Thomas Alison
Born11 October 1860
Dalkeith
Died26 August 1931
Dalkeith
EducationRoyal Scottish Academy
OccupationPainter
Known forLandscape painting, also portraits

Thomas Alison (1860–1931) was a Scottish painter whose main period of activity was 1880–1914. Principally known for Landscape painting, he also produced portraits and other works. He lived in Dalkeith, Midlothian, and also worked in Spain.[1]

Family

Thomas Alison was born in Dalkeith on 11 October 1860, eldest son of the Thomas Alison, draper and his wife, Margaret Pearson.[2][3] His father lived at Rosehill in Eskbank, a neighbourhood of Dalkeith, in which town he had a draper's store along with another similar store in nearby Musselburgh. His father held a number of positions at various times in Dalkeith, including member of the Board of Trustees, which governed the town until the adoption of the General Police Act in 1878 and, later, Chief Magistrate (under that Act) of Dalkeith and then Provost of Dalkeith 1881–1884.[4] He was also Returning Officer, Town Clerk and Justice of the Peace.[5][6][7][8]

His brother, James Pearson Alison was an architect, principally practising in Roxburghshire with offices in Hawick. [2] Another brother, John Pearson Alison, was a farmer at D'Arcy, Midlothian.[3][9][10]

Painting

He trained as painter at the Royal Scottish Academy (RSA) in Edinburgh, where he exhibited landscape paintings of Cousland (Midlothian) and St Mary's Loch (Selkirkshire) in 1881 and 1882; also a portrait of his father entitled Thomas Alison, Esq., Chief Magistrate of Dalkeith.[11][12]

He won two silver medals in 1881, for exhibits at the RSA,[13] and in 1882 won a gold prize in a national competition of the works of schools of Art for an oil figure painted from an antique,[14]

He was a member of the Life School in the RSA (where fine art was taught until the school moved to the newly formed of Edinburgh College of Art in 1907),[15][16] winning a prize for the second best Painting from Life, in 1881.[17]

After training as a painter, Thomas Alison pursued this as his occupation. As well as the RSA, he exhibited at the Society of Scottish Artists (SSA), the Fine Art Exhibition in the Albert Institute, Dundee, amongst others. Among his works that were exhibited were Crichton Castle, A Red Deer Calf among the Rushes, A Sketching Club and In Rothesay Bay. By 1895 he was charging 8 guineas (£8 8s) for some works.[18] [19][1] [20][21] He gained a high reputation as a portrait painter, his commissions including a portrait of Thomas Sturrock, Town Clerk of Dalkeith, hung in the Municipal Buildings, Dalkeith, and a portrait of the Earl of Stair.[4]

Later Life

He continued to live in the family home at Rosehill and participated in local life. He was Secretary of the Buccleuch Street Literary Society and Treasurer of the Industrial Department of the Dalkeith Horticultural and Industrial Society.[22][20][23] He was a member of the Town Council of Dalkeith from 1904 to 1920, being continuously elected every three years. This culminated in his election as Provost of Dalkeith 1918 to 1920. He also served for a number of years as a member of the Parish Council of the civil parish of Dalkeith. [4]

He died at Rosehill, Dalkeith on 26 August 1931 (aged 70) and is buried at Dalkeith.[4]

References

  1. 1 2 The Dictionary of Scottish Painters: 1600 to the Present, by Paul Harris, Paul and Julian Halsby, publ. Canongate Books Ltd, 3rd edition, Edinburgh, 2001
  2. 1 2 Dictionary of Scottish Architects website, section on James Alison www.scottisharchitects.org.uk/architect_full.php?id=200008 - retrieved Dec 2023
  3. 1 2 Census of Scotland, 1881 ALISON, THOMAS (Census 683/ 1/ 13) Page 13 of 41 www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk - retrieved Dec 2023
  4. 1 2 3 4 "The Late Mr Thomas Alison, Ex-provost of Dalkeith" Dalkeith Advertiser, publ. 03 September 1931, Dalkeith, Midlothian
  5. ↑ Dalkeith District Directory, 1894, publ. P & D Lyle, Dalkeith, 1894; pp. 3, 42, 44. 45
  6. ↑ Oliver & Boyd's New Edinburgh Almanac and National Repository For The Year 1883, Publ. Oliver & Boyd, Tweeddale Court, Edinburgh, 1883; pp. 1031, 1035, 1053-1054
  7. ↑ Political and Social Movements in Dalkeith from 1831 To 1882, by Alexander Mitchell, 1882. Publ. by Wentworth Press 2019; pp.144, 147
  8. ↑ Edinburgh County Directory 1870-71, printed By Commercial Printing Co., 22 Howe St., Edinburgh 1870 pp.34, 86, 92, 140, 369
  9. ↑ Post Office Edinburgh, Leith, and County Directory 1913-1914, Publ. by W. G. Kirkwood, Secretary to the Post Office for Scotland, Printed by Morrison & Gibb Limited, Edinburgh, 1913; p. 860
  10. ↑ The County Directory of Scotland, ed. By Francis Braid, General Post Office, Edinburgh; publ. by R Grant & Son, 107 Princes Street, Edinburgh, 1902; p.149
  11. ↑ The Royal Scottish Academy Notes, ed. George R. Halkett, publ. Thos. Gray & Co., Edinburgh 1881; pp. 93,99
  12. ↑ The Royal Scottish Academy Notes, ed. George R. Halkett, publ. Thos. Gray & Co., Edinburgh 1882; pp. 70,77
  13. ↑ The Year's Art, 1881, by Marcus B. Huish, publ. Macmillan, London, 1881.
  14. ↑ The Art Journal, publ. J.S.Virtue Co Ltd, London, 1882; p.285
  15. ↑ Royal Scottish Academy web site www.royalscottishacademy.org/about/history - retrieved Dec. 2023
  16. ↑ "Art UK" website artuk.org/discover/artworks/reclining-female-nude-225919 - retrieved Dec 2023
  17. ↑ Fifty-Fourth Annual Report of the Council of the Royal Scottish Academy of Painting, Sculpture & Architecture; publ. Thomas And Archibald Constable, Edinburgh, 1881; p.8
  18. ↑ Fine Art Exhibition, Albert Institute , Dundee,1883, The Seventh. Printed By John Leng & Co., Bank Street, Dundee; pp. 62, 100
  19. ↑ Fine Art Exhibition, Albert Institute , Dundee,1884, The Eighth. Printed By John Leng & Co., Bank Street, Dundee; pp. 23, 103
  20. 1 2 Fine Art Exhibition, Albert Institute , Dundee,1895, The Fourteenth. Printed By John Leng & Co., Bank Street, Dundee; pp. 28, 33, 57
  21. ↑ Artist Biographies - British and Irish Artists of the 20th Century, www.artbiogs.co.uk/1/artists/alison-thomas retrieved Dec 2023
  22. ↑ Dalkeith District Directory, 1894, publ. P & D Lyle, Dalkeith, 1894; pp. 46,49
  23. ↑ The County Directory of Scotland, ed. By Francis Braid, General Post Office, Edinburgh; publ. by R Grant & Son, 107 Princes Street, Edinburgh, 1902; p.367 (recorded without the suffix junior as his father died in 1897)
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