Andrew McCallum Art

Andrew McCallum was born in Nottingham but hailed from the Scottish Highland. He was the son of an employee at the William Gibson & Sons Ltd. in Nottingham. An interest in drawing was encouraged by Thomas Bailey, who allowed him to copy pictures in his collection. On his 21st birthday, McCallum left home and maintained himself by teaching. Aged 22, he became a student in the recently founded Nottingham School of Art. He exhibited at the British Institution in 1849. About this time, he became a student at the Government School of Design at Somerset House. In 1850, McCallum first exhibited at the Royal Academy of Arts. From that year till 1852, he was an assistant master at the Manchester School of Art. In 1854, McCallum went to Italy with a traveling studentship. Part of his time was spent on mural decorations; returning to England in 1857, he decorated the western exterior of the Sheepshanks Gallery at the South Kensington Museum with panels. McCallum then concentrated on landscape, with subjects at Burnham Beeches and Windsor Forest. Towards the end of 1861, McCallum painted at Fontainbleau. In 1864, he worked in Switzerland and on the River Rhine; in 1866, he was in Italy; in the winter of 1866–67, he was in the neighborhood of Paris. Between 1870–75, he paid several visits to Egypt. About 1875, he was commissioned by Queen Victoria to paint five views near Balmoral. He sometimes lectured on art subjects. McCallum died on 22 January 1902 at 5 The Studios, Holland Park Road, London and had lived in the neighborhood.