Herbert gustave schmalz biography of abraham

erbert Gustave Schmalz was born in Ryton on Tyne, near Newcastle, in 1856. His father, Gustave Schmalz, was German by birth but had moved to Newcastle aged 27 and had become a well-known and successful merchant rising to the position of German Consul.

His mother Margaret Carmichael was the daughter of seascape painter James William Carmichael.

Herbert gustave schmalz biography of abraham

Gustave Schmalz had hoped that his son would take on the family business, but instead Herbert followed in his grandfather’s footsteps. Despite his initial disappointment, Gustave supported his son’s career choice, allowing him to attend art school first in Newcastle, then in London at South Kensington and the Royal Academy, he even paid for him to receive continental training at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Antwerp.

Herbert’s studies in Antwerp were however cut short, when a friend in England informed him that Lawrence Alma-Tadema and Frederic Leighton would be visiting teachers at the Royal Academy. Herbert hurried back to London and c