author
William Anderson
1842–1900
A Victorian surgeon with an artist’s eye, he became one of the earliest British interpreters of Japanese art. His books helped introduce Western readers to Japanese painting and design at a time when interest in Japan was rapidly growing.
1 Audiobook
The deformities of the fingers and toes
by William Anderson
About the author
Born in London in 1842, William Anderson trained in both art and medicine, a combination that shaped the rest of his career. He studied at the City of London School, spent time at the Lambeth School of Art, and later trained in surgery at St Thomas’s Hospital.
Anderson is best remembered for the years he spent in Japan as a medical teacher and for the deep knowledge of Japanese art he developed there. He went on to become an important collector and scholar, and wrote influential works including The Pictorial Arts of Japan and a descriptive catalogue of Japanese and Chinese paintings in the British Museum.
His unusual blend of scientific training and visual sensitivity made his writing especially clear and observant. By the time of his death in 1900, he had played a notable part in introducing Japanese art to English-speaking audiences and in building collections that remained valuable long after his lifetime.