Background
Archibald Thorburn was born on May 31, 1860 in Lasswade, United Kingdom. He was the son of Robert Thorburn, who was the miniaturist for Queen Victoria.
Archibald Thorburn was born on May 31, 1860 in Lasswade, United Kingdom. He was the son of Robert Thorburn, who was the miniaturist for Queen Victoria.
Archibald's first education was in Dalkeith and Edinburgh, after which he entered the newly founded St. John's Wood Art School in London. His stay there was brief, since on the death of his father, he sought the guidance of Joseph Wolf.
In 1882, Thorburn’s first published coloured plates appeared in W. F. Swaysland’s "Familiar Wild Birds".
Following his father’s death in 1885, Thorburn moved south to London, residing at a number of addresses there before moving to Hascombe in Surrey in 1902, where he lived and worked for the rest of his life.
During the period from 1885 to 1898, the painter carried out the monumental work for Lord Lilford, in which he completed some 268 superlative water-colours for "Coloured Figures of the Birds of the British Islands". This work brought to the world for the very first time a perfect blend of art and science as his birds, technically correct in every detail, remained soft, round, delicate and alive.
Over the course of his career, his works were regularly exhibited at the Royal Academy of Arts in London.
Notably, Thorburn designed the first Christmas card for the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds in 1899.
Cock and Hen Pheasant in Winter
Woodcock Nesting On A Beach
The Covey at Daybreak
Autumn Covert
Peacock and Peacock Butterfly
Sperm whale and Bottlenose whale
Dormice
Great Northern Diver
Common Eider Ducks
A Cock Pheasant
Woodcock Among the Dunes
Brambling
Study of sandpipers, cream coloured coursers and other birds
Cock and hen pheasant in the undergrowth
European polecat defending a rabbit carcass from a least weasel
A Golden Eagle
Velvet Scoter
Red Grouse On The Moor
Wildcat
Ptarmigan Calling in the Snow
Pintail, Teal And Wigeon, On The Seashore
A Woodcock
Richardson's Skua, Great Skua, Pomarine Skua
Cock Grouse
Red Partridges
Satyr-Tragopan
Buffel Headed Duck American Green Winged Teal And Hooded Merganser
A Nepalese black headed nun in the branch of a tree
Bluetits On A Teasel
Caspian Plover
English Partridge In Flight
European polecat
Magpies
Cock and Hen Pheasant at the Edge of a Wood
A Greenland, or Gyr Falcon
Ptarmigan Seeking Shelter
Red Grouse Packing
Great bustards
The painter held the post of the vice-president at the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds.
Archibald Thorburn married Constance Mudie in 1896. The couple had one son, Philip.