John Syme RSA (17 January 1795 – 3 August 1861) was a Scottish

portrait painter Portrait painting is a Hierarchy of genres, genre in painting, where the intent is to represent a specific human subject. The term 'portrait painting' can also describe the actual painted portrait. Portraitists may create their work by commissio ...

Life

A nephew of Patrick Syme, 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 ...

to Alexander Syme and Catharine Johnston on 17 January 1795. He studied in the

Trustees' Academy The Trustees' Academy was an independent art and trade school in Edinburgh, Scotland, providing tertiary education in art and design. The Academy was founded in 1760, reduced in scope in 1892 by a schism, then became defunct in 1903. Initially ...

on Picardy Place. He became a pupil and assistant of

Sir Henry Raeburn Sir Henry Raeburn (; 4 March 1756 – 8 July 1823) was a Scottish portrait painter. He served as Portrait Painter to King George IV in Scotland. Biography Raeburn was born the son of a manufacturer in Stockbridge, on the Water of Leith: a for ...

, whose unfinished works he completed, and subsequently practised with success as a portrait-painter in Edinburgh. In the 1830s he is listed as living at 32 Abercromby Place in Edinburgh's Second New Town. Syme was an original member of the

Royal Scottish Academy The Royal Scottish Academy (RSA) is the country's national academy of art. It promotes contemporary art, contemporary Scottish art. The Academy was founded in 1826 by eleven artists meeting in Edinburgh. Originally named the Scottish Academy ...

, founded in 1826, and took an active part in its management. He died in Edinburgh on 3 August 1861.

Works

He painted many portraits. That of John Barclay M.D. was exhibited at the London

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 ...

in 1819, and went to the

Scottish National Gallery The National (formerly the Scottish National Gallery) is the national art gallery of Scotland. It is located on The Mound in central Edinburgh, close to Princes Street. The building was designed in a neoclassical style by William Henry Play ...

; it was engraved in

mezzotint Mezzotint is a monochrome printmaking process of the intaglio (printmaking), intaglio family. It was the first printing process that yielded half-tones without using line- or dot-based techniques like hatching, cross-hatching or stipple. Mezzo ...

by Thomas Hodgetts, as were also those of John Broster and Andrew McKean. Syme's self-portrait went to the Royal Scottish Academy. His portrait of the Solicitor General,

Lord Cockburn Henry Thomas Cockburn of Bonaly, Lord Cockburn ( ; 26 October 1779 in Cockpen, Midlothian – 26 April/18 July 1854 in Bonaly, Midlothian) was a Scottish lawyer, judge and literary figure. He served as Solicitor General for Scotland between 1 ...

, was deposited with the Academy as his diploma work.Normand, Tom (2013), ''Portfolio:Treasures from the Diploma Collection at the Royal Scottish Academy'', Luath Press Ltd., Edinburgh, pp. 20 & 21 A portrait of Alexander Henderson,

Lord Provost of Edinburgh The Right Honourable Lord Provost of Edinburgh is elected by and is the convener of the City of Edinburgh Council and serves not only as the chair of that body, but as a figurehead for the entire city, ex officio the Lord-Lieutenant of ...

1823-1825 hangs in the Merchant Hall in

References

* ;Attribution {{DEFAULTSORT:Syme, John 1795 births 1861 deaths Scottish portrait painters 19th-century Scottish painters Scottish male painters Alumni of the Edinburgh College of Art 19th-century Scottish male artists