John MacVicar Anderson

John MacVicar Anderson was born in Glasgow in 1835 from a family of merchants. In 1851, he moved to London to become an apprentice at his Uncle William Burn’s architecture practice. Burn was a notable Scottish Architect and a pioneer of the Scottish Baronial style. He became an Associate of the Royal Institute of British Architects in 1864 and became its Honorary Secretary from 1881 to 1889 before being elected President in 1891. Throughout his career, Anderson designed several country houses, and accepted many important commissions for commercial and ecclesiastical buildings. As RIBA’s Honorary Secretary, he campaigned against the demolition of architect James Gibbs’ St Mary le Strand church in London and was later appointed architect for its restoration. Anderson was also a skilful painter, and his active involvement in the conservation of British architectural heritage is reflected in his paintings, such as in this remarquable view the Palace of Westminster as seen from the South side of the River Thames. This view of the Palace of Westminster, which Anderson painted multiple times, pays tribute to architect Charles Barry’s chef-d’oeuvre, which is seen by many as a height of Gothic Revival architecture. For advocates of Gothic revivalism, Charles Barry’s design for the Westminster Palace was an exemplary architectural achievement that masterfully conciliated architectural innovations, such as the use of cast-iron structure, with an informed knowledge of the English Gothic architectural vocabulary. At the time of its completion in 1858, the Victoria Tower, which stands majestically at the left side of the Palace in the present composition, was the tallest secular building in the world. Anderson’s extreme attention to details and outstanding drawing skills are superbly exemplified in the present work. With the traditional sailing barges on the River Thames and their distinctive ochre sails, the Westminster Bridge and the Gothic Westminster Abbey in the foreground, this view conveys a sense of great architectural harmony and unity. House of Parliament from the River Thames shows much similarities with another composition by Anderson entitled View of Westminster from the Thames (Sold, Sale of Christies, November 25, 2003, Lot 154).