Jemima Blackburn (1823 - 1909) The Story of a Remarkable 19th Century Scottish Artist

Jemima was the youngest daughter of James Wedderburn, Solicitor General for Scotland and Isabella Clerk of Penicuik. Friend and pupil of John Ruskin who spoke of her as "the best artist he knew", and of Sir Edwin Landseer, this Scots girl was to become one of the foremost illustrators of the Victorian Age, achieving widespread recognition under the initials JB or her married name Mrs Hugh Blackburn.

"...in portraying animals, I have nothing to teach her..." - Sir Edwin Landseer, 1843

In 1857 Jemima was asked to contribute to the first exhibition of contemporary British art in America. Her works have also been exhibited in Edinburgh, Glasgow and London and examples have been acquired by the British Museum, the British Library, the Natural History Museum, The Royal Collection, the National Portrait Gallery and more recently by the Scottish National Portrait Gallery and the James Clerk-Maxwell Foundation.

Beatrix Potter describes Jemima in her journal as a "broad intelligent observer with a keen eye for the beautiful in Nature", commenting: "I consider that Mrs Blackburn's birds do not on the average stand on their legs so well as Bewick's, but he is her only possible rival". She also recalls her delight when given for her birthday a copy of Jemima's "Birds drawn from Nature", which was published in 1868 and won immediate public acclaim. A copy of the book, hand coloured under Jemima's own supervision, was presented to the Zoological Society of London.

"...We have seen no such birds since Bewick's. We say this not ignorant of the magnificent plates by Selby, Audubon, Wilson and Gould..." - The Scotsman, 1868

Jemima was a watercolourist of outstanding technical ability whose keen observation gives us an evocative picture of her life in 19th Century Scotland. She and her husband, Hugh Blackburn, Professor of mathematics at Glasgow University, bought Roshven Estate in 1854. Their homes in Glasgow and at Roshven became a focus for visits from some of the most celebrated figures of the century including John Ruskin, Sir John Everet Millais, Anthony Trollope, the Duke of Argyll, Benjamin Disraeli, Lord Lister, Professer Helmholtz, Lord Kelvin and James Clerk-Maxwell, Jemima's first cousin.

During her life at Roshven, Jemima created for us a priceless legacy of paintings covering every facet of the life and customs of her time. Hardly a day passed without her recording some aspect of her varied and wonderful life. She painted her family and friends, important visitors and local people going about their everyday work: cutting peat, gathering bracken, making hay and many other rural activities. These paintings provide us with a treasured insight into the people and pursuits of her time and of this area.

Besides all this, Jemima's abiding interest lay in the countryside and the wealth of wildlife which it supported. The very best of her work is to be found among her paintings of Roshven, it's animals and it's birds. It was through this that she became acknowledged as one of the leading bird painters of the day.

We are now pleased to present our first set of limited edition prints entitled Life in the Nineteenth Century, from the paintings of Jemima Blackburn. These can be ordered by mail. Please enquire to the following address:

Alan and Mary-Anne Blackburn,
Roshven Farm,
Lochailort,
Inverness-shire.
PH38 4NB
Scotland, U.K

or by e-mail to: jemima@roshven.com.

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