James Alexander Simpson
(circa 1795-1860), Solicitor to the Foundling HospitalSitter in 1 portrait
published by Illustrated London News, after Arthur William Devis
offset lithograph, published 18 November 1936
NPG D41706
Tell us more back to top
Can you tell us more about this person? Spotted an error, information that is missing (a sitter’s life dates, occupation or family relationships, or a date of portrait for example) or do you know anything that we don't know? If you have information to share please complete the form below.
If you require information from us, please use our Archive enquiry service. You can buy a print of most illustrated portraits. Select the portrait of interest to you, then look out for a Buy a Print button. Prices start at £6 for unframed prints, £25 for framed prints. If you wish to license an image, please use our Rights and Images service.
Please note that we cannot provide valuations.
We digitise over 8,000 portraits a year and we cannot guarantee being able to digitise images that are not already scheduled.
Listen
Pioneer Podcasts
Listen to a series of podcasts exploring the lives of pioneering women, past and present.
Eggleston Playlist
William Eggleston was closely associated with the alternative music scene in Memphis. Revisit our 2016 exhibition and listen to a special playlist.
Archive interviews
Links to audio and transcripts of interviews with artists, sitters and historic recordings.
Ms Signe Hoffos
15 March 2016, 01:51
The Illustrated London News of 7 March 1936 identified the original painting as 'James Alexander Simpson as a boy', and the sitter as "in after life solicitor to the Foundling Hospital from 1852 to 1860". This James Alexander Simpson was christened in Hackney in 1795; married one Anne Roupell in Queen Square, Bloomsbury, in 1821; and died in Montague Place, Russell Square, in 1860, leaving eight children and an estate of GBP 3000. There are regular references to his appearances as a solicitor in British newspapers from the 1820s onward. He seems a likelier sitter for A.W. Devis than an American lad ten years younger, who would have been about the right age during the last decade of the Napoleonic Wars (not an ideal time for transatlantic recreational travel).