John Macallan Swan
Encyclopedia
John Macallan Swan was an English
painter
and sculptor
.
John Macallan Swan was born in Brentford
, Middlesex in 1847. He received his art training first in England at the Worcester and Lambeth schools of art and the Royal Academy
schools, and subsequently in Paris, in the studios of Jean-Léon Gérôme
and Emmanuel Frémiet
. He began to exhibit at the Academy in 1878, and was elected associate in 1894 and academician in 1905. He was appointed a member of the Dutch Water-Colour Society in 1885; and associate of the Royal Society of Painters in Water Colours in 1896 and full member in 1899.
A master of the oil
, water-colour and pastel mediums, an accomplished painter and a skilful draughtsman, he ranks also as a sculptor of distinguished ability. He has treated the human figure with notable power, but it is by his representations of the larger wild animals, mainly the felidae
, that he chiefly established his reputation; in this branch of practice he has scarcely a rival.
His picture "The Prodigal Son," bought for the Chantrey collection in 1889, is in the National Gallery of British Art
. He was awarded first class gold medals for painting and sculpture in the Paris Exhibition, 1900.
See "The Work of J. M. Swan," by AL Baldry, in The Studio, vol. xxii.; and Drawings of John M. Swan, R.A. (George Newnes, Ltd.).
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England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
painter
Painting
Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a surface . The application of the medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush but other objects can be used. In art, the term painting describes both the act and the result of the action. However, painting is...
and sculptor
Sculpture
Sculpture is three-dimensional artwork created by shaping or combining hard materials—typically stone such as marble—or metal, glass, or wood. Softer materials can also be used, such as clay, textiles, plastics, polymers and softer metals...
.
John Macallan Swan was born in Brentford
Brentford
Brentford is a suburban town in west London, England, and part of the London Borough of Hounslow. It is located at the confluence of the River Thames and the River Brent, west-southwest of Charing Cross. Its former ceremonial county was Middlesex.-Toponymy:...
, Middlesex in 1847. He received his art training first in England at the Worcester and Lambeth schools of art and the Royal Academy
Royal Academy
The Royal Academy of Arts is an art institution based in Burlington House on Piccadilly, London. The Royal Academy of Arts has a unique position in being an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects whose purpose is to promote the creation, enjoyment and...
schools, and subsequently in Paris, in the studios of Jean-Léon Gérôme
Jean-Léon Gérôme
Jean-Léon Gérôme was a French painter and sculptor in the style now known as Academicism. The range of his oeuvre included historical painting, Greek mythology, Orientalism, portraits and other subjects, bringing the Academic painting tradition to an artistic climax.-Life:Jean-Léon Gérôme was born...
and Emmanuel Frémiet
Emmanuel Frémiet
Emmanuel Frémiet was a French sculptor. He is famous for his sculpture of Joan of Arc in Paris and the monument to Ferdinand de Lesseps in Suez....
. He began to exhibit at the Academy in 1878, and was elected associate in 1894 and academician in 1905. He was appointed a member of the Dutch Water-Colour Society in 1885; and associate of the Royal Society of Painters in Water Colours in 1896 and full member in 1899.
A master of the oil
Oil painting
Oil painting is the process of painting with pigments that are bound with a medium of drying oil—especially in early modern Europe, linseed oil. Often an oil such as linseed was boiled with a resin such as pine resin or even frankincense; these were called 'varnishes' and were prized for their body...
, water-colour and pastel mediums, an accomplished painter and a skilful draughtsman, he ranks also as a sculptor of distinguished ability. He has treated the human figure with notable power, but it is by his representations of the larger wild animals, mainly the felidae
Felidae
Felidae is the biological family of the cats; a member of this family is called a felid. Felids are the strictest carnivores of the thirteen terrestrial families in the order Carnivora, although the three families of marine mammals comprising the superfamily pinnipedia are as carnivorous as the...
, that he chiefly established his reputation; in this branch of practice he has scarcely a rival.
His picture "The Prodigal Son," bought for the Chantrey collection in 1889, is in the National Gallery of British Art
National Gallery, London
The National Gallery is an art museum on Trafalgar Square, London, United Kingdom. Founded in 1824, it houses a collection of over 2,300 paintings dating from the mid-13th century to 1900. The gallery is an exempt charity, and a non-departmental public body of the Department for Culture, Media...
. He was awarded first class gold medals for painting and sculpture in the Paris Exhibition, 1900.
See "The Work of J. M. Swan," by AL Baldry, in The Studio, vol. xxii.; and Drawings of John M. Swan, R.A. (George Newnes, Ltd.).
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External links
- The Prodigal Son (TateTate BritainTate Britain is an art gallery situated on Millbank in London, and part of the Tate gallery network in Britain, with Tate Modern, Tate Liverpool and Tate St Ives. It is the oldest gallery in the network, opening in 1897. It houses a substantial collection of the works of J. M. W. Turner.-History:It...
collections) - Boy Piping to the Fishes
