Lambourne, Alfred (American painter and illustrator, 1850-1926)

Alfred Lambourne, (1850-1926) the son of William and Martha W. Lambourne, was born in England and came to America as a child. The family remained in St. Louis, Missouri for several years before they came west to Utah, as pioneers.

In his early childhood, Alfred Lambourne showed a love for art, and started drawing at an early age. Soon after arriving in the Salt Lake Valley, he obtained employment as a scenic artist in the Salt Lake Theatre. He remained there several years, first as an assistant, and later as chief scenic artist.

For years, he was a close friend and associate of the late Charles R. Savage, a pioneer photographer. Together, they toured the West and parts of the east, with Savage taking photos, and Lambourne painting as they went. Lambourne also visited the entire Wasatch range with artist H. L. A. Culmer. Together, they explored and named the now well-known Wasatch mountain lakes in the upper Cottonwoods. Lambourne also toured Yosemite, Glacier National Park, Colorado, Arizona, and other parts of the scenic west. With Teuben Kirkham, he painted a series of large canvasses representing his journey from the eastern coast of the United States, to the Golden Gate. Some of his best-known paintings represented scenes on the islands and shores of the Great Salt Lake. In 1871, he went to Zion Canyon with Brigham Young and painted the first canvas from that area.

While he is famous as a landscape artist, Alfred Lambourne was also a writer, and seemed to prefer writing over painting by the 1890s. He published fourteen books, on a myriad of topics, and illustrated some of them personally.

Alfred Lambourne married Wilhelmina M. Williamson (1842-1906), in 1877, and together they had eight children. Alfred Lambourne died in 1926.

From the guide to the Alfred Lambourne papers, 1912-1926, (J. Willard Marriott Library, University of Utah)