Alexander Mann (22 January 1853 – 26 January 1908) was a Scottish landscape and genre painter. He was a member of

New English Art Club The New English Art Club (NEAC) is a society for contemporary artists that was founded in London, England, in 1886 as an alternative venue to the Royal Academy. The NEAC holds an annual exhibition of paintings and drawings at the Mall Galleries ...

and

Royal Institute of Oil Painters The Royal Institute of Oil Painters, also known as ROI, is an association of painters in London, England, and is the only major art society which features work done only in oil. It is a member society of the Federation of British Artists. Histor ...

Biography

Alexander Mann was born in

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

on 22 January 1853. He died in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

on 26 January 1908. He is buried in

Blewbury Blewbury is a village and civil parish at the foot of the Berkshire Downs section of the North Wessex Downs about south of Didcot, south of Oxford and west of London. It was part of Berkshire until the 1974 boundary changes transferred it t ...

Church,

Oxfordshire Oxfordshire ( ; abbreviated ''Oxon'') is a ceremonial county in South East England. The county is bordered by Northamptonshire and Warwickshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the east, Berkshire to the south, and Wiltshire and Glouceste ...

. The second son of James Mann, merchant and collector, he took drawing lessons from the age of ten with Robert Greenlees (1820–1894) and then attended evening classes at the

Glasgow School of Art The Glasgow School of Art (GSA; ) is a higher education art school based in Glasgow, Scotland, offering undergraduate degrees, post-graduate awards (both taught and research-led), and PhDs in architecture, fine art, and design. These are all awa ...

, where Greenlees was headmaster. In 1877 he went to Paris and enrolled at the

Académie Julian The () was a private art school for painting and sculpture founded in Paris, France, in 1867 by French painter and teacher Rodolphe Julian (1839–1907). The school was active from 1868 through 1968. It remained famous for the number and qual ...

, and then studied under

Mihály Munkácsy Mihály Munkácsy (20 February 1844 – 1 May 1900) was a Hungarian painter. He earned international reputation with his genre pictures and large-scale biblical paintings. Early years Munkácsy was born as ''Mihály Leó Lieb'' () to Mi ...

and from 1881 to 1885 under

Carolus-Duran Charles Auguste Émile Durand, known as Carolus-Duran (4 July 1837 – 17 February 1917), was a French painter and art instructor. He is noted for his stylish depictions of members of Upper class, high society in French Third Republic, Third Rep ...

. From 1883 to 1893 Mann exhibited in London at the

Royal Academy The Royal Academy of Arts (RA) is an art institution based in Burlington House in Piccadilly London, England. Founded in 1768, it has a unique position as an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects. Its ...

, Fine Art Society, New Gallery, Ridley Art Club,

and

Society of British Artists The Royal Society of British Artists (RBA) is a British art body established in 1823 as the Society of British Artists, as an alternative to the Royal Academy. History The RBA commenced with twenty-seven members, and took until 1876 to reach fi ...

, a society that appointed

James McNeill Whistler James Abbott McNeill Whistler (; July 10, 1834July 17, 1903) was an American painter in oils and watercolor, and printmaker, active during the American Gilded Age and based primarily in the United Kingdom. He eschewed sentimentality and moral a ...

its president in 1886. At the same year he was invited to become the first Scottish member of the

and was joined by several of his friends, notably

John Lavery Sir John Lavery (20 March 1856 – 10 January 1941) was an Irish painter best known for his portraits and wartime depictions. Life and career John Lavery was born in inner North Belfast, on 20 March 1856 and baptised at St Patrick's Church ...

Thomas Millie Dow Thomas Millie Dow (28 October 1848 – 3 July 1919) was a Scottish artist and member of the Glasgow Boys school. He was a member of The Royal Scottish Society of Painters in Watercolour and the New English Art Club. Early life and educatio ...

of the

Glasgow Boys The Glasgow School was a circle of influential artists and designers that began to coalesce in Glasgow, Scotland in the 1870s, and flourished from the 1890s to around 1910. Representative groups included The Four (also known as the Spook Schoo ...

and Norman Garstin. Influenced by the Hague school and by

Jules Bastien-Lepage Jules Bastien-Lepage (1 November 1848 – 10 December 1884) was a French painter closely associated with the beginning of naturalism, an artistic style that grew out of the Realist movement and paved the way for the development of impressioni ...

, his picture ''A Bead Stringer, Venice'' gained an honourable mention at the Salon in 1885. After a public controversy over this painting when it was exhibited at the Royal Glasgow Institute, Mann settled in England, at West Hagbourne,

Berkshire Berkshire ( ; abbreviated ), officially the Royal County of Berkshire, is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Oxfordshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the north-east, Greater London ...

, and later in the neighbouring village of

, where he painted a series of views of the Downs and portraits of country people. Mann travelled extensively in Britain, paying several visits to the coast in

Angus Angus may refer to: *Angus, Scotland, a council area of Scotland, and formerly a province, sheriffdom, county and district of Scotland * Angus, Canada, a community in Essa, Ontario Animals * Angus cattle, various breeds of beef cattle Media * ...

and

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 ...

