Mann married in 1887 and in 1890 took his family to Tangier for nearly two years for their health. North Africa inspired some of his most impressive and painterly sketches. 

Alexander Mann NEAC ROI, 1853-1908

Born in Glasgow, Mann was given early encouragement in developing his artistic talent. He attended evening classes at Glasgow School of Art while serving an apprenticeship at his father's firm. In 1877 he settled in Paris, studying at the Académie Julian and then with the fashionable portrait painter Émile Carolus-Duran. On a visit to Venice in 1884 he painted La Fileuse des Perles, which was exhibited at the Salon des Beaux-Arts in Paris in 1885 and received an Honourable Mention, the first award of this kind given to a Glasgow-born artist. In 1886 Mann was invited to become a founder member - and the first Scottish member - of the New English Art Club. He married in 1887 and in 1890 took his family to Tangier for nearly two years for their health. North Africa inspired some of his most impressive and painterly sketches.