Edwin John Alexander RSA RSW RWS (1870–1926) was a Scottish artist known for his pictures of animals and birds.

Life

He was born in

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 ...

in February 1870 the eldest son of the artist Robert Alexander and his wife. In 1887 and 1888 he accompanied his father on a trip to

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 ...

with Joseph Crawhall III and Pollock Nisbet. On his return to Britain he studied art formally in the RSA school (the Royal Institution in Edinburgh) and then under Emmanuel Fremiet in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

but did not receive any formal qualifications. In 1892 he returned to North Africa and settled on the

Nile The Nile (also known as the Nile River or River Nile) is a major north-flowing river in northeastern Africa. It flows into the Mediterranean Sea. The Nile is the longest river in Africa. It has historically been considered the List of river sy ...

, living on a houseboat on the river for 4 years. He learned

Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...

and began painting desert life in

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

. He died in

Musselburgh Musselburgh (; ; ) is the largest settlement in East Lothian, Scotland, on the coast of the Firth of Forth, east of Edinburgh city centre. It had a population of as of . History The name Musselburgh is Old English language, Old English in ...

in April 1926. He his buried in

Inveresk Inveresk (Gaelic: ''Inbhir Easg'') is a village in East Lothian, Scotland situated to the south of Musselburgh. It has been designated a conservation area since 1969. It is situated on slightly elevated ground on the north bank of a loop ...

Cemetery in the northern section, on a wall backing onto the original churchyard to the south (east of the large red granite monument to John Brunton).

Family

He married in 1904. He was brother-in-law to the artists

Alexander Ignatius Roche Alexander Ignatius Roche (17 August 1861 – 10 March 1921) RSA NEAC RP was a Scottish artist in the late 19th century and an important figure in the "Glasgow Boys". Life He was born in the Gallowgate in Glasgow, the son of a milliner, Alexand ...

and to William Walls.

Known works

*''The Wate'' *''Peacock'' (1899) *''Blue Tit''

References

1870 births 1926 deaths Artists from Edinburgh Scottish artists {{Scotland-artist-stub