James Sant

James Sant (Croydon, 1820 - London, 1916) was one of the most prominent portrait painters of the Victorian era in England. He trained with the watercolourist John Varley and with Augustus Wall Callcott, and later at the Royal Academy Schools. He is best known for his portraits of aristocratic women and of children, often with symbolic references to childhood.

His picture The Infant Samuel, from 1853, brought him an early popular success, and engravings after his work sold in large numbers. In 1861 twenty-two portraits from the Strawberry Hill Collection were shown in London and Paris, which enhanced his reputation and led to his election as a member of the Royal Academy. In 1871 he was appointed Principal Painter in Ordinary to Queen Victoria, and he was the last artist to hold the title. Alongside portraits he painted landscapes and gardens. In his later years his brushwork became looser, and some works have a visionary quality. He resigned from the Academy in 1914 and died in London. His paintings are held by the National Gallery, Tate Britain and the National Portrait Gallery.