John MacWhirter (27 March 1839 in

Slateford Slateford () is an area of Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. It is east of the Water of Leith. The former village of Slateford lies on the Lanark Road where it crosses the Water of Leith, south west of Slateford Station. The name "Slatefo ...

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

- 28 January 1911 in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

) 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 (: 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, human-m ...

s. He attended a school in

Colinton Colinton is a suburb of Edinburgh, Scotland situated southwest 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 north-east. To the north-w ...

, 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 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, Ed ...

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 art, contemporary Scottish art. The Academy was founded in 1826 by eleven artists meeting in Edinburgh. Originally named the Scottish Academy ...

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 () are some of the highest and most extensive mountain ranges in Europe, stretching approximately across eight Alpine countries (from west to east): Monaco, France, Switzerland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Germany, Austria and Slovenia. ...

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 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 ...

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

Perthshire Perthshire (Scottish English, locally: ; ), officially the County of Perth, is a Shires of Scotland, historic county and registration county in central Scotland. Geographically it extends from Strathmore, Angus and Perth & Kinross, Strathmore ...

. 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 (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 ...

, but later adopted a more sweeping style. With John Pettie 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 #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 (RH), formally incorporated as Royal Holloway and Bedford New College, is a public university, public research university and a constituent college, member institution of the federal University of London. It ...

, Cheltenham and Derby Art Gallery.

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 1839 births 1911 deaths Scottish landscape painters Painters 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