Artware Fineart has dated this piece to the 19th Century.
We would like to thank Dr Brent Elliott for his help in cataloguing this portrait.
Reproduced (without a credit) in Miles Hadfield’s book British Gardeners.
M'Intosh, Charles (1794-1864), horticulturist, was born at Abercairney in the parish of Fowlis Wester, near Crieff, Perthshire, on 8 August 1794, the son of John M'Intosh and his wife, Muntague, née Ladden. He was descended from a line of gardeners: his grandfather, great-grandfather, and great-great-grandfather had been gardeners to the dukes of Atholl, while his father was the gardener, forester, and manager of improvements on the Abercairney estate for nearly fifty years.
It was suggested that he should study for the Church of Scotland and he made some progress in preparation for theological studies. However, his 'gardening genes' were dominant and ideas of entering the church were abandoned, and for several years he worked as assistant to his father at Abercairney.
In 1814, aged about twenty, M'Intosh travelled to England under the patronage of the landscape gardener Lewis Kennedy (1789-1877). Kennedy introduced him to his father, the senior partner of the important nursery of Lee and Kennedy at Hammersmith, London. After working in their nursery for a period, he was recommended by them as gardener to the Hon. John Coventry, a younger son of the seventh earl of Coventry, at Bishopsgate, near Windsor. During this period M'Intosh became acquainted with William Aiton (1766-1849) and John Aiton (1777-1851), directors of the Royal Gardens including Windsor and Kew. The Aiton brothers became lifelong friends of M'Intosh. He was married to Elisabeth (Betsay) Pasmore, with whom he had at least three sons and three daughters.
Artware Fineart has dated this piece to the 19th Century.
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Portrait of Charles Mcintosh 1794-1864, Hoticulturist and Gardener Holding a Epiphyllum Plant Specimen, English School, 19th Century
