a drawing school and "instilled a whole generation with the importance of drawing as a tool of empirical investigation"; his pupils included David Wilkie, David Roberts, Clarkson Stanfield and John Thomson of Duddingston; and it was probably from him that John James Ruskin (father of John Ruskin) learned to paint as a schoolboy in Edinburgh in the later 1790s. Another successful pupil was the painter, teacher, art dealer and connoisseur Andrew Wilson, who had his first art training under Nasmyth. Nasmyth was not only the tutor to the polymath Mary Somerville but he also introduced her to the leading intellectuals in Edinburgh. Nasmyth died at home, 47 York Place (roughly opposite the house of Sir Henry Raeburn), in Edinburgh. He was buried in St Cuthbert's Churchyard at the west end of Princes Street. The grave lies in the southern section towards the south-west. Family He married Barbara Foulis, the daughter of Sir James Foulis, 5th Baronet of Colinton, on 3 January 1786. Nasmyth's eldest six daughters all became notable artists. His daughters were Jane, Barbara, Margaret, Elizabeth, Anne and Charlotte. His eldest son, Patrick Nasmyth, studied under his father, then went to London and attracted attention as a landscapist. Another son, James Nasmyth, invented the steam hammer. He had three other children, Alexander, George and Mary. Architectural commissions Nasmyth obtained several commissions as architect (in terms of a masterplan and artistic concept): notably Rosneath House and Dunglass Castle. In 1810, he designed the Nasmyth Bridge as part of the Almondell Estate, now in the Almondell and Calderwood Country Park. Gallery Notes Sources For an account of Andrew Wilson see "The Scottish Claude" by John Ramm, Antique Dealer & Collectors Guide, July 1997, Vol 50, No. 12 Further reading Macmillan, Duncan (1984), Scottish Painting: The Later Enlightenment, in Parker, Geoff (ed.), Cencrastus No. 19, Winter 1984, pp. 25 – 27, J. C. B. Cooksey, Alexander Nasmyth H.R.S.A. 1758-1840: a Man of the Scottish Renaissance (Southampton, 1991) External links Works in the National Galleries of Scotland 1758 births 1840 deaths 18th-century Scottish painters 19th-century Scottish painters Alumni of the Edinburgh College of Art Artists from Edinburgh People educated at the Royal High School, Edinburgh Scottish landscape painters Scottish male painters Scottish portrait painters 19th-century Scottish male artists