James Baynes
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James Baynes (1766 – 1837), watercolour painter and drawing-master, was an English painter who worked primarily with watercolours. He was born on 5 April 1766 in Kirkby Lonsdale in Cumbria and was the son of a local tradesman. Of his family little is known apart from the fact that he was the eldest of six children, his grandfather being a Catholic priest in Kirkby Lonsdale where his father was born.
As a boy he showed a love of the arts and had been employed to draw heads and work devices until Dr. Campbell, a local Physician, having seen some of these works sent some sketches to his friend George Romney. The young Baynes was then sent to London to study under Romney at the expense of Dr. Campbell.
In 1784, at the age of 18 he became a student at the Royal Academy. He wedded Mary Mann (1766-1845) in 1785 at Marylebone Church, London. Their son, Thomas Mann Baynes (1794-1854), was also a noted watercolour artist.
The marriage was without the consent of Campbell his patron and this resulted in a loss of support for Baynes. Thrown on his own resources he obtained employment from a Woolwich based company formed for the reproduction of pictures, The Polygraphic Society. The failure of this company lead to his move to Chelsea, Wardour Street and finally Castle Street near Oxford Street where he remained until his death in 1837.
A large proportion of his time was was occupied in teaching drawing and working for architects such as Sir Geoffrey Wyattville. Among his pupils were John Wood who produced a portrait of Baynes and Henry Sass who founded a school of art in Bloomsbury.
He was a constant exhibitor of both oils and watercolours at the Royal Academy between 1796 and 1837.
Baynes never left England but his sketch books show that he visited the South of England in 1802, Wales and the West of England in 1810, Cumberland in 1815 and Kent in 1816.
He is belived to have joined the London branch (Glovers Hall, Beech Lane) of the Sandemanian church in June 1792. James Baynes died of an 'affection of the heart' on 12 May 1837. Both he and his wife are buried in St. Johns Wood Cemetery, London.
James Baynes' works include:
- The Well in Carisbrook Castle (31.5 x 28, ink and wash)
- Castle Ruins with Figures (45.4 x 62.4, watercolour on paper)
- Caernarvon Castle across the River (37.7 x 53.8, watercolour on paper)
- City Street Corner Scene with Figures (26.03 x 18.16, watercolour on paper)
- Figures on a Lakeland Track (18 x 29, watercolour on paper)
[edit] External Links
http://www.gac.culture.gov.uk/search/Artist.asp?maker_id=116723
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