John MacWhirter (27 March 1839 in Slateford,

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

- 28 January 1911 in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

) was a Scottish landscape painter.

Biography

John was the third of four children. One of his elder sisters, Agnes MacWhirter was also a noted artist of

still life A still life (plural: still lifes) is a work of art depicting mostly wikt:inanimate, inanimate subject matter, typically commonplace objects which are either natural (food, flowers, dead animals, plants, rocks, shells, etc.) or artificiality, m ...

s. He attended a school in

Colinton Colinton ( gd, Baile Cholgain) is a suburb of Edinburgh, Scotland situated south-west of the city centre. Up until the late 18th century it appears on maps as Collington. It is bordered by Dreghorn to the south and Craiglockhart to the nort ...

, and after his father's death was apprenticed to ''Oliver & Boyd'', booksellers in

. He stayed there for only a few months and then in 1851 enrolled at the

Trustees Academy 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 ...

under

Robert Scott Lauder Robert Scott Lauder (25 June 1803 – 21 April 1869) was a Scottish artist who described himself as a "historical painter". He was one of the original members of the Royal Scottish Academy. Life and work Lauder was born at Silvermills, E ...

and John Ballantyne (1815–97). He spent long periods sketching and studying nature outdoors. His first painting to be exhibited at the

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

at age 14, was 'Old Cottage at Braid'. In 1880, he was made an Honorary Member of the

. Exploring and painting abroad he visited Italy, Sicily, Switzerland, Austria, Turkey, Norway and the U.S.A. - the

Alps The Alps () ; german: Alpen ; it, Alpi ; rm, Alps ; sl, Alpe . are the highest and most extensive mountain range system that lies entirely in Europe, stretching approximately across seven Alpine countries (from west to east): France, ...

being a great inspiration. He moved to London in 1867 and on 4 May 1893 was elected a

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

] MacWhirter specialised in romantic landscapes with a great fondness for trees, spending much time in the hilly countryside of

Perthshire Perthshire ( locally: ; gd, Siorrachd Pheairt), officially the County of Perth, is a historic county and registration county in central Scotland. Geographically it extends from Strathmore in the east, to the Pass of Drumochter in the nor ...

. Initially, under the influence of

John Everett Millais Sir John Everett Millais, 1st Baronet, ( , ; 8 June 1829 – 13 August 1896) was an English painter and illustrator who was one of the founders of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood. He was a child prodigy who, aged eleven, became the youngest s ...

, he experimented with the detailed images of the

Pre-Raphaelites The Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood (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, Jam ...

, but later adopted a more sweeping style. With

John Pettie John Pettie ( Edinburgh 17 March 1839 – 21 February 1893 Hastings) was a painter from Edinburgh who spent most of his career in London. He became a member of the Royal Academy in 1866 and a full academician in 1874. As an enthusiastic ...

he illustrated ''Wordsworth's Poetry for the Young'' (Strahan, 1863). With Waller H. Paton and others, MacWhirter illustrated ''The Poetical Works of Edgar Allan Poe'' (Hislop, 1869).

Family

He married Catherine ('Katie') Cowan Menzies (b. 1843) in 1872, her brother-in-law the Rev. James McFarlan officiating. The couple lived at 1 Abbey Road, St. John's Wood in the 1870s, and had two daughters and two sons: #Agnes Helen ('Nan') *1873 who married the artist

Charles Sims Charles Sims may refer to: * Charles Sims (painter) (1873–1928), British painter * Charles Sims (mathematician) (1938–2017), American mathematician * Charles Sims (aviator) (1899–1929), British World War I flying ace * Charles Sims (America ...

#Helen Agnes *1875 x Sydney Malcolm Baird #Ulric George *1878 #Alan Gordon *1882 x Doris May Cook MacWhirter has paintings in several British Collections including

Royal Holloway University of London Royal Holloway, University of London (RHUL), formally incorporated as Royal Holloway and Bedford New College, is a public research university and a constituent college of the federal University of London. It has six schools, 21 academic departm ...

, Cheltenham and

Derby Art Gallery Derby Museum and Art Gallery is a museum and Art museum, art gallery in Derby, England. It was established in 1879, along with Derby Central Library, in a new building designed by Richard Knill Freeman and given to Derby by Michael Thomas Bass. ...

Bibliography

*MacWhirter, Joh
''Landscape Painting in Water-colour''
(London, Cassell), 1900 *Sinclair, W. M
''John MacWhirter, R.A. : his life and work''
(The Art Annual), 1903 *MacWhirter, Joh
''The MacWhirter sketch book''
(Philadelphia, Lippincott), 1907; (London, Cassell), 1908

References

External links

*
Profile on Royal Academy of Arts Collections

includes a transcription of his obituary in ''The Times'' of January 30, 1911 {{DEFAULTSORT:Macwhirter, John 1837 births 1911 deaths Scottish landscape painters Artists from Edinburgh 19th-century Scottish painters Scottish male painters 20th-century Scottish painters Alumni of the Edinburgh College of Art Royal Academicians 19th-century Scottish male artists 20th-century Scottish male artists

Biography

Family

Bibliography

See also

References

External links