Sir David Murray (29 January 1849 in Glasgow, Scotland – 14 November 1933 in

Marylebone Marylebone (usually , also ) is an area in London, England, and is located in the City of Westminster. It is in Central London and part of the West End. Oxford Street forms its southern boundary. An ancient parish and latterly a metropo ...

, England) was a Scottish

landscape painter Landscape painting, also known as landscape art, is the depiction in painting of natural scenery such as mountains, valleys, rivers, trees, and forests, especially where the main subject is a wide view—with its elements arranged into a cohe ...

Biography

He was the son of a

shoemaker Shoemaking is the process of making footwear. Originally, shoes were made one at a time by hand, often by groups of shoemakers, or '' cordwainers'' (sometimes misidentified as cobblers, who repair shoes rather than make them). In the 18th cen ...

, James Murray. He worked for eleven years for two mercantile firms, while studying in the evenings 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 ...

under Robert Greenlees, finally devoting himself full-time to an artistic career from about 1875. He became an Associate 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 ...

in 1881, moving to London in 1882 where he was an immediate success. His 'My Love has gone a-Sailing' exhibited in 1884 was purchased by the Chantrey Trustees for the

Tate Gallery Tate is an institution that houses, in a network of four art galleries, the United Kingdom's national collection of British art, and international modern and contemporary art. It is not a government institution, but its main sponsor is the UK ...

. In 1891 Murray was elected an Associate of 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 a full member of the Royal Academy in 1905. About 1886 he broadened his horizons and travelled to the continent, but all of his more characteristic work was done in Scotland or England. Murray was a member of

Glasgow Art Club Glasgow Art Club is a club in Glasgow for artists and non-artists interested in creating art and the enjoyment of art - all illustrative arts, sculptures, poetry, prose, plays, music, song, choreography and dance. To advance, promote and encourag ...

and exhibited in the club's annual exhibitions. He became president of the

Royal Institute of Painters in Water Colours The Royal Institute of Painters in Water Colours (RI), initially called the New Society of Painters in Water Colours, is one of the societies in the Federation of British Artists, based in the Mall Galleries in London. History In 1831, the ...

in succession to Sir James Linton in 1917; the year before he was knighted in 1918. Murray did not marry and during the whole of his life in London, he occupied the same bachelor's quarters, a studio on

Portland Place Portland Place is a street in the Marylebone district of central London. Named after the 3rd Duke of Portland, the unusually wide street is home to the BBC's headquarters Broadcasting House, the Chinese and Polish embassies, the Royal Insti ...

. A portrait of Sir David Murray by the Scottish painter

James Coutts Michie James Coutts Michie Royal Scottish Academy, ARSA (19 July 1859 – 18 December 1919) was a Scottish Painting, painter who specialised in landscapes and portraits.Christopher Woods, 1995 Overview He was born James Michie at Marywell in the ...

is held by the

Aberdeen Art Gallery Aberdeen Art Gallery is the main visual arts exhibition space in the city of Aberdeen, Scotland. It was founded in 1884 in a building designed by Alexander Marshall Mackenzie, with a sculpture court added in 1905. In 1900, it received the art ...

References

External links

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Profile on Royal Academy of Arts Collections
19th-century Scottish painters Scottish male painters 20th-century Scottish painters 1849 births 1933 deaths Painters from Glasgow Knights Bachelor Scottish landscape painters Royal Academicians 19th-century Scottish male artists 20th-century Scottish male artists {{Scotland-painter-stub