Charles Heath Wilson (September 1809 – 3 July 1882) was an Anglo-Scottish art teacher and author.

Life

The eldest son of Andrew Wilson, the landscape-painter, he was born 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 ...

in September 1809. He studied art under his father, and in 1826 accompanied him to Italy. After seven years, Wilson returned to

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 ...

, where he practised as an architect, and was for some time teacher of ornament and design in the school of art. In 1835, he was elected Associate of the Royal Scottish Academy, resigning in 1858. In 1840, he visited the continent to make a report to government on

fresco painting Fresco ( or frescoes) is a technique of mural painting executed upon freshly laid ("wet") lime plaster. Water is used as the vehicle for the dry-powder pigment to merge with the plaster, and with the setting of the plaster, the painting becomes ...

. When

William Dyce William Dyce (; 19 September 1806 in Aberdeen14 February 1864) was a Scottish painter, who played a part in the formation of public art education in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom, and the South Kensington Schoo ...

, director and secretary of the recently established schools of art at

Somerset House Somerset House is a large neoclassical architecture, neoclassical building complex situated on the south side of the Strand, London, Strand in central London, overlooking the River Thames, just east of Waterloo Bridge. The Georgian era quadran ...

, resigned in 1843, Wilson, who had been director of the Edinburgh school, was appointed his successor. His position there was not much more comfortable than Dyce's had been, and in 1848 he also resigned. In 1849, Wilson became headmaster of the new

Glasgow School of Design 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 ...

. In 1864, the Board of Trade masterships were suppressed and Wilson was pensioned, but continued to live in Glasgow for some years longer, doing architectural work. In 1869, Wilson and his family left

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 ...

and settled at

Florence Florence ( ; ) is the capital city of the Italy, Italian region of Tuscany. It is also the most populated city in Tuscany, with 362,353 inhabitants, and 989,460 in Metropolitan City of Florence, its metropolitan province as of 2025. Florence ...

, where he was involved with a large literary and artistic circle. For services to art, the cross of the '' Corona d'Italia'' was conferred upon him by

Victor Emmanuel II of Italy Victor Emmanuel II (; full name: ''Vittorio Emanuele Maria Alberto Eugenio Ferdinando Tommaso di House of Savoy, Savoia''; 14 March 1820 – 9 January 1878) was King of Sardinia (also informally known as Piedmont–Sardinia) from 23 March 1849 u ...

. He died in

on 3 July 1882.

Works

His pictorial work was principally landscape in watercolour. He also etched a number of book illustrations, including for Paolo Pifferi's ''Viaggio Antiquario'' (Roma, 1832), and

James Wilson James Wilson may refer to: Politicians and government officials Canada * James Wilson (Upper Canada politician) (1770–1847), English-born farmer and political figure in Upper Canada * James Crocket Wilson (1841–1899), Canadian MP from Queb ...

's ''Voyage round the Coasts of Scotland'' (Edinburgh, 1842). While in Edinburgh Wilson wrote with William Dyce, a pamphlet addressed to Lord Meadowbank, ''The Best Means of ameliorating the Arts and Manufactures of Scotland''. In Glasgow he was occupied for nearly 10 years under the Board of Trade in superintending the filling of the windows of

Glasgow Cathedral Glasgow Cathedral () is a parish church of the Church of Scotland in Glasgow, Scotland. It was the cathedral church of the Archbishop of Glasgow, and the mother church of the Archdiocese of Glasgow and the province of Glasgow, from the 12th ...

with Munich pictures in coloured glass. He selected the subjects and wrote a description of the work, which went through numerous editions. Wilson was interested in Italian art, on which he wrote, and particularly in

Michelangelo Buonarroti Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni (6March 147518February 1564), known mononymously as Michelangelo, was an Italian sculptor, painter, architect, and poet of the High Renaissance. Born in the Republic of Florence, his work was inspi ...

, on whom he published a biography (London and Florence, 1876; 2nd edit. London, 1881). It began as a compilation from Aurelio Gotti, and developed into an independent work of criticism.

Family

Wilson was twice married: first, on 3 October 1838, in Edinburgh, to Louisa Orr, daughter of Surgeon John Orr, E.I.C., with issue one son and two daughters; and, secondly, on 16 August 1848, also in Edinburgh, to Johanna Catherine, daughter of

William John Thomson William John Thomson (3 October 1771 – 24 March 1845) was an American-born painter of silhouettes, portraits and miniatures who was active in Great Britain. Early life Thomson was born in Savannah, Chatham County, Georgia, on 3 October 1771 ...

the portrait-painter, issue a son and a daughter.

Notes

;Attribution {{DEFAULTSORT:Wilson, Charles Heath 1809 births 1882 deaths 19th-century Scottish painters Scottish male painters Scottish watercolourists Scottish biographers Scottish expatriates in Italy Academics of the Glasgow School of Art 19th-century Scottish male artists