Faed Family of Artists

The Faeds were a classic Victorian success story. Not only did five out of the six children born to James Faed of Gatehouse-of-Fleet in the early 19th century go on to become distinguished, widely exhibited artists but so did several of their sons.

Quite why most of the children of a millwright embarked on this path is unclear but their achievement is evident in the legacy of their work which can be found in many private and public collections.

The first to establish himself as an artist was John who had begun painting miniatures when only 9 years old. He moved to Edinburgh in 1840 to set up a painting studio, soon followed by Thomas with James joining them in 1846 once they were established. James began painting and engraving himself, specialising in created engraved copies of painted portraits. He became so accomplished that Queen Victoria personally chose him to engrave a portrait of herself with Prince Albert.

James invited his youngest brother George to move to Edinburgh as his assistant their sister Susan, also an artist, joined them to keep house for her brothers and widowed mother. It soon became clear that George too was artistically talented as evidenced by his engravings now in the Scottish National Portrait Gallery. His career was all too short however, as he was to die from consumption when only 21 years old.

Thomas and John moved to London for a time where Thomas became a member of the Royal Academy and painted his best known work, The Last of the Clan, which has become an iconic image of the Highland clearances. James Senior died suddenly while eating lunch at the age of 91. He had a large family and several of his sons, like their father, uncles and cousins, became artists.

The most successful of his children was James Junior who is best known for his landscapes of the country where his family originated from in Galloway. Today, 134 works by the various members of this extraordinary family can be found in the UK’s national collections.