James Baynes was an English

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...

 watercolour painter and drawing-master.

Little is known of his family apart from the fact that he was born in Lancaster

Lancaster, Lancashire

Lancaster is the county town of Lancashire, England. It is situated on the River Lune and has a population of 45,952. Lancaster is a constituent settlement of the wider City of Lancaster, local government district which has a population of 133,914 and encompasses several outlying towns, including...

 as the son of a local tradesman and was the eldest of six children, his grandfather being a Catholic priest in Kirkby Lonsdale

Kirkby Lonsdale

Kirkby Lonsdale is a small town and civil parish in the South Lakeland district of Cumbria, England, on the River Lune. Historically within Westmorland, it is situated south east of Kendal along the A65. The parish had a population of 1,771 recorded in the 2001 census.Notable buildings include St...

 where his father was born. As a boy he showed a love of the arts and had been employed to draw heads and work devices until Dr. Campbell, a local Physician, having seen some of these works sent some sketches to his friend George Romney

George Romney (painter)

George Romney was an English portrait painter. He was the most fashionable artist of his day, painting many leading society figures - including his artistic muse, Emma Hamilton, mistress of Lord Nelson....

. The young Baynes was then sent to London to study under Romney at the expense of Dr. Campbell.

In 1784, at the age of 18 he became a student at the Royal Academy. He wedded Mary Mann (1766-1845) in 1785 at Marylebone Church

St Marylebone Parish Church

-First church:The first church for the parish was built in the vicinity of the present Marble Arch c.1200, and dedicated to St John the Evangelist.-Second church:...

, London

London

London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

. Their son, Thomas Mann Baynes

Thomas Mann Baynes

Thomas Mann Baynes was a London born English artist known for his drawings and watercolours of landscapes, buildings and outdoor events. Many of his subjects were engraved and published, generally in London, and these include a notable panorama of the River Thames, which was drawn from nature and...

 (1794-1854), was also became a noted watercolour artist.

The marriage was without the consent of Campbell his patron and this resulted in a loss of support for Baynes and the withdrawal of the opportunity for an Italian tour. Thrown on his own resources he obtained employment from The Polygraphic Society, a Woolwich

Woolwich

Woolwich is a district in south London, England, located in the London Borough of Greenwich. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London.Woolwich formed part of Kent until 1889 when the County of London was created...

 based company formed for the reproduction of pictures. The company produced reproductions of celebrated works and having touched them up by hand, sold them at a fee. Baynes was to earn £100 a year for this work. The failure of the company lead to his move to Chelsea, followed by moves to 38 Dean Street

Dean Street

Dean Street is a street in Soho, London, England, running between Oxford Street to the north and Shaftesbury Avenue to the south.-Historical figures:The street has a rich history. In 1764 a young Mozart gave a recital at 21 Dean Street...

, Soho, 103 Wardour Street

Wardour Street

Wardour Street is a street in Soho, London. It is a one-way street south to north from Leicester Square, up through Chinatown, across Shaftesbury Avenue to Oxford Street.-History:...

 and finally 73 Castle Street near Oxford Street

Oxford Street

Oxford Street is a major thoroughfare in the City of Westminster in the West End of London, United Kingdom. It is Europe's busiest shopping street, as well as its most dense, and currently has approximately 300 shops. The street was formerly part of the London-Oxford road which began at Newgate,...

 where he remained for 40 years until his death in 1837.

A large proportion of his time was occupied in teaching drawing (in which he had a good practice) and working for architects such as Sir Jeffry Wyattville

Jeffry Wyattville

Sir Jeffry Wyattville was an English architect and garden designer. His original surname was Wyatt, and his name is sometimes also written as Jeffrey and his surname as Wyatville; he changed his name in 1824.He was trained by his uncles Samuel Wyatt and James Wyatt, who were both leading architects...

. Among his pupils were John Wood, who produced a portrait of Baynes, Sir Henry Sass

Henry Sass

Henry Sass was an English artist and teacher of painting, who founded an important art school, Sass's Academy , in London, to provide training for those seeking to enter the Royal Academy. Many distinguished British painters received their early training here...

 who founded a school of art, "Sass's Academy

Henry Sass

Henry Sass was an English artist and teacher of painting, who founded an important art school, Sass's Academy , in London, to provide training for those seeking to enter the Royal Academy. Many distinguished British painters received their early training here...

", in Bloomsbury and J.D. Harding

James Duffield Harding

James Duffield Harding , English landscape painter, was the son of an artist, and took to the same vocation at an early age, although he had originally been destined for the law...

 the landscape painter whose name is connected with the advancement of lithography

Lithography

Lithography is a method for printing using a stone or a metal plate with a completely smooth surface...

. Baynes's teaching activities and his ever-expanding family (he has eight children) put pressure on his own landscape painting. He was, however, a constant exhibitor of watercolours, and occasionally oils, 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...

 between 1796 and 1837. He specialised in watercolour drawings of Norfolk, North Wales, Cumberland and later, Kent. Frequently he introduced figures and cattle.

Both James Baynes and his wife were a members of the Sandemanian

Glasite

The Glasites or Glassites were a Christian sect founded in about 1730 in Scotland by John Glas. Glas' faith, as part of the First Great Awakening, was spread by his son-in-law Robert Sandeman into England and America, where the members were called Sandemanians.Glas dissented from the Westminster...

 Church. The Sandemanians were a small, devote and fundamentalist Christian sect that formed tightknit communities of small congregations across the UK and in Danbury, Connecticut

Danbury, Connecticut

Danbury is a city in northern Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. It had population at the 2010 census of 80,893. Danbury is the fourth largest city in Fairfield County and is the seventh largest city in Connecticut....

. The London community boasted Michael Faraday

Michael Faraday

Michael Faraday, FRS was an English chemist and physicist who contributed to the fields of electromagnetism and electrochemistry....

 amongst its Deacon Elders. In the north of England it is likely that Baynes was a member of one of the Cumbrian branches but on his move to London he made his confession of faith and became a full member of the London congregation (Paul's Alley in the Barbican) in June 1792, some nine months after Michael Faraday's birth.

Baynes drew landscapes while traveling in England and Wales. His sketch books show that he visited the South of England in 1802, Wales and the West of England in 1810, Cumberland in 1815 and Kent in 1816.

James Baynes died of an 'affection of the heart' on 12 May 1837. Both he and his wife Mary are buried in St. Johns Wood Cemetery, London.

Works

James Baynes' works include:

• The Well in Carisbrook Castle (31.5 x 28, ink and wash)
• Castle Ruins with Figures (45.4 x 62.4, watercolour on paper)
• Caernarvon Castle across the River (37.7 x 53.8, watercolour on paper)
• City Street Corner Scene with Figures (26.03 x 18.16, watercolour on paper)
• Figures on a Lakeland Track (18 x 29, watercolour on paper)

External links

• http://www.gac.culture.gov.uk/search/Artist.asp?maker_id=116723