Alfred Edward Emslie ARWS (1848–1918) was the son of the engraver John Emslie (1813–1875) and brother of the figure painter John Philipps Emslie (1839–1913). He studied at the Royal Academy Schools and then in Paris at the École des Beaux Arts. He first exhibited in London at the Royal Academy in 1869. He went on to exhibit prolifically, including at the Royal Institute of Painters in Water Colours, Royal Institute of Oil Painters, Royal Watercolour Society, Royal Society of British Artists, Royal Miniature Society, Grosvenor Gallery, Dudley Gallery, New Gallery, Fine Art Society, Agnew and Sons Gallery, and at the annual exhibitions of the New English Art Club. In 1888, reviewing an exhibition at the Old Water-Colour Society George Bernard Shaw writes that Emslie 'is coming to the front with a rush'.
Emslie was also admired by Vincent Van Gogh, who collected his prints when he was in London; writing to his brother Theo in 1882, Van Gogh refers to acquiring 'another beautiful sheet by Emslie'. At this time Emslie also worked as an illustrator, producing plates of contemporary events and newsworthy subjects for Illustrated London News. The subjects collected by Van Gogh, such as a peasant scene and a mining disaster, were typical of the generation of artists who sought membership at the New English Art Club: rustic figures, often showing grim scenes of toil or bad weather.
But Emslie's ambition was to paint High Society portraits. In 1884 he was commissioned to paint a portrait at Haddo House, home of the Earl of Aberdeen. Whilst he was in attendance the Earl was hosting a dinner with Prime Minister Gladstone. According to family legend, it was suggested that Emslie should also record the dinner, and lacking a spare canvas, he was instructed to take one off the walls. The resulting painting is one of Emslie's most famous, a glorious snapshot of late-Victorian social life, 'Dinner at Haddo House' (National Portrait Gallery NPG 3845).
Emslie also painted Oriental subjects, travelling to the Middle and Far East, including Palestine, India and Japan.
Emslie married the miniature painter Rosalie M. Emslie and they had a daughter, Rosalie Emslie, who became a figure, portrait and landscape painter.
Emslie's work is represented in numerous public collections, including National Portrait Gallery, London, Royal Watercolour Society, Manchester Art Gallery, and at the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge.
