Thomson was born in Edinburgh, Scotland, the son of a tobacco spinner and seller. He was apprenticed to an optician and scientific instrument maker in 1851, and attended evening classes to study science. In April 1862, he set out for Singapore where his older brother William was a watchmaker and photographer. While jointly operating with his brother a business making chronometers and optical and nautical instruments, Thomson began using Singapore as a base from which to travel extensively throughout Asia, taking photographs and recording his observations. In 1868 he moved to Hong Kong and began his project to photograph the people of China. After a decade in Asia, he returned to Britain, where he published the results of his travels and operated a portrait studio in London.
Additional Artworks
From Art Alba Gallery
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KASM
Kobalt Kusama II, 2026
Ceramic
15 x 18 x 18 cm
US$2,500
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Sheng Qi
Blue Red, 2006
Oil
61 x 102 cm
US$12,000
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Mark Eshbaugh
Torso III, 2004
Gum Bichromate
21 x 26 cm
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John Bellany
The Boat, 2000
Screenprint
39 x 44 cm
US$1,000
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Joe Stein
Three Male Nudes, 1995
Cyanotype
51 x 41 cm
US$1,500
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Thanh Binh Nguyen
Girls with Apples, c. 1995
Oil on canvas
81 x 101 cm
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J Michael Lardizabal
Zabriski Point, 1989
Platinum
14 x 19 cm
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Chang Chau Lin
Lurcher 1958, 1958
Photograph
26 x 20 cm
US$500
About the artist
John Thomson
Scottish
1837-1921