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Archibald Thorburn (1860-1935)
Grey seals
The Archibald Thorburn Drawings Collection
Exhibition and publication details
References and further reading
Archibald Thorburn (1860-1935)
Archibald Thorburn was born on 31 May 1860 at Lasswade
near Edinburgh, Scotland. His father, Robert Thorburn,
was a miniaturist artist who taught his son to paint.
Archibald attended art school in St John's Wood,
London, and in 1885 he settled in London.
An important commission came in 1887 when he painted
268 plates for Lord Lilford's Coloured Figures of
the Birds of the British Islands (1885-1897[1898]).
Later Thorburn illustrated numerous books, some
of which were his own published works on British
mammals and birds. He also painted gallery pieces
as well as receiving private commissions.
In 1896, he married Constance Mudie, and they moved
to Hascombe in Surrey, England, where he lived until
his death in 1935.
The Grey seal (Halichoerus grypus) inhabits the North Atlantic and it is estimated that at least half of the population can be found in or around the British coast.
Despite growing numbers in some areas, the northeast
Atlantic subpopulation is generally considered to
be endangered.
The Archibald Thorburn Drawings Collection
This drawing is one of a collection of 18 watercolour
drawings of bats and marine mammals by Archibald
Thorburn held by the Natural History Museum. They
were included in his two volume work British Mammals
(1920-21).
Exhibition and publication details
Thorburn, A. (1920-1921) British Mammals. Longmans, Green & Co.: London. 2 vols.
Thorburn, A. (1974) Thorburn's Mammals: With an Introduction by David Attenborough & Notes by Iain Bishop. Ebury Press; Michael Joseph, cop.: London. 128pp.
Thorburn, A. (1993) White-beaked Dolphin, Bottlenosed Dolphin and Common Dolphin. Postcard printed by Judges of Hastings. The Natural History Museum: London.
Thorburn, A. (1997) The Complete Illustrated Thorburn's
Mammals. Wordsworth Editions.: Ware, Hertfordshire.
80pp.
References and further reading
Lilford, T. L. P. (1885-1897[1898]) Coloured Figures of the Birds of the British Islands. R. H. Porter: London. 7 vols.
Southern, J. (1986) Thorburn's Birds and Mammals. David & Charles: Newton Abbot. 96pp.
Thorburn, A. (1977) Thorburn's Naturalist's Sketchbook. [New edition] Joseph: London. 134pp.
Thorburn, A. & Southern, J. (1981) Thorburn's
Landscape: The Major Natural History Paintings.
Elm Tree Books: London. 120pp.