William Simpson (artist)
Encyclopedia
William Simpson was a Scottish
artist
, war artist and correspondent
.
Born into poverty in Glasgow on 28 October 1823, Simpson went on to become one of the leading 'special artists' of his day, and sketched many scenes of war for the Illustrated London News
. His early years were very difficult living in a house with an abusive and alcoholic father, and in 1834 he was sent to live with his grandmother in Perth. Simpson's only formal schooling took place during this period and within a few years, he was working as an apprentice in the Glasgow lithographic firm of Macfarlane. The artist stated later that "this was the turning point which changed all my boyish intentions." It was during the years in Glasgow that he attended the Andersonian University and the Mechanics Institute in the evenings. His next position was to create an image of the Alma based on various accounts so that it could be lithographed by another London publisher, Lloyd's. He also put sketches sent from the Baltic onto stone for the firm of Colnaghi. In anticipation of the fall of Sebastopol
, Lloyd's had him prepare an image of the fall of the town so that it could be published immediately upon news of its actual capture. This presented a challenge to Simpson as he had little information about Sebastopol. He occasionally spoke with Mr. Day of Day and Son about the need to have sketches drawn at the front. Shortly thereafter, Colnaghi's contacted Simpson and invited him to go out to the Crimea and make sketches for the company.
Simpson arrived off the Crimean peninsular on 15 November and could hear distant firing. While he had missed the early battles, he was able to record the events before Sebastopol
. He made numerous acquantances who helped him with details for his pictures, but he was also struck by the plight of the common soldiers, "miserable looking beings...covered with mud, dirt, and rags," he wrote. He hobnobbed with many officers including Lord Raglan and Captain Peel; he also met Roger Fenton
who took his photograph. In May 1855, Simpson accompanied Raglan on the expedition to Kertch which was captured on the 24th, but was back in time to observe the first attack on Sebastopol
in June. On the night of the 17th, he crawled out of a trench to view the attack. He wrote, "It was a wild orchestra of sound, never to be forgotten." He was still at the front when the city finally surrendered, and he quit the Crimea in the autumn of 1855.
Throughout his time at the front, he would send back his water-colors to London where the lithographers of Day & Son would transfer them to stone. Simpson was paid 20 pounds for each picture. For the color, a separate stone was used for each tone. Colnaghis exhibited some of the water-colors including a show at the Graphic Society in February 1855. The first advertisements for the lithographs appeared in May 1855 and in the following month, a second series was announced. In all, the Colnaghi's produced two large portfolios containing over eighty lightographs entitled The Seat of the War in the East. Two thousand copies of the complete set were produced. Simpson dedicated the series to Queen Victoria whose patronage he enjoyed for the rest of his life, and he was a frequent visitor to Windsor Castle
and Balmoral
. So popular were his pictures that he became affectionately known at 'Crimean Simpson'. There was a plan for the water-colors to be purchased for the nation but this came to nothing and they were sold-off by the Colnaghi's.
. The idea was to produce an illustrated publication similar to the Crimean portfolio, and Simpson had discussed the possibility with Mr. Day. The artist arrived at Calcutta on 29 October 1859, and traveled in Punjab
, Sutlej
, Bengal
, Lucknow
and Cawnpore, central India, the Himalayas
, Kashmir
and Madras.In February, 1862, he left Bombay and arrived in London only to find that Day and Son could not afford to produce a portfolio. Nevertheless, a large volume of colored lithographs was published under the title India Ancient and Modern.
He was commissioned by Day & Son to visit these parts of India and record the places affected by the momentous events of the 'Mutiny' of 1857. Before leaving, he spent 'a considerable time in the library of the India House, then in Leadenhall Street, looking over books about India, such as Daniels', to see what had been already done, and to get hints as to places I ought to visit'. The set of lithographs produced, based on his watercolours, was intended to rival David Roberts' Holy Land in scope. However, the project never came to fruition. This was caused by the financial collapse of Day & Son, due to the rise of wood engraving. By 1866, Simpson had delivered 250 watercolours to Day & Son and these were subsequently sold off as bankrupt stock. Only 50 had been prepared as chromolithographs, and were published in 1867 as India ancient and modern. A series of illustrations of the country and people of India and adjacent territories.
For Simpson this was little consolation: ' So the great work on India, on which I had bestowed so much time and labour, never came into existence...'
