Australian portrait painter , 1877 - 1906 was an Australian artist. Ramsay was born in Glasgow, Scotland, son of John Ramsay. He moved with his family to Melbourne in 1878. He was educated at Essendon Grammar School, and joined classes at the National Gallery of Victoria at age 16 under Lindsay Bernard Hall and became one of the most brilliant students ever trained there. He won several first prizes, and at the competition for the travelling scholarship held in 1899 was narrowly beaten by Max Meldrum, another student of unusual ability. Ramsay went to Europe in September 1900 and was fortunate in finding a kindred spirit, George Washington Lambert, on the same vessel. Arriving at Paris he entered Acad??mie Colarossi and was soon recognized as a student of great potential. He sent five pictures to the 1902 exhibition of La Soci??t?? Nationale des Beaux Arts and four of these were accepted and hung together. No greater compliment could have been paid to a young student. Another Australian student whose studio was in the same building, Ambrose McCarthy Patterson (nephew of Nellie Melba, then at the height of her fame). Ramsay was introduced to Melba, who gave him a commission for a portrait and would no doubt have been able to help him in his career. Unfortunately Ramsay became ill in Paris, and it became necessary for him to return to the warmer climate of Australia and the opportunity to paint Melba was missed. Before leaving Europe he had exhibited four pictures at the British Colonial Art Exhibition held in London at the Royal Institute galleries. Returning to Australia, in spite of failing health, Ramsay succeeded in doing some remarkable work including "The Sisters" now in the Sydney gallery, the "Lady with a Fan" (possibly his most famous painting), the portrait of David Scott Mitchell, and his own portrait now in the Melbourne gallery. He gradually became weaker and died on 5 March 1906.  Related Paintings of Hugh Ramsay :. | The Sisters | Seated nude | Self-Portrait | The artist studio | Seated Figure |
Related Artists:
Eldress Polly Jane Reed
b.1818 d.1881
Karoly Csuzy
Hungarian, 1844 - 1911
Robert W. Weir
American Hudson River School Painter, 1803-1889,Painter and teacher. By his own account he was self-taught, with the exception of a few lessons from an unknown heraldic painter named Robert Cooke. However, after exhibiting a few works that were praised by the local press, he was sent to Italy by a group of New York and Philadelphia businessmen for further studies. There he trained with Florentine history painter Pietro Benvenuti. After three years in Europe (1824-7), he returned to New York, where he quickly became a mainstay of the artistic community. In 1831 he was elected to membership in the National Academy of Design in New York, and three years later he was made instructor of drawing at the US Military Academy in West Point, New York, a post he held for the next 42 years. Most scholars agree that he was more important as a teacher than as a painter. His best known work is the Embarkation of the Pilgrims (1837-43), which hangs in the Rotunda of the US Capitol Building in Washington, DC.