Skip to main content

John Alexander Art

American, 1680-1775
John Alexander was one of the leading Scottish artists of the 18th century. Born to an Aberdeen doctor, he boasted patrilineal descent from George Jamesone, a purported student of Rubens and Van Dyck, and the founder of a Scottish school of portraiture which found its highest expression in Ramsay and Raeburn in the following century. Alexander travelled to Rome in 1711 where he trained under Giuseppe Bartolomeo Chiari. He produced engravings after Raphael’s frescoes in the Vatican Loggia, and worked for the Marquess of Annandale to collect paintings and sculpture; he made drawings of the works, and collected some copies for himself, which he brought back to Scotland in 1720. Whilst in Italy, Alexander received commissions from the Medici in Florence, and the exiled Stuart court in Rome, who included the Lord Chief Justice Coke and the Earl of Mar. Lord Mar had arrived in Italy after the failed Jacobite rising of 1715, and even commissioned Alexander on behalf of the exiled Royal family: Alexander wrote to Mar, ‘You will receive from the post the Parnassus of Raphael […] I pray you anew to excuse my weak beginnings to the King’ (Holloway, p. 86). Alexander married Isobel Innes of Tillyfour in 1723 and their son Cosmo was born the following year. Their younger son Charles was sent abroad to the Scots Benedictine College at Ratisbon, and his daughter married George Chalmers, son to Roderick Chalmers and heir to an impoverished baronetcy. Alexander took a number of aristocratic commissions, which included the 4th Earl and Countess of Kinmore; James Hamilton, 5th Duke of Hamilton; and the 7th Earl of Wemyss. He was based in Edinburgh in his later career, painting figures of early Enlightenment Edinburgh, such as George Drummond, the Lord Provost who had envisaged the grid plan of Edinburgh’s New Town. Alexander was a close friend of the architect James Gibbs, and the engraver and antiquary George Vertue, who described the artist as ‘a merry dispos’d gent, [who] laughs eternally’ (Holloway, p. 85). Alexander was a signatory in 1729 of the charter of Scotland’s first art institution, the Academy of St Luke of Edinburgh.
to
1
1
2
1
Overall Width
to
Overall Height
to
1
3
1
1
1
1
1
2
1
1
2
2
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
3
3
2
2
1
4
10,185
2,809
2,503
1,398
4
3
1
Artist: John Alexander
"Momma Always Wanted a Dancer" Black & White Surreal Etching of a Child & Fish
"Momma Always Wanted a Dancer" Black & White Surreal Etching of a Child & Fish

"Momma Always Wanted a Dancer" Black & White Surreal Etching of a Child & Fish

By John Alexander

Located in Houston, TX

Black and white surreal aquatint and etching of a child by Texas artist John Alexander. The work features a child-like figure dressed in a tutu and crown holding a fish in outstretch...

Category

1990s Surrealist John Alexander Art

Materials

Paper, Etching, Aquatint

Portrait of George Gordon, 7th Laird of Buckie (1707-1756)
Portrait of George Gordon, 7th Laird of Buckie (1707-1756)

Portrait of George Gordon, 7th Laird of Buckie (1707-1756)

By John Alexander

Located in Henley-on-Thames, England

John Alexander (Scottish, 1686-1766) Portrait of George Gordon, 7th Laird of Buckie (Scottish, 1707-1756), c. 1743 Oil on canvas In a carved ebonised frame, with gilded inner slight...

Category

1740s Old Masters John Alexander Art

Materials

Oil

LANDSCAPE

LANDSCAPE

By John Alexander

Located in New York, NY

Fall landscape of field of wheat or long grass. yellow, beige and brown colors. American

Category

Late 20th Century American Realist John Alexander Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Related Items
Salvador Dali - Fight Before la Dame  - Original Handsigned Etching
Salvador Dali - Fight Before la Dame  - Original Handsigned Etching

Salvador Dali - Fight Before la Dame - Original Handsigned Etching

By Salvador Dalí­

Located in Collonge Bellerive, Geneve, CH

Salvador Dali - Original Handsigned Etching From La Quête du Graal Dimensions: 45 x 33 cm Handsigned Edition: 38/100 (from the rare deluxe suite aside from the standard edition) Cat...

Category

1970s Surrealist John Alexander Art

Materials

Etching

Madonna Holy family Tisi 16/17th Century Paint Oil on canvas Old master Italy
Madonna Holy family Tisi 16/17th Century Paint Oil on canvas Old master Italy

Madonna Holy family Tisi 16/17th Century Paint Oil on canvas Old master Italy

Located in Riva del Garda, IT

Benvenuto Tisi, il Garofalo (Garofalo, Rovigo 1476 - Ferrara 1559) workshop/follower Madonna with Child and Saint Joseph Oil on canvas 125 x 90 cm - In frame 143 x 109 cm. I...

Category

16th Century Old Masters John Alexander Art

Materials

Oil

Salvador Dali - Venus in Furs - Original Stamp-Signed Etching
Salvador Dali - Venus in Furs - Original Stamp-Signed Etching

Salvador Dali - Venus in Furs - Original Stamp-Signed Etching

By Salvador Dalí­

Located in Collonge Bellerive, Geneve, CH

Salvador Dali - Original Etching Stamp signed by Dali Edition of 294 copies. Paper : Arches vellum. Dimensions : 16x12". Catalogue Raisonné : Field 68-6 (p. 40-41). Salvador Dal...

