Sir Herbert James Gunn RA RP (30 June 1893– 30 December 1964) was a Scottish landscape and portrait painter.

Early life

Sir Herbert James Gunn (also known as Sir James Gunn) was born in Glasgow on 30 June 1893, the son of Richard Gunn, a draper, and Thomasina Munro. He studied for several years at the

Glasgow School of Art The Glasgow School of Art (GSA; gd, Sgoil-ealain Ghlaschu) is a higher education art school based in Glasgow, Scotland, offering undergraduate degrees, post-graduate awards (both taught and research-led), and PhDs in architecture, fine art, an ...

and the

Edinburgh College of Art Edinburgh College of Art (ECA) is one of eleven schools in the College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences at the University of Edinburgh. Tracing its history back to 1760, it provides higher education in art and design, architecture, histor ...

. In 1911, he went to the Académie Julian in Paris where he studied under Jean-Paul Laurens. After he left Paris, Gunn travelled to Spain and then spent time in London, where he mostly painted landscapes. At the outbreak of the First World War, Gunn initially joined the Artists Rifles. He subsequently received a commission in the 10th Scottish Rifles and saw active service in France, where he met his friend and future patron, Edward Grindlay. During the conflict he continued to paint, most notably a work depicting troops on the eve of the Battle of the Somme.

Painting career

Gunn began as a landscape painter and traveled widely, exhibiting ''Paintings of Rome etc'' at the Fine Art Society in 1929. During the 1920s, he increasingly concentrated on portrait painting and after 1929 he devoted himself exclusively to portraits.Panter & Hall
/ref> In November 1939, Gunn offered his services to the

War Artists' Advisory Committee The War Artists Advisory Committee (WAAC), was a British government agency established within the Ministry of Information at the outbreak of the Second World War in 1939 and headed by Sir Kenneth Clark. Its aim was to compile a comprehensive artist ...

and subsequently received three portrait commissions from them. During WWII he lived with his family in Carsethorn, a seaside village on the Solway in

Kirkcudbrightshire Kirkcudbrightshire ( ), or the County of Kirkcudbright or the Stewartry of Kirkcudbright is one of the historic counties of Scotland, covering an area in the south-west of the country. Until 1975, Kirkcudbrightshire was an administrative count ...

. Gunn's paintings are on show in a number of galleries and his 1953 portrait of Queen

Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until her death in 2022. She was queen regnant of 32 sovereign states during ...

is in the Royal Collection. His painting of the British royal family, '' Conversation Piece at the Royal Lodge, Windsor'', was commissioned by the trustees of the National Portrait Gallery in 1950. He also painted notable portraits of King

George V George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until his death in 1936. Born during the reign of his grandmother Qu ...

, Agnes Catherine Maitland (now in

Somerville College Somerville College, a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England, was founded in 1879 as Somerville Hall, one of its first two women's colleges. Among its alumnae have been Margaret Thatcher, Indira Gandhi, Dorothy Hodgkin, ...

's dining hall), and also of Harold Macmillan, in his role as Chancellor of Oxford University. He was elected President of the

Royal Society of Portrait Painters The Royal Society of Portrait Painters is a charity based at Carlton House Terrace, SW1, London that promotes the practice and appreciation of portraiture. Its Annual Exhibition of portraiture is held at Mall Galleries, and it runs a commissi ...

in 1953, a post he held until his death. He was elected an associate member of the Royal Academy in 1953 and a full academician in 1961. Gunn was knighted for services to painting in 1963. An 80-page catalogue of his work which were exhibited at the Scottish National Portrait Gallery, Edinburgh from December 1994 to February 1995, was published by the National Galleries of Scotland in 1994.

Family life

Gunn married Gwendoline Thorne in 1919 and they had three daughters. He divorced his first wife who ran off with Sir Arthur Whinney. Gunn subsequently married Pauline Miller with whom he had a son and another daughter.Eaton Square
/ref> Pauline was the model for a number of his paintings, including his 1961 diploma submission to the Royal Academy. Gunn died in London on 30 December 1964. A requiem mass for the repose of his soul was held at the

Church of the Immaculate Conception, Farm Street The Church of the Immaculate Conception, Farm Street, also known as Farm Street Church, is a Roman Catholic parish church run by the Society of Jesus in Mayfair, central London. Its main entrance is in Farm Street, though it can also be accessed ...

, London in January 1965.

References

External links

*
Works in the National Galleries Scotland collection
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gunn, Herbert James 1893 births 1964 deaths 20th-century Scottish painters Académie Julian alumni Alumni of the Edinburgh College of Art Alumni of the Glasgow School of Art Artists from Glasgow Artists' Rifles soldiers British Army personnel of World War I British war artists Royal Academicians Scottish male painters Scottish portrait painters World War I artists World War II artists 20th-century Scottish male artists