English painter and etcher, whose influence helped to establish the use of watercolour as a reputable alternative to oils. He was born in Southwark to a brushmaker, so was familiar with the art world from a young age. Girtin learnt drawing while still a child and was apprenticed to the painter Edward Dayes. This relationship proved tumultuous, although Girtin seems to have served out the term of his apprenticeship. At the time, watercolour was mostly used to colour prints for etching, and Girtin was employed for this, alongside his friend JMW Turner. From 1794 he began exhibiting at the Royal Academy, and his use of watercolour in landscapes helped to establish the genre. He married Mary Borrett, daughter of a wealthy City goldsmith, in 1800 and was a founding member of the 'Brothers', a group of artists dedicated to watercolour. However, he suffered from consumption and, after a working tour of Paris, he returned to London where he died, in his mid-20's, in his painting room. Turner attended his funeral, stating that "had Tom Girtin lived I should have starved". Examples of Girtin's work can be found at The British Museum, Tate Britain, and the Victoria and Albert Museum.
English painter and etcher, whose influence helped to establish the use of watercolour as a reputable alternative to oils. He was born in Southwark to a brushmaker, so was familiar with the art world from a young age. Girtin learnt drawing while still a child and was apprenticed to the painter Edward Dayes. This relationship proved tumultuous, although Girtin seems to have served out the term of his apprenticeship. At the time, watercolour was mostly used to colour prints for etching, and Girtin was employed for this, alongside his friend JMW Turner. From 1794 he began exhibiting at the Royal Academy, and his use of watercolour in landscapes helped to establish the genre. He married Mary Borrett, daughter of a wealthy City goldsmith, in 1800 and was a founding member of the 'Brothers', a group of artists dedicated to watercolour. However, he suffered from consumption and, after a working tour of Paris, he returned to London where he died, in his mid-20's, in his painting room. Turner attended his funeral, stating that "had Tom Girtin lived I should have starved". Examples of Girtin's work can be found at The British Museum, Tate Britain, and the Victoria and Albert Museum.
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Records on Ancestry
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Westminster, London, England, Church of England Marriages and Banns, 1754-1935
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Westminster, London, England, Church of England Baptisms, Marriages and Burials, 1558-1812
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Dictionary of National Biography, Volumes 1-22
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London, England, Church of England Marriages and Banns, 1754-1938
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