James John Wilson Carmichael (9 June 1800 – 1868), also known as John Carmichael was a British marine painter.
Carmichael was born at the Ouseburn, in Newcastle upon Tyne, Northumberland, on 9 June 1800, the son of William Carmichael, a ship's carpenter. He went to sea at an early age, and spent three years on board a vessel sailing between ports in Spain and Portugal. On his return, he was apprenticed to a shipbuilding firm.[1] After completing his apprenticeship, he devoted all his spare time to art, and eventually gave up the carpentry business, setting himself up as a drawing-master and miniature painter. His first historical painting to attract public notice was the Fight Between the Shannon and Chesapeake, which sold for 13 guineas (£13.65). He then painted The Bombardment of Algiers for Trinity House, Newcastle, for which he received 40 guineas;[2] it is still at Trinity House, along with The Heroic Exploits of Admiral Lord Collingwood in HMS "Excellent" at the Battle of Cape St. Vincent, painted in collaboration with George Balmer.[3] Another important early commission was for a View of Newcastle for which the city corporation paid him 100 guineas.[2] During the redevelopment of the centre of Newcastle, Carmichael worked with the architect John Dobson to produce some joint works, including paintings with designs for the Central Station and the Grainger Market.[4] He also collaborated with John Blackmore to produce an illustrated book: Views on the Newcastle and Carlisle Railway in 1836.[5]
His name first appears as an exhibitor in 1838, when he contributed an oil painting, Shipping in the Bay of Naples, to the Society of British Artists. He showed both oil paintings and watercolours at the Royal Academy, his contributions including The Conqueror towing the Africa off the Shoals of Trafalgar (1841) and The Arrival of the Royal Squadron (1843).[6]
Vivió en Newcastle hasta aproximadamente 1845, cuando se trasladó a Londres , donde ya era conocido como un hábil pintor marino. [6] En 1855, durante la Guerra de Crimea , fue enviado al Báltico para realizar dibujos para The Illustrated London News . Su pintura del bombardeo de Sveaborg , del que fue testigo durante esta misión, se exhibió en la Real Academia y ahora se encuentra en la colección del Museo Marítimo Nacional. [7] [8]
Posteriormente se mudó a Scarborough , donde murió en 1868. [6]
Publicó El arte de la pintura marina en acuarelas en 1859 y El arte de la pintura marina en óleos en 1864. [9]
Su hija Annie se casó con William Luson Thomas, hijo de un corredor naval y un artista de éxito que, exasperado por el trato dado a los artistas por el Illustrated London News , fundó en 1869 el periódico The Graphic que tuvo una inmensa influencia en el mundo del arte.
Este artículo incorpora texto de una publicación que ahora es de dominio público : Bryan, Michael (1886). "Carmichael, James Wilson". En Graves, Robert Edmund (ed.). Diccionario de pintores y grabadores de Bryan (A – K) . vol. Yo (3ª ed.). Londres: George Bell & Sons. pag. 234.
