Archibald Thorburn (Born 1860 – Died 1935) was born near Edinburgh at Lasswade. He was the 5th son of Robert Thorburn, the miniaturist to Queen Victoria. From a very early age, he was fascinated by all forms of wildlife and by the time he was 7 years old, he was already often being found sketching and drawing leaves, twigs, and flowers from the garden at Viewfield House. Soon it became obvious that Thorburn had been fortunate enough to inherit his artistic skills from his father, and by the age of 12 he was producing some good-looking little pen and ink studies and watercolor drawings that already showed excellent aptitude and great guarantee of things to come. For over 50 years, in 1883, from his first published work to his death, he was in constant demand both as a book illustrator and as the painter of private commissions which are larger and showing mammals and birds in their natural environments.
For many of his contemporaries, he was the greatest painter of natural history Britain had produced. He was regarded as a giant who represented the zenith of a great 19th century tradition and showed the way forward to greater naturalism. He regularly exhibited his paintings at the Royal Academy and he’s the one who designed their first Christmas card for the Protection of Birds. He also exhibited at the Fine Art Society, Royal Society of British Artists, and Dudley Gallery. He became the Vice-President of the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds.
