190:. At 21 he married a widow Clementina Farquharson. Shortly afterwards he made a tour through Scotland and visited the continent, and on his return home he settled in Aberdeen at 64 Bon Accord Street, where a plaque commemorates him. He then became a member of the Royal Scottish Academy and elected to the council of the Spalding Club. Success in his profession soon gave him prestige and modest wealth. He lived next door to his sister Jane and her husband James Robertson. Giles was both versatile and shrewd: he excelled not only as a landscape-artist and portrait-painter but also as a town-planner and landscape-designer, designing such notable Aberdeen features as the Demeter Sculpture above Simpson House and the obelisk, now in the Duthie Park, which formerly stood in the quadrangle of Marischal College. But above all James Giles was a landscape painter. His close friendship with
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198:, the lease of which had been held by the Earl's younger brother Robert until his death, she decided to lease it without having actually seen what would become her Scottish residence from 1848 on, and in 1852 she purchased Balmoral with its lands. The old castle was completely rebuilt, and it is surprising how closely the new Balmoral resembles Giles' painting of its predecessor. In later years Giles was to carry out several commissions for the royal family and these remain in the possession of H.M. the present queen.
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Some of his finest work is represented by his posthumously published
Drawings of Aberdeenshire Castles, commissioned by Lord Aberdeen. This comprises a series of some ninety watercolour sketches, completed between 1838 and 1855. They are brilliantly executed, and offer a fine impression of these old
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By his first wife, Giles had six children: a daughter, Emily, and five sons. All the sons predeceased him, which may account for a certain melancholy displayed by Giles in later life. His wife, Clementina, died in 1866, and Giles subsequently married
Margaret Walker, by whom he had a son and a
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213:, and fond of painting the result of a successful day's fishing. These pictures were his best works. He first exhibited at the "Royal Institution for the Encouragement of the Fine Arts in Scotland", and in 1829 became an academician of the
194:(and British Prime Minister in the mid-1850s) was of major importance. Not only did he design the gardens and parkland of the Earl's estate at Haddo House in Aberdeenshire, but after Queen Victoria had viewed a painting by Giles of the old
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By his first wife, Clementina
Farquharson or Ruxton (a widow), he had two sons, James and John, one of whom gave great promise as an artist, but died of consumption at the early age of 21.
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Scottish buildings. Most of the original pictures are preserved in the James Giles Room at Haddo House, and copies of the entire set were published in 1936 by the Third
Spalding Club.
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gave him a taste for classic landscape, which he never entirely lost, for the mist seldom hangs about his mountains, even when the scene is laid near "dark
Lochnagar". He was a keen
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where a granite tombstone of his own design stands prominently among the others to the east of the church. Next to him lies his brother-in-law, Peter
Robertson.
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229:. His last work was a painting of himself, his wife, and youngest son, which he left unfinished. In 1852 he is listed as a member of the council to
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daughter. So the Giles line did not die out. Giles himself died 6 October 1870 and is buried at
Aberdeen in the graveyard of
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At 13 he maintained himself, his mother and sister by painting, and before he was 20 was teaching private classes in
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atmosphere. The sights that he saw and recorded in Italy were to remain with him for the rest of his life. His
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His first wife died in 1866. His second wife was
Margaret Walker (1846-1883) forty-five years his junior.
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Aspects of
Landscape, A Bicentenary Celebration of James Giles RSA (Aberdeen City Council, 2001), p. 1.
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sketches often provided materials for the oils he painted and exhibited on his return to
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During his lifetime, Giles was among the first to be mentioned as one of the most vital of the
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landscape painter. Several of his landscapes were commissioned and purchased by
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His earliest successes were in portrait-painting, however his visit to
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536:"Haddo House and Country Park Gardens and Ghosts Ellon Aberdeenshire"
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Miscellania Manitobiana No 6 by Astrid Hess 2007 accessed 19 sep 2020
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Aspects of Landscape – A Bicentenary Celebration of James Giles RSA
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The grave of James Giles RSA, churchyard of St Machar's Cathedral
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and members of the Scottish aristocracy. He was a member of the
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around 1805 where his father worked in a printing factory at
423:. Vol. 21. London: Smith, Elder & Co. p. 348.
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artists – his patrons included the landed aristocracy of
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on 4 January 1801, the son of a designer at the local
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550:"James William Giles (1801-1870), Lithographer"
500:The Miscellany of The Spalding Club Vol v 1852
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192:George Hamilton-Gordon, 4th Earl of Aberdeen
300:, designing a number of public gardens and
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435:"James William Giles, R.S.A. (1801-1870)"
372:Aberdeen Archives, Gallery & Museums
304:in Aberdeen, in addition to landscaping
147:(4 January 1801 – 6 October 1870) was a
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362:National Portrait Gallery (6 portraits)
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625:76 artworks by or after James Giles
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522:"Art UK | Discover Artworks"
571:The weird wife o’ Lang Stane Lea
469:Grave of James Giles, St Machars
420:Dictionary of National Biography
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348:Sorracte from Civita Castellana
722:Landscape and garden designers
687:19th-century Scottish painters
365:National Gallery of Scotland (
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717:Royal Scottish Academicians
707:Scottish landscape painters
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552:. National Portrait Gallery
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653:(Bourne Fine Art Gallery)
389:See "James Giles" at the
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175:. The family moved to
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692:Artists from Aberdeen
610:Ferguson, O. (2001).
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645:Study of a 'Panther'
459:. 20 December 2017.
298:landscape architect
219:British Institution
142:James William Giles
47:James William Giles
635:Paintings by Giles
437:. Christie's. 2013
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294:landscape painting
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73:(1870-10-06)
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328:Haddo House
321:watercolour
84:Nationality
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671:Categories
661:Christie's
592:6 November
377:References
53:1801-01-04
302:monuments
117:Patron(s)
290:portrait
278:Aberdeen
266:Aberdeen
260:Overview
225:and the
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149:Scottish
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61:Aberdeen
306:estates
169:Glasgow
106:Elected
629:Art UK
556:5 June
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332:Art UK
237:Family
211:angler
173:calico
313:Italy
207:Italy
631:site
594:2023
558:2013
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292:and
284:Work
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163:Life
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