Born:1846 – Eaglesfield, Dumfriesshire
Died:1900 – London
Title of Work: The Jubilee Ceremony at Westminster Palace
| Aged 14 entered Edinburgh’s Trustees Academy, run by the Royal Scottish Academy where he was a pupil of Robert Scott Lauder and John Blake McDonald. During his time in Edinburgh he shared lodgings with Dr John Carlyle (brother of the more famous Thomas). Aged fifteen he had two paintings accepted for the Royal Scottish Academy Annual Exhibition.
In 1869 he married John Blake McDonald’s niece Mary and they settled in Edinburgh. In 1871 he became an Associate Member of the R.S.A, becoming a full member in 1878. The same year saw him achieve associate membership of the Royal Watercolour Society and membership of the Royal Scottish Watercolour Society. He was also a regular exhibitor at the Royal Academy from 1873 onwards. In 1881 he became a member of the Royal Society of Engravers and member of the Royal Society of Portrait Painters in 1897. His work was widely reproduced in The Portfolio between 1878 and 1887. By the early 1880s Lockhart was also a significant figure in the Scottish Society of Painters in Watercolours. Founded in 1878 Sam Bough was its Vice-President. Lockhart painted regularly along the Scottish east coast and it is possible that Orchar became familiar with the artist through his associations with Bough and his painting trips to the area. For a more detailed biography see Margery A. Wilkins, By Royal Command: William Ewart Lockhart R.S.A. R.S.W. Annan, The Friends of Annandale and Eskdale Museums, 1998 |