John Syme RSA (1795 – 3 August 1861) was a Scottish portrait painter.
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/ba/John_Syme_%281795-1861%29_-_John_Syme_%281795%E2%80%931861%29%2C_Artist%2C_Self_Portrait_-_PG_1545_-_National_Galleries_of_Scotland.jpg/220px-John_Syme_%281795-1861%29_-_John_Syme_%281795%E2%80%931861%29%2C_Artist%2C_Self_Portrait_-_PG_1545_-_National_Galleries_of_Scotland.jpg)
Life
editA nephew of Patrick Syme, he was born in Edinburgh and studied in the Trustees' Academy on Picardy Place. He became a pupil and assistant of Sir Henry Raeburn, 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.[1]
Syme was an original member of the Royal Scottish Academy, founded in 1826, and took an active part in its management. He died in Edinburgh on 3 August 1861.
Works
editHe painted many portraits. That of John Barclay M.D. was exhibited at the London Royal Academy in 1819, and went to the Scottish National Gallery; it was engraved in mezzotint 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, was deposited with the Academy as his diploma work.[2] A portrait of Alexander Henderson, Lord Provost of Edinburgh 1823-1825 hangs in the Merchant Hall in Edinburgh.
References
edit- ^ "Edinburgh Post Office annual directory, 1832-1833". National Library of Scotland. Retrieved 18 January 2018.
- ^ Normand, Tom (2013), Portfolio:Treasures from the Diploma Collection at the Royal Scottish Academy, Luath Press Ltd., Edinburgh, pp. 20 & 21
- Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co. 1885–1900. .
- Attribution
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: "Syme, John (1795-1861)". Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co. 1885–1900.