In 1866, Simpson was contacted by the Illustrated London News to do some sketches of the Prince of Wales on a visit to the Duke of Sutherland at Dunrobin Castle
. Afterwards, the paper asked him to go to St. Petersburg and cover the Prince of Wales's attendance at the marriage of the Czarevich, afterward Emperor Alexander III
. Two years later, Simpson was out in Abyssinia
covering the campaign
that had broken out. Initially, the paper used sketches supplied by one of the soldiers on campaign, Colonel Baigrie, but as his pictures were most landscapes, the paper felt that Simpson could add more life to the accounts of the war. The artist arrived at Suez
on 18 June 1868, but by the time he neared the front, news came that Magdala
had fallen to the Anglo-Indian force. Nonetheless, he was able to observe the retreat of the Abyssinian army, and the remains of the royal quarters of Emperor Theodore
at Magdala. He arrived back at Dover on 2 July 1868 and the Illustrated London News
published a special folio volume on the Abyssinian Campaign
containing many of Simpson's and Baigrie's drawings.
. On 25 July 1870, Simpson headed for the front by going from Nancy to Metz
. In Metz
, several journalists had already been arrested on suspicion of spying, and Simpson had to be very careful while making his sketches. He had to be creative in getting his sketches to London, and began using cigarette papers. As he said: "One could do a great deal on a book of that kind, and in the event of being apprehended, could make a cigarette of the sketch and smoke it before the eyes of one's accusers. In early August, he observed the arrival of the wounded after the battle of Forbach. Later while sketching a coach, he was surrounded by soldier and arrested on suspicion of being a spy but he finally convinced the French authorities that he was a 'special artist'. At the police station, his sketches were carefully examined, and he was finally released. Upon news of the surrender at Sedan, Simpson traveled to sketch the battlefield from the windows of a nearby chateau. In November 1870, he returned to London but was back in France in April 1871 to observe the events around Paris, where he was once again suspected of spying but was allowed to go free. On 27 April he visited Paris and spent four weeks there, sketching the fortifications and the events of the Commune
. He was safely back in London by 11 June 1871.
Two years later, during a trip around the world, he stopped off in California and traveled to the Lava Beds area to report on the Modoc War
in 1873. In 1874 he was elected an Associate of the (soon to be Royal) Institute of Painters in Water Colours
. In 1875, he accompanied the Prince of Wales to India, and in 1877, visited Athens
, Mycenae
and Troy
.
and Peshawar
, he passed through the Khyber Pass
and witnessed the 'first shot' fired at Ali Masjid
. He became friendly with Sir Louis Cavagnari
and the latter encouraged Simpson with his explorations of ancient Buddhist stupas in and around the Jalalabad
Valley. While the Peshawar Valley Field Force was encamped at Jalalabad
and later Gandamak
, Simpson was allowed to have some soldiers to help him excavate Ahin Posh Tope and several other sites. On one occasion, he was shot at by an Afghan but the bullet just missed. At Gandamak
, he met the photographer John Burke and his counterpart at The Graphic
, Frederic Villiers
, and after the departure of Archibald Forbes
, Simpson took over the task of supplying the Daily News
with accounts of the campaign. In May 1879, he observed the signing of a peace treaty at Gandamak
which ended the war for the time being. When it was decided to send a mission to Kabul
, Simpson applied to go but was turned down. His primary interest in accompanying the mission was to visit the giant Buddha
s at Bamyan, but had he gone to Kabul, he probably would have been killed liked the rest of the mission. It was this event which precipitated the second part of the war including the disaster at Maiwand
. Simpson returned to London in the summer of 1879. Upon his arrival, he visited the offices of the Illustrated London News
on the Strand
and collected all his sketches and water-colors which he proceeded to mount in two large albums. He also presented several papers to various learned societies on such aspects as Buddhist prayer wheels, sculptured topes and ancient remains in the Jalalabad
Valley. In the same year he was elected a full member of the Institute of Painters in Water Colours
.
Throughout the following decade, Simpson continued his travels on behalf of his newspaper covering such events as royal weddings and coronations. In 1890, he observed the opening of the Forth Bridge and caught a chill which was to have detrimental effects on his health.
, North London, on 17 August 1899, and was buried in Highgate Cemetery
. Besides his war pictures, he covered state events, coronations, funerals, and other ceremonies. He was particularly interested in India and sketched scenes of the Kashmir
Maharajas. He was a noted ethnographer and antiquarian, and wrote extensively on ancient religions, customs, and ancient artifacts. It is said that the Queen intervened to prevent him from going out to Italy in 1859 to cover the Austro-Sardinian War, for fear that he would get killed.
Scottish people
The Scottish people , or Scots, are a nation and ethnic group native to Scotland. Historically they emerged from an amalgamation of the Picts and Gaels, incorporating neighbouring Britons to the south as well as invading Germanic peoples such as the Anglo-Saxons and the Norse.In modern use,...
artist
Artist
An artist is a person engaged in one or more of any of a broad spectrum of activities related to creating art, practicing the arts and/or demonstrating an art. The common usage in both everyday speech and academic discourse is a practitioner in the visual arts only...
