John Baxter (c. 1737 – 14 July 1798) was a Scottish

architect An architect is a person who plans, designs and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

who was active in the second half of the eighteenth century. His father, also called John Baxter (d. 1770), was a master mason from Edinburgh, and sent Baxter and his brother Alexander to Italy in 1761 to study architecture. Baxter became known amongst the expatriate artistic community in Rome, and entered a number of architectural competitions during his time there; in March 1766 he was inducted into the

Academy of St Luke The Accademia di San Luca (the "Academy of Saint Luke") is an Italian academy of artists in Rome. The establishment of the Accademia de i Pittori e Scultori di Roma was approved by papal brief in 1577, and in 1593 Federico Zuccari became its fir ...

as an honorary member. Baxter and his father were both protégés of Sir John Clerk, and while in Rome he became acquainted with

Alexander Runciman Alexander Runciman (15 August 1736 – 4 October 1785) was a Scottish people, Scottish painter of historical and mythological subjects. He was the elder brother of John Runciman, also a painter. Life He was born in Edinburgh, and studied at ...

, another friend of Clerk's; a painting of 1767, currently in the

Vatican Vatican may refer to: Vatican City, the city-state ruled by the pope in Rome, including St. Peter's Basilica, Sistine Chapel, Vatican Museum The Holy See * The Holy See, the governing body of the Catholic Church and sovereign entity recognized ...

's collection, depicts the two Baxter brothers with Runciman, alongside another artist (thought to be

Henry Fuseli Henry Fuseli ( ; German: Johann Heinrich Füssli ; 7 February 1741 – 17 April 1825) was a Swiss painter, draughtsman and writer on art who spent much of his life in Britain. Many of his works, such as '' The Nightmare'', deal with supernatu ...

). Upon returning to Scotland, Baxter took over his father's business, working both as an architect and a building contractor. He worked for the

Duke of Gordon The title Duke of Gordon has been created once in the Peerage of Scotland and again in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. The Dukedom, named after the Clan Gordon, was first created for the 4th Marquess of Huntly, who on 3 November 1684 was ...

in his creation of the planned town of

Fochabers Fochabers (; gd, Fachabair or Fothabair) is a village in the Parish of Bellie, in Moray, Scotland, east of the cathedral city of Elgin and located on the east bank of the River Spey. 1,728 people live in the village, which enjoys a rich musi ...

, including the design for

Bellie Kirk Bellie Kirk is a Georgian church of neoclassical design in Fochabers, Scotland, built in 1798 for the 4th Duke of Gordon. It has been in continuous use as a place of worship within the Church of Scotland, and is designated as a Category A liste ...

, made improvements to

Cullen House Cullen House is a large house, about south-west of the coastal town of Cullen in Moray, Scotland. It was the seat of the Ogilvies of Findlater, who went on to become the Earls of Findlater and Seafield, and it remained in their family un ...

for the

Earl of Findlater Earl of Seafield is a title in the Peerage of Scotland. It was created in 1701 for James Ogilvy, who in 1711 succeeded his father as 4th Earl of Findlater. The earldoms of Findlater and Seafield continued to be united until 1811, when the earl ...

, and also speculated in housebuilding in

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

, where he died in 1798.

References

{{Reflist 18th-century Scottish architects 1798 deaths Year of birth uncertain