James Tassie (1735-1799) was a Scottish stonemason born in Pollokshaws, which is a suburb of Glasgow. He became a famed artist among the Classic Revival with his many pieces of antiques, cameos and gems. Printers, Robert and Andrew Foulis established the Academy of Fine Arts where Tassie studied sculpture.
After a move to Dublin in 1763, Tassie became a colleague of Dr. Henry Quinn, and together they created the white paste which was basically a potash glass that Tassie used to hold together the medallions that would ensure his fame.
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James Tassie worked as a modeler for Josiah Wedgwood and copied around 15,000 classic carved gems and cameos derived from borrowed originals of the great private collections before the two became business rivals.
His famous medallions bore many faces. Adam Smith, Sir Henry Raeburn and James Beattie are just a few of the men depicted in Tassie’s work. His very first large enamel portrait was of John Dolbon. Though Tassie has also done antique gem impressions, his name became solidified because of his medallion pieces.
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