Thomas Faed


1826 - 1900

Painter, noted for his scenes of domestic life. Born at Burley Mill (near Gatehouse of Fleet, Dumfries and Galloway), the better-known brother of artist John Faed (1819 - 1902) and engraver James Faed (1821 - 1911). He began his career as a draper's apprentice in Castle Douglas, teaching himself to paint by copying prints. Following the death of their father in 1842, his brother John persuaded him to come to Edinburgh, where he trained at the Board of Manufactures School of Design, under Sir William Allan (1782 - 1850).

Thomas first exhibited at the Royal Scottish Academy in 1844 and was elected an associate in 1849. He moved to London in 1852, where he was elected an associate of the Royal Academy in 1861, gaining full membership in 1864. Even after his move to London, Faed's paintings usually dealt with Scottish subjects and were often powerful images of the poor or down-trodden, which proved very popular with the Victorian public. His works include The Visit of the Patron and Patroness to the Village School (1851), held by the McManus Gallery (Dundee), Highland Mary (1857) and The Reaper (1863), which both hang in the Aberdeen Art Gallery, The Last of The Clan (1865), which depicted the Highland Clearances and can be viewed in the Kelvingrove Gallery (Glasgow), and The Highland Mother (1870), owned by the Tate Gallery in London,

He retired in 1893.


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