Alexander Carse (c. 1770 – 1843)  

• Was a Scottish painter known for his scenes of Scottish life.
• Carse was born in Innerwick in East Lothian to William and Catherine Carse, and was baptised early in 1770.

• Carse started at the Trustees Drawing Academy of Edinburgh in 1801.

• He was taught by David Allan.

• By 1808 he was described as the best painter of village scenes by the Scottish antiquarian the 11th Earl of Buchan.

• By his early thirties Carse was exhibiting paintings in London at the Royal Academy and at the British Institution.

• In 1812, the year that he moved to London, Carse exhibited Country Relations.

• One of his largest and most detailed paintings is of the Royal visit by George IV to Leith in 1822.

• The painting is 5 by 11 feet (1.5 m × 3.4 m), and contains hundreds of figures and a large number of portraits.

• From 1810 Carse also made three paintings of football matches, which are said to be amongst the earliest pictorial records of the game.

• Carse is believed to have had two sons, who were both painters: William Carse and James Howe Carse.

• Carse died in poverty in February 1843, although the precise place and date of his death are unknown.

• Next