David Roberts, R.A. Preferred Media: Painting Born: 24 October 1796 in Edinburgh, Scotland, United Kingdom Died: 25 November 1864 Nationality: British Elected A.R.A: 05 Nov 1838 Elected R.A: 10 Feb 1841 Biography Scottish painter. The son of a shoemaker, he was apprenticed to a house-painter. From 1816 until 1830 he was employed in the theatre to design and paint stage scenery, first in Edinburgh and Glasgow and after 1822 in London. While in Scotland he met and worked with Clarkson Stanfield and later collaborated with him in London on dioramas and panoramas. Roberts exhibited his first easel painting in London in 1824 and at the Royal Academy in 1826 (View of Rouen Cathedral, no. 221; untraced). In common with other contemporary painters of picturesque topography and architecture, such as Stanfield, J. D. Harding and James Holland, Roberts undertook journeys abroad in search of exotic or impressive subjects. He made his first visit to Spain in 1832-3, one of the first British artists to travel there. From Spain, Roberts briefly visited Morocco; later he made watercolours from sketches by other artists for engraving in T. H. Horne's Landscape Illustrations of the Bible (1836). These encounters with the oriental world, in the context of contemporary interest in exotic places, especially the lands of the Bible, encouraged him to undertake a tour of the Near East in 1838. He was one of the first independent and professional British artists to experience the Orient at first hand. Roberts arrived in Jerusalem at Easter 1839, having travelled from Egypt via Sinai and Petra; later he continued north to Lebanon and departed from Beirut in May. His drawings show his ability to create visually effective compositions from a variety of subjects. Roberts's eastern compositions reached a wide audience through 247 lithographs made by Louis Haghe. Originally published in parts, these were later bound into six volumes as The Holy Land, Idumea, Arabia, Egypt and Nubia (1842-9. He was elected ARA in 1838 and RA in 1841.   Works of Art: 30 Books: 8 Archives: 22

Sketches of seated Moorish women 1833 David Roberts	Two Spanish peasants, Andalucia 1833 David Roberts	A Spaniard c. 1833 David Roberts	Portrait of Clarkson Stanfield c. 1845 David Roberts	The Great Temple of Aboo-Simble,... David Roberts	The Great Sphinx. Pyramids of... 17 July 1839 David Roberts
Great Hall at Karnac, Thebes 28 November 1838 David Roberts	Temple of Edfou, ancient Appolinopolis,... David Roberts	Ruins of Karnac David Roberts	Interior of the Temple of... 9 November 1836 David Roberts	Part of the Portico of... 23 November 1838 David Roberts	Fragments of the Great Colossi,... David Roberts
View looking across the Hall... 27 November 1838 David Roberts	The Hypaethral Temple at Philae,... David Roberts	View from under the Portico... David Roberts	Statues of Memnon at Thebes,... David Roberts	Edfou 24 November 1838 David Roberts	Grand Entrance to the Temple... David Roberts
View of Westminster Abbey and... ca. 1860 David Roberts	View of St. Paul's Cathedral... ca. 1860 David Roberts	View of St. Paul's, London August 11th 1860 David Roberts	The river front of Somerset... August 11th 1860 David Roberts	Ships in a harbour by 1864 David Roberts	The Gateway to the Great... 1841 David Roberts

Dunbarton Castle December 1830 David Roberts

Xerez from the Ramparts 28 October 1835 David Roberts

The Cathedral David Roberts

David Roberts, R.A. fl. 1857-1876 John & Charles Watkins

David Roberts R.A. ca.1870s L. Caldesi & Co

Portrait of David Roberts c. 1845 Clarkson Stanfield

Ballantine, James   The Life Of David Roberts, R.A. Compiled From His Journals And Other Sources By James Ballantine With Etchings And Facsimiles Of Pen-And-Ink Sketches By The Artist - Edinburgh [1866]    07/3402