, war artist and correspondent
War correspondent
A war correspondent is a journalist who covers stories firsthand from a war zone. In the 19th century they were also called Special Correspondents.-Methods:...
.
Early years
Illustrated London News
The Illustrated London News was the world's first illustrated weekly newspaper; the first issue appeared on Saturday 14 May 1842. It was published weekly until 1971 and then increasingly less frequently until publication ceased in 2003.-History:...
. His early years were very difficult living in a house with an abusive and alcoholic father, and in 1834 he was sent to live with his grandmother in Perth. Simpson's only formal schooling took place during this period and within a few years, he was working as an apprentice in the Glasgow lithographic firm of Macfarlane. The artist stated later that "this was the turning point which changed all my boyish intentions." It was during the years in Glasgow that he attended the Andersonian University and the Mechanics Institute in the evenings. His next position was to create an image of the Alma based on various accounts so that it could be lithographed by another London publisher, Lloyd's. He also put sketches sent from the Baltic onto stone for the firm of Colnaghi. In anticipation of the fall of Sebastopol
Sevastopol
Sevastopol is a city on rights of administrative division of Ukraine, located on the Black Sea coast of the Crimea peninsula. It has a population of 342,451 . Sevastopol is the second largest port in Ukraine, after the Port of Odessa....
, Lloyd's had him prepare an image of the fall of the town so that it could be published immediately upon news of its actual capture. This presented a challenge to Simpson as he had little information about Sebastopol. He occasionally spoke with Mr. Day of Day and Son about the need to have sketches drawn at the front. Shortly thereafter, Colnaghi's contacted Simpson and invited him to go out to the Crimea and make sketches for the company.
Crimean War
Sevastopol
Sevastopol is a city on rights of administrative division of Ukraine, located on the Black Sea coast of the Crimea peninsula. It has a population of 342,451 . Sevastopol is the second largest port in Ukraine, after the Port of Odessa....
. He made numerous acquantances who helped him with details for his pictures, but he was also struck by the plight of the common soldiers, "miserable looking beings...covered with mud, dirt, and rags," he wrote. He hobnobbed with many officers including Lord Raglan and Captain Peel; he also met Roger Fenton
Roger Fenton
Roger Fenton was a pioneering British photographer, one of the first war photographers.-Early life:Roger Fenton was born in Crimble Hall, Heap, Bury, Lancashire, 28 March 1819. His grandfather was a wealthy cotton manufacturer and banker, his father a banker and Member of Parliament...
who took his photograph. In May 1855, Simpson accompanied Raglan on the expedition to Kertch which was captured on the 24th, but was back in time to observe the first attack on Sebastopol
Sevastopol
Sevastopol is a city on rights of administrative division of Ukraine, located on the Black Sea coast of the Crimea peninsula. It has a population of 342,451 . Sevastopol is the second largest port in Ukraine, after the Port of Odessa....
in June. On the night of the 17th, he crawled out of a trench to view the attack. He wrote, "It was a wild orchestra of sound, never to be forgotten." He was still at the front when the city finally surrendered, and he quit the Crimea in the autumn of 1855.
Throughout his time at the front, he would send back his water-colors to London where the lithographers of Day & Son would transfer them to stone. Simpson was paid 20 pounds for each picture. For the color, a separate stone was used for each tone. Colnaghis exhibited some of the water-colors including a show at the Graphic Society in February 1855. The first advertisements for the lithographs appeared in May 1855 and in the following month, a second series was announced. In all, the Colnaghi's produced two large portfolios containing over eighty lightographs entitled The Seat of the War in the East. Two thousand copies of the complete set were produced. Simpson dedicated the series to Queen Victoria whose patronage he enjoyed for the rest of his life, and he was a frequent visitor to Windsor Castle
Windsor Castle
Windsor Castle is a medieval castle and royal residence in Windsor in the English county of Berkshire, notable for its long association with the British royal family and its architecture. The original castle was built after the Norman invasion by William the Conqueror. Since the time of Henry I it...
and Balmoral
Balmoral Castle
Balmoral Castle is a large estate house in Royal Deeside, Aberdeenshire, Scotland. It is located near the village of Crathie, west of Ballater and east of Braemar. Balmoral has been one of the residences of the British Royal Family since 1852, when it was purchased by Queen Victoria and her...
. So popular were his pictures that he became affectionately known at 'Crimean Simpson'. There was a plan for the water-colors to be purchased for the nation but this came to nothing and they were sold-off by the Colnaghi's.
