Fraser family of artists

The Fraser family of artists or Frasers of Huntingdonshire, of Scottish origin and based in the area around Bedford in England from 1861, were a family of artists. They are known largely for their landscape watercolour paintings, the predominant subject matter of which was the rural landscape of The Fens. Their paintings therefore usually contain stretches of still water, typically reaching the front of the picture space, and few if any figures. Many show scenes when the trees have lost their leaves. They were in general rather small by the standards of the day, and often had wide and thin picture spaces. Although several of the family made considerable use of bodycolour (gouache), they rarely painted in oils, unlike many contemporaries who moved between both media. According to a family member, there "never was a Fraser who did not draw", but the main artistic production of two of the family was line illustrations for books and magazines.

Six of the group were the sons of an army surgeon from Findrack, Lumphanan, Aberdeenshire, Major Robert Winchester Fraser (1819–1892) and his wife Mary Ann Anderson (1820–1898), who married in 1842 and produced a total of nine children. After moving around, presumably because of the father's job, in his retirement the family settled in Bedford in 1861. There was one son, Michie, who worked for the Consular Service and remained a bachelor. One of his sisters, Catherine, was his housekeeper. There is a suggestion that she and the other sister Margaret may also have painted.

The painters in the first generation were Francis Arthur Fraser (Corfu, 1846–1924), Robert Winchester Fraser (Scotland, 1848–1906), Garden William Fraser (Chatham, Kent 1856–1921), George Gordon Fraser (Cramond, Edinburgh 1859–1895), Arthur Anderson Fraser (Bedford 1861–1904), and Gilbert Baird Fraser (Bedford 1865–1947). In the second generation were the two sons of Robert Winchester Fraser (by different wives): Robert James Winchester Fraser (Harrowden, Bedfordshire, 1872–1930), better known as Robert Winter Fraser or Robert Winter, and Francis Gordon Fraser (1879–1931). Other members of the family, including the women, probably painted, but have not left clear trails; there are also several other Frasers (and Frazers) who painted watercolours in the 19th century and were not related.

Perhaps because of their rather austere subjects and treatment, and the generally small size of their works, none of the family achieved the considerable financial success of some Victorian watercolourists. In the 19th century Robert Winchester Fraser was the most prominent, but by the mid-20th century the taste of the day had come to favour his son Robert Winter Fraser. Since perhaps the 1970s William Fraser Garden has decisively overtaken the rest of the family, with his best works being bought for American collections for several times the prices the others can achieve.