Category

1960s Surrealist John Alexander Art

Materials

Etching

Salvador Dali - The Torso - Original Stamp-Signed Etching
Salvador Dali - The Torso - Original Stamp-Signed Etching

Salvador Dali - The Torso - Original Stamp-Signed Etching

By Salvador Dalí­

Located in Collonge Bellerive, Geneve, CH

Salvador Dali - The Torso - Original Stamp-Signed Etching Stamp signed by Dali Edition of 294 copies. Paper : Arches vellum. Dimensions : 16x12". Catalogue Raisonné : Field 68-6 (...

Category

1960s Surrealist John Alexander Art

Materials

Etching

Salvador Dali - The Violet Boot - Original Stamp-Signed Etching
Salvador Dali - The Violet Boot - Original Stamp-Signed Etching

Salvador Dali - The Violet Boot - Original Stamp-Signed Etching

By Salvador Dalí­

Located in Collonge Bellerive, Geneve, CH

Salvador Dali - The Violet Boot - Original Stamp-Signed Etching Stamp signed by Dali Edition of 294 copies. Paper : Arches vellum. Dimensions : 16x12". Catalogue Raisonné : Field ...

Category

1960s Surrealist John Alexander Art

Materials

Etching

Salvador Dali - The Woman of the Shoe - Original Stamp-Signed Etching
Salvador Dali - The Woman of the Shoe - Original Stamp-Signed Etching

Salvador Dali - The Woman of the Shoe - Original Stamp-Signed Etching

By Salvador Dalí­

Located in Collonge Bellerive, Geneve, CH

Salvador Dali - The Woman of the Shoe - Original Stamp-Signed Etching Stamp signed by Dali Edition of 294 copies. Paper : Arches vellum. Dimensions : 16x12". Catalogue Raisonné : ...

Category

1960s Surrealist John Alexander Art

Materials

Etching

Antique French Old Master Oil Painting Christ Healing the Sick in Jersusalem
Antique French Old Master Oil Painting Christ Healing the Sick in Jersusalem

Antique French Old Master Oil Painting Christ Healing the Sick in Jersusalem

Located in Cirencester, Gloucestershire

Christ Healing the Sick French School, 19th century oil on canvas, unframed canvas: 15 x 20.5 inches Provenance: private collection, Europe Condition: some craquelure throughout, mo...

Category

19th Century Old Masters John Alexander Art

Materials

Oil

Pathway to the San Gabrielino Trail; Neglected and Protected
Pathway to the San Gabrielino Trail; Neglected and Protected

Pathway to the San Gabrielino Trail; Neglected and Protected

By Tim Solliday

Located in Pasadena, CA

Provenance Acquired by the gallery directly from the artist Painted en plein air in the San Gabriel Mountains near the artist's home in the early summer of 2013. Signed "T. Solliday...

Category

2010s American Realist John Alexander Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Previously Available Items
Foxglove's Journey

Foxglove's Journey

By John Alexander

Located in San Francisco, CA

Alexander was born in Beaumont, Texas, in 1945. He received his B.F.A. from Lamar University in Beaumont in 1968 and his M.F.A. from the Southern Methodist University in Dallas in 19...

Category

2010s John Alexander Art

Materials

Oil

Night Heron Stalker
Night Heron Stalker

Night Heron Stalker

By John Alexander

Located in Austin, TX

Artist: John Alexander Title: Night Stalker Medium: Oil on Canvas Size: 35" x 30" Framing: Framed Condition: Excellent

Category

Mid-20th Century John Alexander Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Ink Drawing of a Man in a Mask
Ink Drawing of a Man in a Mask

Ink Drawing of a Man in a Mask

By John Alexander

Located in Houston, TX

Delightful ink portrait drawing by John Alexander of a man in a mask.

Category

1980s Modern John Alexander Art

Materials

Pastel, Ink, Watercolor, Pen

LANDSCAPE 091

John AlexanderLANDSCAPE 091

Sold

H 44.5 in W 44.5 in

LANDSCAPE 091

By John Alexander

Located in New York, NY

oil painting on canvas framed in brown wood frame depicting an abstracted landscape.

Category

1990s Contemporary John Alexander Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

John Alexander art for sale on 1stDibs.

Find a wide variety of authentic John Alexander art available for sale on 1stDibs. If you’re browsing the collection of art to introduce a pop of color in a neutral corner of your living room or bedroom, you can find work that includes elements of blue and other colors. You can also browse by medium to find art by John Alexander in monoprint, paint, oil paint and more. Not every interior allows for large John Alexander art, so small editions measuring 23 inches across are available. Customers who are interested in this artist might also find the work of Saul Chase, Jon Carsman, and Alan Feltus. John Alexander art prices can differ depending upon medium, time period and other attributes. On 1stDibs, the price for these items starts at $4,000 and tops out at $20,000, while the average work can sell for $11,000.

Artists Similar to John Alexander