India and Abyssinia
In the late 1850s he was sent to India to sketch scenes relating to the recent Sepoy RevoltIndian Rebellion of 1857
The Indian Rebellion of 1857 began as a mutiny of sepoys of the British East India Company's army on 10 May 1857, in the town of Meerut, and soon escalated into other mutinies and civilian rebellions largely in the upper Gangetic plain and central India, with the major hostilities confined to...
. The idea was to produce an illustrated publication similar to the Crimean portfolio, and Simpson had discussed the possibility with Mr. Day. The artist arrived at Calcutta on 29 October 1859, and traveled in Punjab
Punjab region
The Punjab , also spelled Panjab |water]]s"), is a geographical region straddling the border between Pakistan and India which includes Punjab province in Pakistan and the states of the Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Chandigarh and some northern parts of the National Capital Territory of Delhi...
, Sutlej
Sutlej
The Sutlej River is the longest of the five rivers that flow through the historic crossroad region of Punjab in northern India and Pakistan. It is located north of the Vindhya Range, south of the Hindu Kush segment of the Himalayas, and east of the Central Sulaiman Range in Pakistan.The Sutlej...
, Bengal
Bengal
Bengal is a historical and geographical region in the northeast region of the Indian Subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal. Today, it is mainly divided between the sovereign land of People's Republic of Bangladesh and the Indian state of West Bengal, although some regions of the previous...
, Lucknow
Lucknow
Lucknow is the capital city of Uttar Pradesh in India. Lucknow is the administrative headquarters of Lucknow District and Lucknow Division....
and Cawnpore, central India, the Himalayas
Himalayas
The Himalaya Range or Himalaya Mountains Sanskrit: Devanagari: हिमालय, literally "abode of snow"), usually called the Himalayas or Himalaya for short, is a mountain range in Asia, separating the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau...
, Kashmir
Kashmir
Kashmir is the northwestern region of the Indian subcontinent. Until the mid-19th century, the term Kashmir geographically denoted only the valley between the Great Himalayas and the Pir Panjal mountain range...
and Madras.In February, 1862, he left Bombay and arrived in London only to find that Day and Son could not afford to produce a portfolio. Nevertheless, a large volume of colored lithographs was published under the title India Ancient and Modern.
He was commissioned by Day & Son to visit these parts of India and record the places affected by the momentous events of the 'Mutiny' of 1857. Before leaving, he spent 'a considerable time in the library of the India House, then in Leadenhall Street, looking over books about India, such as Daniels', to see what had been already done, and to get hints as to places I ought to visit'. The set of lithographs produced, based on his watercolours, was intended to rival David Roberts' Holy Land in scope. However, the project never came to fruition. This was caused by the financial collapse of Day & Son, due to the rise of wood engraving. By 1866, Simpson had delivered 250 watercolours to Day & Son and these were subsequently sold off as bankrupt stock. Only 50 had been prepared as chromolithographs, and were published in 1867 as India ancient and modern. A series of illustrations of the country and people of India and adjacent territories.
For Simpson this was little consolation: ' So the great work on India, on which I had bestowed so much time and labour, never came into existence...'
In 1866, Simpson was contacted by the Illustrated London News to do some sketches of the Prince of Wales on a visit to the Duke of Sutherland at Dunrobin Castle
Dunrobin Castle
Dunrobin Castle is a stately home in Sutherland, in the Highland area of Scotland. It is the seat of the Countess of Sutherland and the Clan Sutherland. It is located north of Golspie, and approximately south of Brora, on the Dornoch Firth close to the A9 road. Nearby Dunrobin Castle railway...
. Afterwards, the paper asked him to go to St. Petersburg and cover the Prince of Wales's attendance at the marriage of the Czarevich, afterward Emperor Alexander III
Alexander III of Russia
Alexander Alexandrovich Romanov , historically remembered as Alexander III or Alexander the Peacemaker reigned as Emperor of Russia from until his death on .-Disposition:...
