John Thomas Seton (c. 1738–1806), also spelled Thomas Seaton, was a Scottish painter.

Life

Seton was the son of Christopher Seton, a gem engraver of

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 ...

. He was a pupil of

Francis Hayman Francis Hayman (1708 – 2 February 1776) was an English painter and illustrator who became one of the founding members of the Royal Academy in 1768, and later its first librarian. Life and works Born in Exeter, Devon, Hayman begun his arti ...

, and studied at the St Martin's Lane Academy. He went on the Grand Tour to

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

, where he was in

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

in 1758/9 where he lived on the Strada della Croce and was involved in the expatriate artist community. He assisted in winding up the affairs of the young painter Jonathan Skelton who died while there. He was a more rounded artist on his return to

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...

, and was exhibiting in 1761 at the Society of Artists and receiving commission for portraits and conversation pieces from a fairly exalted clientele. Within a few years, he had settled 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 ...

, and his portraits of

Scottish Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English *Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...

high-society are amongst the more memorable of his age. He spent a decade in

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

(1776–1785) where he had a good portrait practice, but returned to Scotland where he was last recorded in Edinburgh in 1806. His work frequently appears at the auctions of both

Sotheby's Sotheby's ( ) is a British-founded multinational corporation with headquarters in New York City. It is one of the world's largest brokers of fine art, fine and decorative art, jewellery, and collectibles. It has 80 locations in 40 countries, an ...

and

Christie's Christie's is a British auction house founded in 1766 by James Christie (auctioneer), James Christie. Its main premises are on King Street, St James's in London, and it has additional salerooms in New York, Paris, Hong Kong, Milan, Geneva, Shan ...

. In April 2008, the British

Department for Culture, Media and Sport The Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) is a Departments of the Government of the United Kingdom, ministerial department of the Government of the United Kingdom. It holds the responsibility for Culture of the United Kingdom, culture a ...

placed a temporary export bar on ‘a rare likeness of

Alexander Dalrymple Alexander Dalrymple (24 July 1737 – 19 June 1808) was a Scottish geographer, hydrographer, and publisher. He spent the greater part of his career with the British East India Company, starting as a writer in Madras at the age of 16. He s ...

', by John Thomas Seton. Dalrymple was the first

Hydrographer Hydrography is the branch of applied sciences which deals with the measurement and description of the physical features of oceans, seas, coastal areas, lakes and rivers, as well as with the prediction of their change over time, for the primary ...

to the Admiralty, who ‘through his pioneering work on nautical charts, is a pivotal figure in the development of the global maritime industry as well as of the

British Empire The British Empire comprised the dominions, Crown colony, colonies, protectorates, League of Nations mandate, mandates, and other Dependent territory, territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It bega ...

’. An attempt was made to raise funds to purchase the portrait at the recommended price of £137,500 and it was subsequently acquired by the

National Museum of Scotland The National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh, Scotland, is a museum of Scottish history and culture. It was formed in 2006 with the merger of the new Museum of Scotland, with collections relating to Scottish antiquities, culture and history, ...

where the portrait is currently on display.

Gallery

File:John Thomas Seton - William Fullerton of Carstairs (1720 - 1806), and Captain Ninian Lowis (died 1790) - NG 1837 - National Galleries of Scotland.jpg, ''William Fullerton of Carstairs and Captain Ninian Lowis),'' 1773 File:John Thomas Seton - Portrait of Nana Fadnavis.Jpeg, ''Portrait of Nana Fadnavis,'' 1778 File:John Thomas Seton (c.1735-1806) - Katherine Paterson (c.1683–1780), Mrs John Walkinshaw of Barrowfield and Camlachie (called Lady Barr - NG 1840 - National Galleries of Scotland.jpg, ''Katherine Paterson'', 1776 File:John Thomas Seton - Mrs Smith (born c 1690) - NG 1841 - National Galleries of Scotland.jpg, ''Mrs Smith,'' 1776 File:John Thomas Seton - Sir Hugh Paterson, 1686 - 1777. Jacobite - PG 634 - National Galleries of Scotland.jpg, ''Sir Hugh Paterson,'' 1776

References

* ''Concise Dictionary of Scottish Painters'', Paul Harris Publishing 1976

External links

*
Portrait of Alexander Dalrymple

{{DEFAULTSORT:Seton, Thomas 18th-century Scottish painters 18th-century Scottish male artists Scottish male painters 19th-century Scottish painters 1730s births 1806 deaths 19th-century Scottish male artists