James Sant

James Sant CVO RA (1820–1916) was a British painter specialising in portraits and known particularly for images of women and children[1] and artistic exploration of the symbolism of childhood.

[8] His 1853 picture of the infant Samuel was his first popular success, and engravings of this and of Little Red Riding Hood and The Soul's Awakening sold in great numbers.

In 1861, his portraits of friends and relatives of Frances, Lady Waldegrave were exhibited by Ernest Gambart at his Gallery in Pall Mall.

His later pictures are freer in style; some have been favourably compared with the work of the French Impressionists[11] and some have a visionary or mannerist quality; his landscapes could include figures with blank or distorted features or simple silhouettes such as the nun in Convent Walls (1910).

[13] He became a Commander of the Royal Victorian Order (CVO) in 1914 and resigned from the RA in the same year to "make room for younger men."

[18] Allegorical subjects remain popular; Courage, Anxiety and Despair: Watching the Battle (circa 1850) achieved £61,250 in 2012[19] and Astronomy almost twice this in 2008.