. Two years later, Simpson was out in Abyssinia
Ethiopian Empire
The Ethiopian Empire also known as Abyssinia, covered a geographical area that the present-day northern half of Ethiopia and Eritrea covers, and included in its peripheries Zeila, Djibouti, Yemen and Western Saudi Arabia...
covering the campaign
1868 Expedition to Abyssinia
The British 1868 Expedition to Abyssinia was a punitive expedition carried out by armed forces of the British Empire against the Ethiopian Empire...
that had broken out. Initially, the paper used sketches supplied by one of the soldiers on campaign, Colonel Baigrie, but as his pictures were most landscapes, the paper felt that Simpson could add more life to the accounts of the war. The artist arrived at Suez
Suez
Suez is a seaport city in north-eastern Egypt, located on the north coast of the Gulf of Suez , near the southern terminus of the Suez Canal, having the same boundaries as Suez governorate. It has three harbors, Adabya, Ain Sokhna and Port Tawfiq, and extensive port facilities...
on 18 June 1868, but by the time he neared the front, news came that Magdala
Magdala
Magdala is the name of at least two places in ancient Israel mentioned in the Jewish Talmud and one place that may be mentioned in the Christian New Testament...
had fallen to the Anglo-Indian force. Nonetheless, he was able to observe the retreat of the Abyssinian army, and the remains of the royal quarters of Emperor Theodore
Tewodros II of Ethiopia
Tewodros II was the Emperor of Ethiopia from 1855 until his death....
at Magdala. He arrived back at Dover on 2 July 1868 and the Illustrated London News
Illustrated London News
The Illustrated London News was the world's first illustrated weekly newspaper; the first issue appeared on Saturday 14 May 1842. It was published weekly until 1971 and then increasingly less frequently until publication ceased in 2003.-History:...
published a special folio volume on the Abyssinian Campaign
1868 Expedition to Abyssinia
The British 1868 Expedition to Abyssinia was a punitive expedition carried out by armed forces of the British Empire against the Ethiopian Empire...
containing many of Simpson's and Baigrie's drawings.
Franco-Prussian War and The Commune
In 1870 he went to France to sketch the war with PrussiaPrussia
Prussia was a German kingdom and historic state originating out of the Duchy of Prussia and the Margraviate of Brandenburg. For centuries, the House of Hohenzollern ruled Prussia, successfully expanding its size by way of an unusually well-organized and effective army. Prussia shaped the history...
. On 25 July 1870, Simpson headed for the front by going from Nancy to Metz
Metz
Metz is a city in the northeast of France located at the confluence of the Moselle and the Seille rivers.Metz is the capital of the Lorraine region and prefecture of the Moselle department. Located near the tripoint along the junction of France, Germany, and Luxembourg, Metz forms a central place...
. In Metz
Metz
Metz is a city in the northeast of France located at the confluence of the Moselle and the Seille rivers.Metz is the capital of the Lorraine region and prefecture of the Moselle department. Located near the tripoint along the junction of France, Germany, and Luxembourg, Metz forms a central place...
, several journalists had already been arrested on suspicion of spying, and Simpson had to be very careful while making his sketches. He had to be creative in getting his sketches to London, and began using cigarette papers. As he said: "One could do a great deal on a book of that kind, and in the event of being apprehended, could make a cigarette of the sketch and smoke it before the eyes of one's accusers. In early August, he observed the arrival of the wounded after the battle of Forbach. Later while sketching a coach, he was surrounded by soldier and arrested on suspicion of being a spy but he finally convinced the French authorities that he was a 'special artist'. At the police station, his sketches were carefully examined, and he was finally released. Upon news of the surrender at Sedan, Simpson traveled to sketch the battlefield from the windows of a nearby chateau. In November 1870, he returned to London but was back in France in April 1871 to observe the events around Paris, where he was once again suspected of spying but was allowed to go free. On 27 April he visited Paris and spent four weeks there, sketching the fortifications and the events of the Commune
Commune
Commune may refer to:In society:* Commune, a human community in which resources are shared* Commune , a township or municipality* One of the Communes of France* An Italian Comune...
. He was safely back in London by 11 June 1871.
Two years later, during a trip around the world, he stopped off in California and traveled to the Lava Beds area to report on the Modoc War
Modoc War
The Modoc War, or Modoc Campaign , was an armed conflict between the Native American Modoc tribe and the United States Army in southern Oregon and northern California from 1872–1873. The Modoc War was the last of the Indian Wars to occur in California or Oregon...
in 1873. In 1874 he was elected an Associate of the (soon to be Royal) Institute of Painters in Water Colours
Royal Institute of Painters in Water Colours
The Royal Institute of Painters in Water Colours , initially called the New Society of Painters in Water Colours, , is one of the societies in the Federation of British Artists, based in the Mall Galleries in London.-History:In 1831 the society was founded as the New Society of Painters in Water...
. In 1875, he accompanied the Prince of Wales to India, and in 1877, visited Athens
Athens
Athens , is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica region and is one of the world's oldest cities, as its recorded history spans around 3,400 years. Classical Athens was a powerful city-state...
, Mycenae
Mycenae
Mycenae is an archaeological site in Greece, located about 90 km south-west of Athens, in the north-eastern Peloponnese. Argos is 11 km to the south; Corinth, 48 km to the north...
and Troy
Troy
Troy was a city, both factual and legendary, located in northwest Anatolia in what is now Turkey, southeast of the Dardanelles and beside Mount Ida...
