THOMAS

See also:

• THOMAS GIRTIN (1775-18o2)

GIRTIN (1775-18o2)  , English painter and etcher, was the son of a well-to-do cordage maker in Southwark, London . His father died while Thomas was a child, and his widow married Mr Vaughan, a pattern-draughtsman . Girtin learnt drawing as a boy, and was apprenticed to Edward Doyes (1763-1804), the mezzotint engraver, and he soon made J . M . W . Turner's acquaintance . His architectural and topographical sketches and drawings soon established his reputation, his use of water-colour for landscapes being such as to give him the credit of having created modern water-colour painting, as opposed to mere " tinting." His etchings also were characteristic of his artistic genius . His early death from consumption (9th of November 1802) led indeed to Turner saying that " had Tom Girtin lived I should have starved." From 1794 to his death he was an exhibitor at the Royal Academy; and some fine examples of his work have been bequeathed by private owners to the British Museum and the Victoria and Albert Museum .