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reached that city, when he was attacked by fever, and died there towards the close of the year 1850, aged 41.
RITCHIE, Alexander Heicdyside, A.R.S.A., sculptor. Brother of the fore-
foing. He was born at Musselburgh, near Sdinburgh, in 1804, and of his own genius became a modeller almost from his child- hood. He was from 1830. at intervals, an exhibitor at the Royal Academy, London, as well as at the Scottish Academy, and was elected an associate of the latter in 1846. In the following year he was employed upon some of the decorative sculpture for the Houses of Parliament, and from that time was chiefly devoted to architectural sculpture, of which there are examples at Edinburgh, in the Bank of St. Andrew's Square, and the pediment of the Commer- cial Bank; and at Glasgow in the Duke of Hamilton's monument. His principal works exhibited in London were busts, but in 1857 he sent ' The Scottish Lassie/ a statue in marble. He died early in May 1870.
RITSON. Jonathan, wood carver. Was born at Whitehaven, about 1776, and brought up to his father's trade of a car- penter. He was employed upon the Duke of Norfolk's estate, and attracted the Duke's notice by his able carvings in wood. At the Duke's request he removed to Arundel, and executed the chief of the carvings in the library and Baron's Hall of the Castle. In 1815, on his patron's death, he was em- ployed by the Earl of Egremont in com- pleting the work at Petworth, left unfinished by Gibbons. He showed great ability in combining groups of biros, fruits, and flowers, with much skill and natural light- ness. Treated here with too much indul- gence, and tempted by an inordinate love of strong beer, he fell into habits of intem-
S ranee and sought the lowest company, e died at Petworth, April 9, 1846, aged 69. His portrait by Clint hangs there as a pendant to the portrait of Gibbons.
RIVIERE, William, painter. Was the son of a drawing-master, and was born in London, October 22, 1806. He became a student of the Royal Academy, and sent his first work for exhibition in 1833, con- tinuing a constant exhibitor for the next ten years, of portraits and other works. He contributed a cartoon of ' A Council of An- cient Britons,' to the Westminster Hall Competition. In 1849 he accepted the ap- pointment of teacher of drawing in Chel- tenham College, which he held for ten years. He then settled at Oxford, where he con- tinued to teach till a short time before his death, which took place August 29, 1876.
ROBERT. Charles, engraver. Born in Edinburgh, in 1806, he was articled to an engraver there, studying also in the Trustees' Academy. His first works were chiefly vignette portraits. He engraved 360
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1 The Widow/ after Sir W. Allan; * The Rush-platers,' after Sir G. Harvey; ' The Expected Penny,' after A. Fraser; and also engraved after Noel Paton and Eck- ford Lauder. About 1850 he was engaged upon the engravings for the London Art Union, for which he produced some good plates. He just Uvea to complete 'The Battle of Preston Pans,' perhaps his most important work. He died in Edinburgh, September 5, 1872.
" ROBERTS, David, R.A., landscape painter. Was born at Stockbridge, near Edinburgh, October 2. 1796. His parents, persons in humble life, his father a shoe- maker, managed to give him some educa- tion, and when at a suitable age, he was apprenticed to a house-decorator in Edin- burgh. Here during seven years he learnt the use of the materials of art, and attained a power and readiness of hand; and then tried his skill as scene painter to a company of strolling players at Carlisle, and had oc- casionally to take his part on the stage. This led to his employment, in 1820, in the scene-room at both the Edinburgh andGlas-
Sm Theatres, and to his engagement at rury Lane Theatre in 1822. He had, in 1820 and the following year, sent pictures to the Edinburgh Exhibition, and in 1824, having joined the Society of British Artists, he contributed to their exhibition in Suffolk Street. In the same year he strayed to France, and visited the coast towns of Dieppe, Havre, and Rouen; and in the following spring exhibited scenes which were taken from the fine Gothic of these cities; but he continued to hold an engagement at Covent Garden, and did not abandon scene painting.
In 1826, his first work, ' Rouen Cathe- dral,' appeared on the walls of the Aca- demy. In 1828 he produced a work of another character, ' The Departure of the Israelites out of Egypt,' which he sent to Suffolk Street, and for the next seven years sent his easel pictures to this young society. But gradually withdrawing himself, he re- signed his membership in 1836, and growing in reputation sought the honours of the Royal Academy. Of this body he was elected an associate in 1839, and an acade- mician in 1841. He had already, in the pursuit of his art, visited France, Belgium, Germany, Spain, Morocco, and Holland; and seeking more distant scenes, in 1838, Egypt and Syria. For the ten succeeding years his works, with only an occasional exception, were eastern, ana he had attained the summit of his reputation, producing his best pictures, and exhibiting almost exclu- sively at the Royal Academy.
He visited Italy for the first time in 1851, returning by the way of Vienna, and from that year to 1860 his themes were Italian, the decaying temples of Rome and the gran-
