Lamorna Birch

Samuel John Birch RA ( born June 7, 1869 in Egremont, Cheshire, † January 7, 1955 in Lamorna, Cornwall ) was a British painter of the late Impressionism and a major representative of the Newlyn School, an artists colony in the late 19th and early 20th century. He is best known by the stage name Lamorna Birch. Except for brief studies at the Académie Colarossi in Paris in 1895 Birch was self-taught and self-teaching business own painting studies.

Although Birch is considered a painter of the north of England, but his most important creative period was during the period when he was in the southwestern English county of Cornwall settled in 1902 in the small village of Lamorna. Many of his well-known paintings date from this period and usually show views of the bay of Lamorna. At the suggestion of fellow painter Stanhope Forbes Birch adopted the stage name Lamorna Birch, to distinguish himself from Lionel Birch, also a painter from the area.

Birch was also a mentor and father figure of the Lamorna Group, a group of artists from the Newlyn School, including Stanley Gardiner, Frank Gascoigne Heath, Harold Knight, Laura Knight, Charles Naper and Ella Naper, the second artists' colony in the early 20th century Lamorna valley founded.

Birch presented for the first time in 1892 at the Royal Academy, and received his first solo exhibition in 1906 at the Fine Art Society. Birch 1926 was elected an associate member of the Royal Academy, and eight years later a full member. In his long and distinguished career, he exhibited at the Royal Academy from more than 200 works and was honored in a variety of exhibitions across the country and even outside of England.

Probably created Lamorna Birch in his life more than 20.000 images, that are still traded at auctions and sold in galleries. Some paintings are in the Penlee House in Penzance.

Samuel John Birch was married to Emily Houghton Birch, who occasionally exhibited as a landscape painter. They had several children, including Joan Houghton Birch, later after her marriage Joan Paxton Petty. She was also active as a landscape painter and emigrated after the Second World War to Australia.