.
Afghan War
On 15 October 1878, Simpson left London en route to Afghanistan to provide illustrations of the Afghan war that had broken out. Traveling via LahoreLahore
Lahore is the capital of the Pakistani province of Punjab and the second largest city in the country. With a rich and fabulous history dating back to over a thousand years ago, Lahore is no doubt Pakistan's cultural capital. One of the most densely populated cities in the world, Lahore remains a...
and Peshawar
Peshawar
Peshawar is the capital of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and the administrative center and central economic hub for the Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan....
, he passed through the Khyber Pass
Khyber Pass
The Khyber Pass, is a mountain pass linking Pakistan and Afghanistan.The Pass was an integral part of the ancient Silk Road. It is mentioned in the Bible as the "Pesh Habor," and it is one of the oldest known passes in the world....
and witnessed the 'first shot' fired at Ali Masjid
Ali Masjid
Ali Masjid is the narrowest point of the Khyber Pass. It is located in the Khyber Agency of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas , Pakistan. It is located around east of the city of Landi Kotal and has an elevation of...
. He became friendly with Sir Louis Cavagnari
Pierre Louis Napoleon Cavagnari
Sir Pierre Louis Napoleon Cavagnari KCB CSI , British military administrator, was the son of Count Louis Adolphus Cavagnari, of an old Italian family from Parma in the service of the Bonaparte family, by his marriage in 1837 with an Irish lady, Caroline Lyons-Montgomery...
and the latter encouraged Simpson with his explorations of ancient Buddhist stupas in and around the Jalalabad
Jalalabad
Jalalabad , formerly called Adinapour, as documented by the 7th century Hsüan-tsang, is a city in eastern Afghanistan. Located at the junction of the Kabul River and Kunar River near the Laghman valley, Jalalabad is the capital of Nangarhar province. It is linked by approximately of highway with...
Valley. While the Peshawar Valley Field Force was encamped at Jalalabad
Jalalabad
Jalalabad , formerly called Adinapour, as documented by the 7th century Hsüan-tsang, is a city in eastern Afghanistan. Located at the junction of the Kabul River and Kunar River near the Laghman valley, Jalalabad is the capital of Nangarhar province. It is linked by approximately of highway with...
and later Gandamak
Gandamak
-Description:The village is located between Kabul and Peshawar, from Jalalabad on the old road to Kabul. On the retreat from Kabul of General Elphinstone's army in 1842, a hill near Gandamak was the scene of the Battle of Gandamak, the massacre of the last survivors of the force: twenty officers...
, Simpson was allowed to have some soldiers to help him excavate Ahin Posh Tope and several other sites. On one occasion, he was shot at by an Afghan but the bullet just missed. At Gandamak
Gandamak
-Description:The village is located between Kabul and Peshawar, from Jalalabad on the old road to Kabul. On the retreat from Kabul of General Elphinstone's army in 1842, a hill near Gandamak was the scene of the Battle of Gandamak, the massacre of the last survivors of the force: twenty officers...
, he met the photographer John Burke and his counterpart at The Graphic
The Graphic
The Graphic was a British weekly illustrated newspaper, first published on 4 December 1869 by William Luson Thomas's company Illustrated Newspapers Limited....
, Frederic Villiers
Frederic Villiers
Frederic Villiers , British war artist and correspondent.Along with William Simpson and Melton Prior, Villiers was one of the most notable 'special' artists of the later 19th century...
, and after the departure of Archibald Forbes
Archibald Forbes
Archibald Forbes was a British war correspondent, the son of a Presbyterian minister in Morayshire, Scotland; educated at the University of Aberdeen. Entering the Royal Dragoons as a private, he gained, while in the service, considerable practical experience of military life and affairs...
, Simpson took over the task of supplying the Daily News
Daily News (UK)
The Daily News was a national daily newspaper in the United Kingdom.The News was founded in 1846 by Charles Dickens, who also served as the newspaper's first editor. It was conceived as a radical rival to the right-wing Morning Chronicle. The paper was not at first a commercial success...
with accounts of the campaign. In May 1879, he observed the signing of a peace treaty at Gandamak
Gandamak
-Description:The village is located between Kabul and Peshawar, from Jalalabad on the old road to Kabul. On the retreat from Kabul of General Elphinstone's army in 1842, a hill near Gandamak was the scene of the Battle of Gandamak, the massacre of the last survivors of the force: twenty officers...
which ended the war for the time being. When it was decided to send a mission to Kabul
Kabul
Kabul , spelt Caubul in some classic literatures, is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. It is also the capital of the Kabul Province, located in the eastern section of Afghanistan...
