Ancell Stronach (1901–1981) was a Scottish artist born in Dundee. Stronach was a member of the

Royal Scottish Academy The Royal Scottish Academy (RSA) is the country's national academy of art. It promotes contemporary art, contemporary Scottish art. The Academy was founded in 1826 by eleven artists meeting in Edinburgh. Originally named the Scottish Academy ...

, elected in June 1934. He was winner of the Royal Scottish Academy

Guthrie Award The Guthrie Award is awarded annually with few exceptions to at most two recipients by the Royal Scottish Academy and is one of the most prestigious art awards in Scotland. It is named after the artist James Guthrie. Foundation of award The awar ...

in April 1927. Stronach was initially a student and later became Professor of Mural Painting at the

Glasgow School of Art The Glasgow School of Art (GSA; ) 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, and design. These are all awa ...

. A painter of portraits and figure subjects, among them 'The Annunciation', which draws on

Domenico Ghirlandaio Domenico di Tommaso Curradi di Doffo Bigordi (2 June 1448 – 11 January 1494), professionally known as Domenico Ghirlandaio (also spelt as Ghirlandajo), was an Italian Renaissance painter born in Florence. Ghirlandaio was part of the so-c ...

's fresco at the church of

Santa Maria Novella Santa Maria Novella is a church in Florence, Italy, situated opposite, and lending its name to, the city's main railway station. Chronologically, it is the first great basilica in Florence, and is the city's principal Dominican church. The ch ...

in Florence, Stronach was strongly influenced by

Sandro Botticelli Alessandro di Mariano di Vanni Filipepi ( – May 17, 1510), better known as Sandro Botticelli ( ; ) or simply known as Botticelli, was an Italian painter of the Early Renaissance. Botticelli's posthumous reputation suffered until the late 1 ...

, early Italian fresco painters and the

Pre-Raphaelites The Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood (PRB), later known as the Pre-Raphaelites, was a group of English painters, poets, and art critics, founded in 1848 by William Holman Hunt, John Everett Millais, Dante Gabriel Rossetti, William Michael Rossetti ...

, though his commitment to mural painting and stained glass design is also evident throughout his work. His chosen style and subject reflects the wider

Celtic Revival The Celtic Revival (also referred to as the Celtic Twilight) is a variety of movements and trends in the 19th, 20th and 21st centuries that see a renewed interest in aspects of Celtic culture. Artists and writers drew on the traditions of Gae ...

movement prevalent in Scotland's arts scene at the time, and is visible in the work of other artists such as

John Duncan (painter) John Duncan (1866–1945) was a Scottish Symbolism (arts), Symbolist painter. Much of his work, apart from portraits, depicted Matter of Britain, Arthurian legends, Celtic mythology, Celtic folklore, and other mythological subjects. Biography ...

and

Phoebe Anna Traquair Phoebe Anna Traquair (; 24 May 1852 – 4 August 1936) was an Irish-born artist, who achieved international recognition for her role in the Arts and Crafts movement in Scotland, as an illustrator, painter and embroiderer. Her works included larg ...

. Stronach exhibited at the

Paris Salon The Salon (), or rarely Paris Salon (French: ''Salon de Paris'' ), beginning in 1667 was the official art exhibition of the in Paris. Between 1748 and 1890 it was arguably the greatest annual or biennial art event in the Western world. At the ...

, the

, at the

Royal Academy The Royal Academy of Arts (RA) is an art institution based in Burlington House in Piccadilly London, England. Founded in 1768, it has a unique position as an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects. Its ...

and in Canada, New Zealand and America. Seen as separated from the Celtic Revival, Stronach is today known to have been influenced by the work of

Max Klinger Max Klinger (18 February 1857 – 5 July 1920) was a German artist who produced significant work in painting, sculpture, prints and graphics, as well as writing a treatise articulating his ideas on art and the role of graphic arts and printmakin ...

Mikhail Nesterov Mikhail Vasilyevich Nesterov (; – 18 October 1942) was a Russian and Soviet painter; associated with the Peredvizhniki and Mir iskusstva. He was one of the first exponents of Symbolist art in Russia. Biography He was born to a strong ...

and

Franz von Stuck Franz Ritter von Stuck (February 23, 1863 – August 30, 1928), born Franz Stuck, was a German painter, sculptor, printmaker, and architect. Stuck was best known for his paintings of ancient mythology, receiving substantial critical acclaim with ...

, and come to be associated with

symbolism Symbolism or symbolist may refer to: *Symbol, any object or sign that represents an idea Arts *Artistic symbol, an element of a literary, visual, or other work of art that represents an idea ** Color symbolism, the use of colors within various c ...

. About Glasgow in the mid twenties, Stronach had a most distinctive style of dress. He always wore a high-winged collar and black stock, such as

Walter Scott Sir Walter Scott, 1st Baronet (15 August 1771 – 21 September 1832), was a Scottish novelist, poet and historian. Many of his works remain classics of European literature, European and Scottish literature, notably the novels ''Ivanhoe'' (18 ...

is seen wearing in his portraits, a very waisted jacket, narrow black-and-white checked trousers and white spats. He was also a mural and church decorator and stained glass designer. Later, disillusioned with the medium of paint and canvas, he tried his hand as a stage performer with ''Ancell and His 40 Painted Pigeons''. He toured extensively with his wife, Gwendoline Eleanor Cunningham. At that time he kept Barbary Doves (the 'pigeons' of his act), several species of stick insect and also bred fancy mice. He continued to paint but gave away his paintings to friends and relatives. His work fell from favour during his later years, and he died in relative obscurity, in

Kent Kent is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Essex across the Thames Estuary to the north, the Strait of Dover to the south-east, East Sussex to the south-west, Surrey to the west, and Gr ...

, in 1981. In a revival of interest, his painting 'Circe', of a nude, sold at Christie's in London for £13,750 in 2012 – and then sold again for £32,500 on 4 September 2014 as part of 'The Neil Wilson Collection: A Romantic Vision' (Sale 5928). In June 2021, his painting 'Where Sinks the Voice of Music into Silence' was sold at a Lyon and Turnbull Auction in Edinburgh for £57,500. A portrait of Ancell Stronach painted by Andrew Law was lost in the fire in the Mackintosh Building at the Glasgow School of Art on 23 May 2014.

Selected paintings

* ''Circe'', 1925 * ''The Unexpected Meeting'', 1927 * ''The Annunciation'', 1924 * ''Where Sinks the Voice of Music into Silence'', 1925 * ''Portrait of Peter Wylie Davidson'', 1924 * ''A Visitation'', 1922

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Stronach, Ancell 1901 births 1981 deaths 20th-century Scottish painters Scottish male painters Alumni of the Glasgow School of Art Artists from Dundee Symbolist painters 20th-century Scottish male artists Guthrie Award winners