Views In London And Its Vicinity, Complete In Forty-Eight Plates, Engraved On Copper, By George Cooke, From Drawings By Callcott, R.A. Stanfield, A.R.A. Prout. Roberts. Stark. Harding. Cotman. Havell. &c. &c. After The Original Sketches Made On The Spot By Edward W. Cooke.   - London: (1834.)    06/5818

Egypt & Nubia From Drawings Made On The Spot By David Roberts R.A. With Historical Descriptions By William Brockedon, F.R.S. Lithographed By Louis Haghe. Vol. I.   - London [1846 (- 1849)]    05/611

The Holy Land, Syria, Idumea, Arabia, Egypt, & Nubia. From Drawings Made On The Spot By David Roberts, R.A. With Historical Descriptions, By The Revd. George Croly, L.L.D. Lithography By Louis Haghe. - Vol. 1. (2.)   - London [1842 (-1843)]    06/4796

Picturesque Sketches In Spain Taken During the Years 1832 & 1833 By David Roberts   - London [1852 or later?]    06/4791

Pye, John, the younger   Patronage Of British Art, An Historical Sketch: Comprising An Account Of The Rise And Progress Of Art And Artists In London, From The Beginning Of The Reign Of George The Second; Together With A History Of The Society For The Management And Distribution Of The Artists' Fund, From Its Establishment In 1810, To Its Incorporation In 1827. Illustrated With Notes, Historical, Biographical, And Explanatory. By John Pye, Landscape-Engraver, Honorary Member Of The Imperial Academy Of Arts, St. Petersburgh. [Epigraph] - London: 1845.    06/2535

The Royal Gallery Of British Art.   - London: [ca. 1851?]    05/818

The Royal Gallery Of British Art.   - London: [ca. 1851?]    05/806

AND/26/298    Invitation to attend the funeral of David Roberts    29 Nov 1864    Item

AND/26/297    Title page of a sale catalogue    20 May 1865    Item

AND/26/296    Private view invitation to view iThe Destruction of Jerusalem/i, by David Roberts    [1850]    Item

AND/26/288    Title page of a sale catalogue    1865    Item

AND/26/286    David Roberts, 7 Fitzroy Street, to Mr Anderdon    7 May 1861    Item

AND/26/285    Title page of a sale catalogue    28 Apr 1860    Item

AND/26/19    David Roberts, Fitzroy St., to Anderdon    25 Mar 1854    Item

AND/24/68    Title page of a sale catalogue    20 May 1865    Item

AND/22/312    Pages 25 and 26 of the 1836 Academy catalogue    1836    Item

AND/22/311    Title page to a sales catalogue    20 May 1865    Item

AND/21/49    Sales catalogue cutting    [1865]    Item

AND/11/2    [copy] Invitation ticket to the Royal Academy annual dinner    [1800]    Item

JU/14/29    David Roberts, Fitzroy St., to Christine    [1853]    Item

JU/14/27    David Roberts, 7 Fitzroy St., to H. Mogford Esq.    03 Jul 1852    Item

AND/1/8    Cutting from the sale catalogue for the goods of David Roberts, R.A.    [c.1865]    Item

RAA/SEC/1/144    Letter from J. F. Lewis, Walton on Thames, to David Roberts, RA    19 Jul 1859    Item

RAA/SEC/2/117/1    Francis Graham Moon, 20 Threadneedle Street, to Sir Martin Archer Shee    12 Apr 1842    Item

236/46/18    W.P. Frith, 7 Pembridge Villas, Bayswater, to T. Miller    3 May 1865    Item

236/45/18    W.P. Frith, 12 Park Village West, London, to T. Miller    10 Feb 1851    Item

236/32/4    R. Ansdell, 7 Victoria Rd., Kensington, to T. Miller    [1849]    Item

236/29    David Roberts, R.A.    1849-1853    Series

236/45/13    W.P. Frith, London, to T. Miller    15 Apr 1855    Item