, Simpson applied to go but was turned down. His primary interest in accompanying the mission was to visit the giant Buddha
Buddha
In Buddhism, buddhahood is the state of perfect enlightenment attained by a buddha .In Buddhism, the term buddha usually refers to one who has become enlightened...
s at Bamyan, but had he gone to Kabul, he probably would have been killed liked the rest of the mission. It was this event which precipitated the second part of the war including the disaster at Maiwand
Maiwand
Maiwand is a village in Afghanistan and the district center of Maiwand District of Kandahar Province. It is located 50 miles northwest of Kandahar....
. Simpson returned to London in the summer of 1879. Upon his arrival, he visited the offices of the Illustrated London News
Illustrated London News
The Illustrated London News was the world's first illustrated weekly newspaper; the first issue appeared on Saturday 14 May 1842. It was published weekly until 1971 and then increasingly less frequently until publication ceased in 2003.-History:...
on the Strand
Strand, London
Strand is a street in the City of Westminster, London, England. The street is just over three-quarters of a mile long. It currently starts at Trafalgar Square and runs east to join Fleet Street at Temple Bar, which marks the boundary of the City of London at this point, though its historical length...
and collected all his sketches and water-colors which he proceeded to mount in two large albums. He also presented several papers to various learned societies on such aspects as Buddhist prayer wheels, sculptured topes and ancient remains in the Jalalabad
Jalalabad
Jalalabad , formerly called Adinapour, as documented by the 7th century Hsüan-tsang, is a city in eastern Afghanistan. Located at the junction of the Kabul River and Kunar River near the Laghman valley, Jalalabad is the capital of Nangarhar province. It is linked by approximately of highway with...
Valley. In the same year he was elected a full member of the Institute of Painters in Water Colours
Royal Institute of Painters in Water Colours
The Royal Institute of Painters in Water Colours , initially called the New Society of Painters in Water Colours, , is one of the societies in the Federation of British Artists, based in the Mall Galleries in London.-History:In 1831 the society was founded as the New Society of Painters in Water...
.
Throughout the following decade, Simpson continued his travels on behalf of his newspaper covering such events as royal weddings and coronations. In 1890, he observed the opening of the Forth Bridge and caught a chill which was to have detrimental effects on his health.
Family and Death
Simpson married late in life and had one daughter, Penelope, who eventually emigrated to Australia. He died at home in WillesdenWillesden
Willesden is an area in North West London which forms part of the London Borough of Brent. It is situated 5 miles north west of Charing Cross...
, North London, on 17 August 1899, and was buried in Highgate Cemetery
Highgate Cemetery
Highgate Cemetery is a cemetery located in north London, England. It is designated Grade I on the English Heritage Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in England. It is divided into two parts, named the East and West cemetery....
. Besides his war pictures, he covered state events, coronations, funerals, and other ceremonies. He was particularly interested in India and sketched scenes of the Kashmir
Kashmir
Kashmir is the northwestern region of the Indian subcontinent. Until the mid-19th century, the term Kashmir geographically denoted only the valley between the Great Himalayas and the Pir Panjal mountain range...
Maharajas. He was a noted ethnographer and antiquarian, and wrote extensively on ancient religions, customs, and ancient artifacts. It is said that the Queen intervened to prevent him from going out to Italy in 1859 to cover the Austro-Sardinian War, for fear that he would get killed.
Works By (Books)
- Brackenbury, G. & Simpson, W (1855). The campaign in the Crimea: an historical sketch (London: P. and D. Colnaghi).
- Simpson, William (1867). India ancient and modern: a series of illustrations of the country and the people of India and adjacent territories; executed in chromo-lithography from drawings by William Simpson; with descriptive literature by John William Kaye. London: Day and Son.
- Simpson, William (1874). Meeting the Sun: a Journey all round the World through Egypt, China, Japan and California, including an account of the marriage ceremonies of the emperor of China. (London: Longmans, Green, Reader, and Dyer).
- Simpson, William (1876). Picturesque people: being groups from all quarters of the globe. London: W. M. Thompson.
- Simpson, William (1896). The Buddhist Praying Wheel (London: Macmillan).
- Simpson, William (1899). The Jonah Legend. (London: Grant Richards).
- Simpson, William (1899). Glasgow in the Forties (ed. A.H. Miller). Morison Brothers.
- Simpson, William (1902). The seat of war in the East, from eighty-one drawings made during the war in the Crimea (London, Day & Son etc.).
- Simpson, William (edited by G. Eyre-Todd, 1903). The Autobiography of William Simpson (London, T. F. Unwin).