, and to

Walberswick Walberswick is a village and civil parish on the Suffolk coast in England. It is at the mouth of the River Blyth on the south side of the river. The town of Southwold lies to the north of the river and is the nearest town to Walberswick, aroun ...

Suffolk Suffolk ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and East Anglia. It is bordered by Norfolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Essex to the south, and Cambridgeshire to the west. Ipswich is the largest settlement and the county ...

. His travels also covered Europe and the Americas. A visit to

Venice Venice ( ; ; , formerly ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 islands that are separated by expanses of open water and by canals; portions of the city are li ...

in 1884 was Mann's first artistic venture beyond Britain and the immediate environs of Paris; this was followed by a voyage to the

Caribbean The Caribbean ( , ; ; ; ) is a region in the middle of the Americas centered around the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, mostly overlapping with the West Indies. Bordered by North America to the north, Central America ...

and the Southern States of America, perhaps inspired by American artist friend in Paris. From 1890 to 1892 he lived with his family in

Tangiers Tangier ( ; , , ) is a city in northwestern Morocco, on the coasts of the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. The city is the capital of the Tanger-Tetouan-Al Hoceima region, as well as the Tangier-Assilah Prefecture of Morocco. Many c ...

. Later he travelled to

Madrid Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...

through Southern

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

in 1892 accompanied by

, another alumnus of the

. He recorded his visits and ideas for studio compositions in sketchbooks, using photography as well to assist his memory of a subject. In 1895 Mann's work was exhibited in London at the Barbican and in

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

at the

Hugh Lane Municipal Gallery The Hugh Lane Gallery, and originally the Municipal Gallery of Modern Art, is an art museum operated by Dublin City Council and its wholly-owned company, the Hugh Lane Gallery Trust. It is in Charlemont House (built 1763) on Parnell Square, Dub ...

of Modern Art. But he preferred to "live away from the haunts of other artists" because the relative prosperity which he owed to his family made it unnecessary to pay much attention to exhibition institutions, patrons and dealers. In 1893 he was elected a member of the

. Today he is regarded as one of the

, although he was never an active member.

Artistic style

Mann owed his drawing skills to Rodolphe Julien who regarded the study of the live model as indispensable to those who desired skilled draughtsmanship. However, his painterly techniques was required from

although the apprenticeship with him didn't last long due to some incompatibility of temperament. Through Carolus Duran, Mann learned the importance of tonal values for the purpose of self-expression, which had been shown in some of his early figure paintings, such as ''Artificial Flower Workers'' and ''The Tapestry Workers''. Mann preferred the arcadia of the countryside. He painted gleaners, faggot gatherers, hop pickers and sheepfolds. Mann was also greatly attracted by the stillness of the deserted slow-moving waterways of rural England; the Alde and the Dorset Avon, beloved by many Scottish artists of the period. Another recurring subject is that of the children whether playing on the beach or asleep in the sun. His travelling led to paintings of Orientalist subjects such as some Arabian portraits or

Tangier Tangier ( ; , , ) is a city in northwestern Morocco, on the coasts of the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. The city is the capital city, capital of the Tanger-Tetouan-Al Hoceima region, as well as the Tangier-Assilah Prefecture of Moroc ...

beach scenes. From his early training in

, his early works followed the traditional Victorian landscape style, evoking a sense of prosaic naturalism and romanticism. Typical works include
By the Findhorn, Morayshire
' and Sheepfold. Later, he moved to a much lighter palette. However his handling continued to be restrained, and for all the brilliant of his color, a respect of Corot-esque tonality was retained. Typical works include Tangiers scenes and some haystacks studies.

References

*N. Garstin, ''Obituary'', Studio, vol. 46 (1909), pp. 300–5; * James Caw, ''Scottish Painting Past and Present, 1620-1908'' (Edinburgh, 1908), pp. 384–5; (reprint) *E. Bénézit, ''Dictionnaire des Peintres Sculpteurs Dessinateurs et Graveurs'', 8 vols. (Librairie Gründ, 1956–61); *J. Johnson and A. Gruetzner,'' Dictionary of British Artists 1880-1940'' (Woodbridge, 1880); *Christopher Newall, ''Alexander Mann, 1853-1908'' (London: Fine Art Society, 1983); *Martin Hopkinson, ''Alexander Mann: Sketches and Correspondence with his Wife and Family'' (London: Fine Art Society, 1985); *Helen Pickthorn, ''Alexander Mann'', The Grove Dictionary of Art Online, ed. L. Macy (Accessed 1 December 2003) *Kenneth McConkey, ''Impressionism in Britain'' (Yale University Press 1995) *Roger Billcliffe, ''The Glasgow Boys: The Glasgow School of Painting 1875-1895'', (John Murray 2002),

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Mann, Alexander 19th-century Scottish painters Scottish male painters 20th-century Scottish painters British genre painters Académie Julian alumni Scottish landscape painters Scottish portrait painters British Impressionist painters Painters from Glasgow People from West Hagbourne 1853 births 1908 deaths Glasgow School Alumni of the Glasgow School of Art 19th-century Scottish male artists 20th-century Scottish male artists