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He was born in 1822 in Carlisle as the son of a shoemaker and a kitchen maid and became a member of the Royal Scottish Academy. Before Samuel Bough became an established artist and bohemian, his life was reminiscent of the romantic figure that Oscar Wilde was to create at Dorian Gray in 1890. Bough surrounded himself with roaming vagabonds, painted theater scenery pictures and fell passionately in love with the actress Bella Taylor.
His contemporaries remember him as a man of rough outer appearance and abrupt, sometimes sarcastic manner, but inside he has a warm heart, coupled with a mind nourished by a deep knowledge of older English literature. He sang with a clear, deep bass voice and played the violin. Samuel Bough showed artistic talent early on. As a painter he was self-taught. He went to London and was soon recognized as an outstanding draughtsman and artist. Then he returned to Carlisle and undertook sketching trips in the Lake District.
In 1844 he exhibited for the first time at the Royal Scottish Academy in Edinburgh. As a theatre painter in Manchester and later in Glasgow he founded the Manchester Academy of Art together with other artists. Later Bough settled permanently in Edinburgh, where he created works in the style of William Turner, to become a master of seascapes and water landscapes himself. His work was much admired - not least by his friend, the writer Robert Louis Stevenson ("Treasure Island"). For him, Samuel Bough painted a view of his house in Swanston and a lighthouse, which Stevenson's father and uncle had built together. Although Bough was born in England, he became one of the most influential figures in the development of 19th century Scottish landscape painting. His views of rivers and harbours in the 1850s and 1860s show his masterful combination of realism and expressive colouring, with which he succeeded in capturing the natural effects of light.
When Sam Bough died in Edinburgh on 19 November 1878, his friend Robert Louis Stevenson wrote about him:
"This is not only a loss for art, but also the disappearance of a memorable type of man. (...) His genius was immense. (...) Jokes rolled down from his shoulders like thundering bullets. He loved to resist, to make surprising, even brutal speeches, and to trample all decency underfoot. But although this worried his relatives, this was only his rough exterior, (...) at heart he was a man full of warm feelings, remarkable spiritual powers and much culture. (...) It was an unforgettable sight to see him approaching a sketch, peering boldly through his glasses and with somewhat trembling fingers flooding the paper with paint. Just a moment of indescribable hectic, then the chaos would be ordered and a protocol of what he saw would appear, speaking for itself! His way of painting was... like the conquest of a fortress in war."
He was born in 1822 in Carlisle as the son of a shoemaker and a kitchen maid and became a member of the Royal Scottish Academy. Before Samuel Bough became an established artist and bohemian, his life was reminiscent of the romantic figure that Oscar Wilde was to create at Dorian Gray in 1890. Bough surrounded himself with roaming vagabonds, painted theater scenery pictures and fell passionately in love with the actress Bella Taylor.
His contemporaries remember him as a man of rough outer appearance and abrupt, sometimes sarcastic manner, but inside he has a warm heart, coupled with a mind nourished by a deep knowledge of older English literature. He sang with a clear, deep bass voice and played the violin. Samuel Bough showed artistic talent early on. As a painter he was self-taught. He went to London and was soon recognized as an outstanding draughtsman and artist. Then he returned to Carlisle and undertook sketching trips in the Lake District.
In 1844 he exhibited for the first time at the Royal Scottish Academy in Edinburgh. As a theatre painter in Manchester and later in Glasgow he founded the Manchester Academy of Art together with other artists. Later Bough settled permanently in Edinburgh, where he created works in the style of William Turner, to become a master of seascapes and water landscapes himself. His work was much admired - not least by his friend, the writer Robert Louis Stevenson ("Treasure Island"). For him, Samuel Bough painted a view of his house in Swanston and a lighthouse, which Stevenson's father and uncle had built together. Although Bough was born in England, he became one of the most influential figures in the development of 19th century Scottish landscape painting. His views of rivers and harbours in the 1850s and 1860s show his masterful combination of realism and expressive colouring, with which he succeeded in capturing the natural effects of light.
When Sam Bough died in Edinburgh on 19 November 1878, his friend Robert Louis Stevenson wrote about him:
"This is not only a loss for art, but also the disappearance of a memorable type of man. (...) His genius was immense. (...) Jokes rolled down from his shoulders like thundering bullets. He loved to resist, to make surprising, even brutal speeches, and to trample all decency underfoot. But although this worried his relatives, this was only his rough exterior, (...) at heart he was a man full of warm feelings, remarkable spiritual powers and much culture. (...) It was an unforgettable sight to see him approaching a sketch, peering boldly through his glasses and with somewhat trembling fingers flooding the paper with paint. Just a moment of indescribable hectic, then the chaos would be ordered and a protocol of what he saw would appear, speaking for itself! His way of painting was... like the conquest of a fortress in war."