Galloway in the south of Scotland. It is located about northwest of Dumfries. To the east of the village a wind farm has been built with a capacity of 30& ...

Dumfries and Galloway Dumfries and Galloway ( sco, Dumfries an Gallowa; gd, Dùn Phrìs is Gall-Ghaidhealaibh) is one of 32 unitary council areas of Scotland and is located in the western Southern Uplands. It covers the historic counties of Dumfriesshire, Kirkc ...

, and first worked as a stonemason's apprentice. His father was a neighbour of Robert Burns at Ellisland, and Allan with his brother James visited James Hogg, the "Ettrick shepherd", who became a friend to both. Cunningham's other brothers were the naval surgeon Peter Miller Cunningham (1789–1864) and the poet, Thomas Mounsey Cunningham (1776–1834). Cunningham gave his leisure to reading and writing imitations of old Scottish ballads. In 1809 he collected old

ballad A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads derive from the medieval French ''chanson balladée'' or '' ballade'', which were originally "dance songs". Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and ...

s for

Robert Hartley Cromek Robert Hartley Cromek (1770–1812) was an English engraver, editor, art dealer and entrepreneur who was most active in the early nineteenth century. He is best known for having allegedly cheated William Blake out of the potential profits of his e ...

's ''Remains of Nithsdale and

Galloway Galloway ( ; sco, Gallowa; la, Gallovidia) is a region in southwestern Scotland comprising the historic counties of Wigtownshire and Kirkcudbrightshire. It is administered as part of the council area of Dumfries and Galloway. A native or ...

Song''; he sent in, however, poems of his own, which the editor inserted, even though he may have suspected their real authorship. It gained for him the friendship of

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

and James Hogg. In 1810 Cunningham went to

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, 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 dow ...

, where he worked as a parliamentary reporter and journalist until 1814, when he became clerk of the works in the studio of the sculptor,

Francis Chantrey Sir Francis Leggatt Chantrey (7 April 1781 – 25 November 1841) was an English sculptor. He became the leading portrait sculptor in Regency era Britain, producing busts and statues of many notable figures of the time. Chantrey's most notable w ...

, a post he kept until Chantrey's death in 1841.

Works

Cunningham contributed some songs to Eugenius Roche's ''Literary Recreations'' in 1807. He wrote three novels, a life of Sir David Wilkie, and ''Lives of Eminent British Painters, Sculptors, and Architects'' (1829–33), that include biographies of

William Hogarth William Hogarth (; 10 November 1697 – 26 October 1764) was an English painter, engraver, pictorial satirist, social critic, editorial cartoonist and occasional writer on art. His work ranges from realistic portraiture to comic strip-like ...

, Sir Joshua Reynolds,

Thomas Gainsborough Thomas Gainsborough (14 May 1727 (baptised) – 2 August 1788) was an English portrait and landscape painter, draughtsman, and printmaker. Along with his rival Sir Joshua Reynolds, he is considered one of the most important British artists of ...

and

William Blake William Blake (28 November 1757 – 12 August 1827) was an English poet, painter, and printmaker. Largely unrecognised during his life, Blake is now considered a seminal figure in the history of the Romantic poetry, poetry and visual art of t ...

. (See vol. 1 for Hogarth, Reynolds, & Gainsborough; vol. 2 for Blake.) Besides these, he wrote many songs. ''A Wet Sheet and a Flowing Sea'' is a sea-song; and many other of Cunningham's songs became popular. He also brought out an edition of Robert Burns' Works. Other works included: *''Sir Marmaduke Maxwell'' (1820) (play) *''The King of the Peak'' (1822), the story of Sir George Vernon and his daughter, Dorothy Vernon's supposed elopement with John Manners from

Haddon Hall Haddon Hall is an English country house on the River Wye near Bakewell, Derbyshire, a former seat of the Dukes of Rutland. It is the home of Lord Edward Manners (brother of the incumbent Duke) and his family. In form a medieval manor house, ...

. *''The Maid of Elvar'' (1830) (a poem, in twelve parts)

Family

Cunningham was married to Jean Walker, who had been servant in a house where he lived, and they had five sons and one daughter, all of whom rose to important positions, and inherited in some degree his literary gifts. Among them were Joseph Davey Cunningham,

Alexander Cunningham Major General Sir Alexander Cunningham (23 January 1814 – 28 November 1893) was a British Army engineer with the Bengal Engineer Group who later took an interest in the history and archaeology of India. In 1861, he was appointed to the newl ...

, Peter Cunningham and Francis Cunningham.

References

External links

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Cunningham, Allan Scottish poets Scottish biographers Scottish journalists People from Dumfries and Galloway 1784 births 1842 deaths Burials at Kensal Green Cemetery Scottish song collectors Protestant Jacobites Scottish Jacobites Jacobite propagandists William Blake scholars Scottish folk-song collectors

Life

Works

Family

See also

References

External links