James Elmes
Encyclopedia
James Elmes was an English
architect
, civil engineer
, and writer on the arts.
, and, after studying building under his father, and architecture under George Gibson
, became a student at the Royal Academy
, where he gained the silver medal in 1804. He designed a large number of buildings in the metropolis, and was surveyor and civil engineer
to the Port of London
, but is best known as a writer on the arts. In 1809 he became vice-president of the Royal Architectural Society, but this office, as well as that of surveyor of the port of London, he was compelled through partial loss of sight to resign in 1828. He founded and edited the Annals of the Fine Arts between 1816 and 1820. He died in Greenwich
in 1862.
He was father of Harvey Lonsdale Elmes
.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
architect
Architect
An architect is a person trained in the planning, design and oversight of the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to offer or render services in connection with the design and construction of a building, or group of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the...
, civil engineer
Civil engineer
A civil engineer is a person who practices civil engineering; the application of planning, designing, constructing, maintaining, and operating infrastructures while protecting the public and environmental health, as well as improving existing infrastructures that have been neglected.Originally, a...
, and writer on the arts.
Biography
He was educated at Merchant Taylors' SchoolMerchant Taylors' School, Northwood
Merchant Taylors' School is a British independent day school for boys, originally located in the City of London. Since 1933 it has been located at Sandy Lodge in the Three Rivers district of Hertfordshire ....
, and, after studying building under his father, and architecture under George Gibson
George Gibson
George C. Gibson , nicknamed Mooney, was a Canadian baseball player who caught for two different Major League teams, starting in 1905 with the Pittsburgh Pirates and ending his playing career with the New York Giants in 1918. In the 1920s and 1930s he served as manager for Pittsburgh and for the...
, became a student at the Royal Academy
Royal Academy
The Royal Academy of Arts is an art institution based in Burlington House on Piccadilly, London. The Royal Academy of Arts has a unique position in being an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects whose purpose is to promote the creation, enjoyment and...
, where he gained the silver medal in 1804. He designed a large number of buildings in the metropolis, and was surveyor and civil engineer
Civil engineer
A civil engineer is a person who practices civil engineering; the application of planning, designing, constructing, maintaining, and operating infrastructures while protecting the public and environmental health, as well as improving existing infrastructures that have been neglected.Originally, a...
to the Port of London
Port of London
The Port of London lies along the banks of the River Thames from London, England to the North Sea. Once the largest port in the world, it is currently the United Kingdom's second largest port, after Grimsby & Immingham...
, but is best known as a writer on the arts. In 1809 he became vice-president of the Royal Architectural Society, but this office, as well as that of surveyor of the port of London, he was compelled through partial loss of sight to resign in 1828. He founded and edited the Annals of the Fine Arts between 1816 and 1820. He died in Greenwich
Greenwich
Greenwich is a district of south London, England, located in the London Borough of Greenwich.Greenwich is best known for its maritime history and for giving its name to the Greenwich Meridian and Greenwich Mean Time...
in 1862.
He was father of Harvey Lonsdale Elmes
Harvey Lonsdale Elmes
Harvey Lonsdale Elmes , the son of James Elmes, was born in Chichester, England. He was a distinguished architect....
.
Works
- Sir Christopher Wren and his Times (1823)
- Lectures on Architecture (1823)
- The Arts and Artists (1825)
- General and Biographical Dictionary of the Fine Arts (1826)
- Treatise on Architectural Jurisprudence (1827), and Thomas Clarkson: a Monograph (1854)
External links
- C. J. Robinson, ‘Elmes, James (1782–1862)’, rev. Anne Pimlott Baker, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004, accessed 4 Jan 2008
- The arts and artists, or Anecdotes and relics of the schools of painting, Vol. I, James Elmes, 1825, (John Knight & Henry Lacey, London)
- Sir Christopher Wren and his times, James Elmes, 1852, (Chapman & Hall, London)