William Simpson RI, 1823-1899

Watercolourist, illustrator, religious scholar, linguist, archaeologist and traveller, Simpson was the first true war artist. Born in Glasgow, he was employed by a firm of lithographers there until 1851, when he moved to London to work for the lithographers Day and Son, illustrating the Great Exhibition. In 1854 he was sent by the art dealers Colnaghi to record the Crimean War. The resulting book, The Seat of War in the East, established him as a pioneer of war reporting. He visited many parts of the world, recording wars, state occasions, royal marriages and other events for the Illustrated London News, Daily News and other publications.