James Alphege Brewer

J. Alphege Brewer with his "The Cathedral of St. Gudule.... Brussels, Belgium" on the easel "Where Shakespeare Sleeps (Stratford-on-Avon)," a 1921 etching by James Alphege Brewer and his brother Henry Charles Brewer.

James Alphege Brewer (1881–1946) was a well-known early 20th century producer of colour etchings - notably of English and European Cathedrals and churches and other scenes.

Family and early life

Brewer was born on 24 July 1881, in Kensington, London, the son of Henry William Brewer, noted artist of historical architecture. His brothers included the painter Henry Charles Brewer and the novelist and organist John Francis Brewer. Their grandfather was the historian John Sherren Brewer and their great uncle was E. Cobham Brewer, compiler of Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase & Fable.

Brewer's father and grandfather John Sherren Brewer were notable adherents of the Oxford Movement, inspired by Augustus Pugin. Henry William Brewer and his family, including James Alphege Brewer, became high-profile converts to the Roman Catholic Church. and thereafter at the Royal Institute of Painters in Watercolour, at the Paris Salon of the Académie des Beaux-Arts, and in the shows of the Royal Cambrian Academy. He was also a member of the Society of Graphic Art, and the Ealing Art Group, where he was first Honorary Art Secretary and then Honorary Art Chairman.

Brewer died on February 4, 1946, at the age of 64 and is buried in Acton Cemetery near to his brother, Henry Charles.