Sir John James Burnet RA
Born 31 May 1857
Died 2 February 1938
Active: 1872 - 1938
Country of birth and death: Scotland
Architect
Born in Glasgow. He was the son of Lieutenant George Burnet of the Kirkcudbright and Galloway Militia, a self-taught architect based in Glasgow. John James trained at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts c.1874-77. Afterwards, he joined his father's practice (Burnet Son & Campbell till 1897) and later established a successful office of his own initially in Glasgow (John Burnet & Son) and then a second office in London (John J. Burnet). The latter was set up in 1905 after Burnet had secured the prestigious contract to design the Edward VII galleries for the British Museum (1903/4-14). One of Burnet's key assistants and later partners was the architect Thomas Tait (John Burnet, Tait & Lorne from 1930).
Institutional and Business Connections
Commissioned Walter Macfarlane & Co.
Burnet was commissioned to produce architectural forms for Macfarlane's of Glasgow. Date TBC
Committee member of Royal Academy Schools
1924 - 1928
Served on the Selection Committee (elected member) in 1924. See Royal Academy, 'Annual Report, 1923', (1924), p. 31. Served on the Selection Committee (junior half of the Council) in 1926. Served on the Schools Committee in 1928.
Elected ARA Royal Academy of Arts
21 April 1921 - 19 February 1925
Elected RA in 1925.
Elected RA Royal Academy of Arts
19 February 1925 - 1 January 1933
Then became Senoir RA until his death in 1938. Burnet's Diploma Work was entitled 'Section of the Staircase of the British Museum Extension'. See Royal Academy, 'Annual Report, 1925', (1926), p. 70.
Member of Scottish Society of Art Workers
1898
Member of committee at The Glasgow School of Art
1912 - 1913
Served on the Committee of Assessment for Diplomas, travelling and maintenance Scholarships and Bursaries.
Member of council Royal Academy of Arts
1926 - 1930
Served as a Member of the Council from 1926 to 1927, and from 1930. See Royal Academy, 'Annual Report, 1926', (1927), p. 33.
Personal and Professional Connections
Nominator of John Tweed
22 February 1927
For RA; unsuccessful.
Nominator of Ernest George Gillick
22 February 1927
For RA.
Nominator of Stanley Nicholson Babb
22 February 1927
For RA; unsuccessful.
Nominator of Gilbert Ledward
22 February 1927
For RA.
Nominator of William Ernest Reynolds-Stephens
22 February 1927
For RA; unsuccessful.
Nominator of Gilbert William Bayes
22 February 1927
For RA; unsuccessful.
Sources
Annual Report from the Council of The Royal Academy to the General Assembly of Academicians for the Year 1925, 1926 Royal Academy Annual Reports
1926
pp. 33-34, 70
Dictionary of Scottish Architects 1840-1940
2008
http://www.scottisharchitects.org.uk/architect_full.php?id=200192 (accessed 18 September 2012)
Prospectus of The Glasgow School of Art, Session 1913-14
1913
p. 7
Royal Academy of Arts Nominations for Associateship, 1927-1938
1938
p.15, pp.18-19, p.41, p.61, p.70.
Scottish Society of Art Workers: Constitution & Rules, Minute book
1898
Citing this record
'Sir John James Burnet RA', Mapping the Practice and Profession of Sculpture in Britain and Ireland 1851-1951, University of Glasgow History of Art and HATII, online database 2011 [http://sculpture.gla.ac.uk/view/person.php?id=msib2_1215696883, accessed 22 Jan 2021]
