The Self-Taught Artist of the Forge
James Sharples was an English blacksmith and a self-taught artist and engraver. Born in Wakefield, West Riding of Yorkshire, he was part of a large family of thirteen. His father and grandfathers were all blacksmiths. Having little formal education, he began working as a smithy-boy in an iron foundry at age ten, later becoming a riveter in an engine shop. His artistic talent emerged while helping a foreman draw boiler designs on the workshop floor. He practiced by copying engravings and lithographs, and eventually attended a drawing class at the Bury Mechanics' Institution for three months. To pursue oil painting, he made his own easel and palette, walking 18 miles to Manchester to purchase paint.
Masterworks and Engravings
Sharples is best known for his work The Forge, a lively depiction of the Industrial Revolution in progress, showing the interior of a large workshop at an iron foundry. He completed this work around 1849 after three years of labor. He also painted a large work titled The Smithy. After attempting to make a living through portrait commissions, he returned to ironworking. He taught himself the process of steel engraving and completed an engraving of The Forge in 1859, alongside a mezzotint version. His determination to improve himself was cited in Samuel Smiles' 1859 book Self-Help. He died in Blackburn, Lancashire.