Works By (Selected Articles)
- Simpson, William, 'A contribution to the History of Lithography', The Lithographer, 1854
- Simpson, William, 'The architecture of India', RIBA Trans. (Royal Institute of British Architects), May 1862, pp. 165–178.
- Simpson, William, 'Arkite Ceremonies in the Himalayas', Good Words, 1866, pp. 601–608.
- Simpson, William, 'Praying Machines', Good Words, 1867, pp. 845–850.
- Simpson, William, 'An artist's jottings in Abyssinian', Good Words, 1 October 1868, pp. 605–613.
- Simpson, William, 'Church architecture of Abyssinia', RIBA Trans, 1869, pp. 234–246.
- Simpson, William, 'The Royal Quarries', Palestine Exploration Fund, 1870, pp. 373–379.
- Simpson, William, 'Jerusalem', Society for Biblical Archaeology, 1872, pp. 310–327.
- Simpson, William, 'The architecture of China', RIBA Trans, 1873, pp. 33–50.
- Simpson, William, 'China's future place in Philology', Macmillan's Magazine. Nov. 1873, pp. 45–48.
- Simpson, William, 'Gangootre', Alpine Journal, May 1874, pp. 385–397.
- Simpson, William, 'Symbolism of Oriental Ornament', Royal Society of the Arts Journal, Vol. 22, 1874, pp. 488–494.
- Simpson, William, 'The Modoc Region', RGS Procs. Vol. XIX, 1874–75, pp. 292–302.
- Simpson, William, 'Ark-Shrines of Japan', Society for Biblical Archaeology, 1877, pp. 550–554.
- Simpson, William, 'In the trenches before Sebastopol', English Illustrated MagazineEnglish Illustrated MagazineThe English Illustrated Magazine was a monthly publication that ran for 359 issues between October 1883 and August 1913. Features included travel, topography, and a large amount of fiction and were contributed by writers such as Thomas Hardy, Henry James, Stanley J. Weyman and Max Pemberton...
, December 1895. - Simpson, William, 'Winter and Summer in the trenches of Sebastopol', English Illustrated MagazineEnglish Illustrated MagazineThe English Illustrated Magazine was a monthly publication that ran for 359 issues between October 1883 and August 1913. Features included travel, topography, and a large amount of fiction and were contributed by writers such as Thomas Hardy, Henry James, Stanley J. Weyman and Max Pemberton...
, April 1896, pp. 33–42.
Exhibition Catalogues
- Watercolour Drawings of India, Thibet & Cashmire, exhibition catalogue, 1867.
- Underground Jerusalem, exhibition catalogue 1872.
- Round the World, exhibition catalogue 1874.
- India "Special", exhibition catlaogue, 1876
- Catalogue of Exhibition of War Sketches by the late William Simpson, R.I., R.B.A., F.R.G.S. at Graves' Galleries, 6, Pall Mall, S.W. 1900.
Works About
- Archer, Mildred. Visions of India : the sketchbooks of William Simpson 1859-62.Topsfield, Mass., Salem House, 1986.
- Glasgow in the 1840s: watercolours by William Simpson, 1823-1899. Glasgow: Glasgow Museums with assistance from Glasgow Art Gallery and Museums Association, 1998.
- Harrington, Peter. "The First True War Artist," MHQ: The Quarterly Journal of Military History, Vol. 9, No. 1, Autumn 1996, pp. 100–109.
- Harrington, Peter, 'Simpson's Crimean Sketchbooks', The War Correspondent, Vol. 19, No. 1, April 2001, pp. 10–12.
- Harrington, Peter, 'The Defence of Kars: Paintings by William Simpson and Thomas Jones Barker', Journal of the Society for Army Historical Research, Vol. LXIX, No. 277, Spring 1991, pp. 22–28.
- Mr. William Simpson of the Illustrated London News: Pioneer war artist 1823-1899. London: Fine Art Society, 1987
- Pankhurst, Richard (ed). (2002) Diary of a Journey to Abyssinia, 1868 with the expedition under Sir Robert Napier KCSI, The Diary and Observations of William Simpson of the Illustrated London News. Hollywood, CA, Tsehai.
- "William Simpson (1823-1899)," in Dictionary of National Biography, Supplement Vol. XXII, 1973, pp. 1217–1219.
External links
- Anne S. K. Brown Military Collection, Brown University Library sketch-books, water-colors, prints, Afghan war diary and album, 1878–79
- First Readings 2008- The Places in Between Afghan diary (extracts) and watercolors (selection)
- Lipscomb, Adrian. William Simpson (1823-1899) -- "Prince of Pictorial Correspondents".