Alexander Wilson (July 6, 1766 - August 23, 1813) was a Scottish-American poet, ornithologist, naturalist, and illustrator. Wilson was born in Paisley, Scotland, the son of an illiterate distiller. In 1779 he was apprenticed as a weaver. His main interest at this time was in writing poetry (Robert Burns was seven years older than Wilson). Some of Wilson's work - commenting on the unfair treatment of the weavers by their employers - got him into trouble with the authorities. The "golden age of Renfrewshire song" is embodied in the persons of Wilson and Robert Tannahill. Alexander Wilson was born near the Hammils, a broad if not steep waterfall in Paisley where the River Cart skirts Seedhill. It does indeed appear to be the case, as William Motherwell states, that a great amount of literary activity began in Paisley around this time. Illustration from "An American ornithologyIn May 1794 Wilson left Scotland with his nephew to find a better life in America. Wilson obtained employment as a schoolteacher in Milestown, near Philadelphia. In 1801 he left Milestown and found a new teaching post in Gray's Ferry, Pennsylvania; Wilson took up residence in nearby Kingsessing. It was here that he met the famous naturalist William Bartram who developed Wilson's interest in ornithology. In 1802 Wilson decided to publish a book illustrating all the North American birds. With this in mind he traveled widely, watching and painting birds and collecting subscribers for his book. The result was the nine-volume American Ornithology (1808-1814), illustrating 268 species of birds, 26 of which had not previously been described. He died during the writing of the ninth volume, which was completed and published after his death by his friend George Ord. Wilson lies buried next to Ord at Gloria Dei Church cemetery in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.  Related Paintings of Alexander Wilson :. | Eclipse with Race Track | Portrait of Sir Robert Walpole | Paul Helleu1 | the shepherds, worship | The Adoration of the Shepherds sf |
Related Artists:
Lucas Cranach
Kronach 1472-Weimar 1553 German painter and engraver. The son of a painter, he settled in Wittenberg c.1504 and was court painter successively under three electors of Saxony. There he maintained a flourishing workshop and was twice burgomaster. Cranach was a close friend of Martin Luther, whose doctrine he upheld in numerous paintings and woodcuts, and he has been called the painter of the Reformation. He was a rapid and prolific painter, and the work turned out by his studio is uneven in quality. Naïve and fanciful, often awkward in draftsmanship, it has, nonetheless, freshness and originality and a warm, rich palette. His portraits are particularly successful. Among his best-known works are Repose in Egypt (Gemäldgalerie, Staatliche Mus., Berlin-Dahlem); Judgment of Paris (Staatliche Kunsthalle, Karlsruhe); Adam and Eve (Courtauld Inst., London); and Crucifixion (Weimar). The latter contains figures of Luther and Cranach. His many famous protraits include those of Elector John Frederick and Self-Portrait (Uffizi). Cranach was also an accomplished miniaturist. He produced a few copperplates and designs for woodcuts. His son and pupil Lucas Cranach, the Younger,
Benjamin Samuel Bolomey
painted Portrait of Wilhelmina of Prussia (1751-1820), Princess of Orange in 18th century
William Frederick Wells
A landscape painter in watercolor, Wells was the true founder of the Society of Painters in Watercolors in 1804 and its president in 1806-07. He studied under J. J. Barralet and exhibited at the Royal Academy from 1795 to 1804 and at the Watercolor Society to 1813, when he resigned.