David Roberts

David Roberts (1796–1864) was a self-taught Scottish painter who rose from the depths of poverty and obscurity in Edinburgh to become one of the most celebrated artists of his generation, a member of the Royal Academy, and a painter whose works can be found in some of the most distinguished public and private collections in Europe and America. A highly ambitious and motivated artist who loved to travel, he is best known for the travelogue of Egypt and the Holy Land that he produced with lithographer Louis Haghe from sketches he made during a nine-month trip to the region in 1838–39. David Roberts: Artist and Traveler features a lively text by art historian and Hallie Ford Museum of Art director John Olbrantz, informative endnotes to the author’s essay, a brief chronology of Roberts’s career, a selected bibliography for further reading, and ninety six color illustrations.