Archibald Thorburn Art

Archibald Thorburn (Born 1860) was born near Edinburgh at Lasswade. Many of his contemporaries considered him as the greatest painter of natural history that Britain had produced. To them, he was a giant who represented the peak of a great 19th century tradition and showed the way forward to greater naturalism. Thorburn loved art from a tender age and he was enthralled by all forms of what nature provided, especially the wildlife. He was the 5th son of Robert Thorburn, the miniaturist to Queen Victoria. His father inspired his works and he was the greatest influencer of his art. By 1867, by the time he was 7 years old, he was already drawing and sketching beautiful images of leaves, twigs, and flowers. All his spare time was spent with his art materials. By 1872, he was producing some pretty little pen and ink studies and watercolor drawings that reflected his excellent aptitude and great assurance of things to come. He married to Mudie Constance, and in 1902, the couple decided to move to High Leybourne in Hascombe. This is where he was to spend the rest of his life – he died 1935 and his grave is in Busbridge, Godalming at St John the Baptist church. In the 1930s, Thorburn refused to make use of electric lighting. He insisted on using natural light for his painting, and made use of candles and lamps. His art gained so much popularity and even today, framed Archibald Thorburn art is found in many galleries around the world.