Thomas Alison (1860–1931) was a Scottish painter whose main period of activity was 1880–1914. Principally known for

landscape painting 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 ...

, he also produced

portraits A portrait is a painting, photograph, sculpture, or other artistic representation of a person, in which the face is always predominant. In arts, a portrait may be represented as half body and even full body. If the subject in full body better re ...

and other works. He lived in

Dalkeith Dalkeith ( ; , ) is a town in Midlothian, Scotland, on the River Esk. It was granted a burgh of barony in 1401 and a burgh of regality in 1541. The settlement of Dalkeith grew southwestwards from its 12th-century castle (now Dalkeith Pala ...

Midlothian Midlothian (; ) is registration county, lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area and one of 32 council areas of Scotland used for local government. Midlothian lies in the east-central Lowlands, bordering the City of Edinburgh council ar ...

, and also worked in

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

.The Dictionary of Scottish Painters: 1600 to the Present, by Paul Harris, Paul and Julian Halsby, publ. Canongate Books Ltd, 3rd edition, Edinburgh, 2001

Family

Thomas Alison was born in Dalkeith on 11 October 1860, eldest son of the Thomas Alison, draper and his wife, Margaret Pearson.Dictionary of Scottish Architects website, section on James Alison www.scottisharchitects.org.uk/architect_full.php?id=200008 - retrieved Dec 2023Census of Scotland, 1881 ALISON, THOMAS (Census 683/ 1/ 13) Page 13 of 41 www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk - retrieved Dec 2023 His father lived at Rosehill in Eskbank, a neighbourhood of Dalkeith, in which town he had a draper's store along with another similar store in nearby

Musselburgh Musselburgh (; ; ) is the largest settlement in East Lothian, Scotland, on the coast of the Firth of Forth, east of Edinburgh city centre. It had a population of as of . History The name Musselburgh is Old English language, Old English in ...

. His father held a number of positions at various times in Dalkeith, including member of the Board of Trustees, which governed the town until the adoption of the General

Police Act Police Act is a stock short title used for legislation in India, Malaysia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom relating to police forces and officers. List India *The Police Act, 1861 Malaysia *The Police Act 1967 New Zealand * Police Force ...

in 1878 and, later, Chief Magistrate (under that Act) of Dalkeith and then

Provost Provost may refer to: Officials Ecclesiastic * Provost (religion), a high-ranking church official * Prince-provost, a high-ranking church official Government * Provost (civil), an officer of local government, including the equivalent ...

of Dalkeith 1881–1884."The Late Mr Thomas Alison, Ex-provost of Dalkeith" Dalkeith Advertiser, publ. 03 September 1931, Dalkeith, Midlothian He was also Returning Officer,

Town Clerk A clerk (pronounced "clark" /klɑːk/ in British and Australian English) is a senior official of many municipal governments in the English-speaking world. In some communities, including most in the United States, the position is elected, but in ma ...

and Justice of the Peace.Dalkeith District Directory, 1894, publ. P & D Lyle, Dalkeith, 1894; pp. 3, 42, 44. 45Oliver & Boyd's New Edinburgh Almanac and National Repository For The Year 1883, Publ. Oliver & Boyd, Tweeddale Court, Edinburgh, 1883; pp. 1031, 1035, 1053-1054Edinburgh County Directory 1870-71, printed By Commercial Printing Co., 22 Howe St., Edinburgh 1870 pp.34, 86, 92, 140, 369 His brother, James Pearson Alison was an architect, principally practising in

Roxburghshire Roxburghshire or the County of Roxburgh () is a historic county and registration county in the Southern Uplands of Scotland. It borders Dumfriesshire to the west, Selkirkshire and Midlothian to the northwest, and Berwickshire to the north. T ...

with offices in

Hawick Hawick ( ; ; ) is a town in the Scottish Borders council areas of Scotland, council area and counties of Scotland, historic county of Roxburghshire in the east Southern Uplands of Scotland. It is south-west of Jedburgh and south-south-east o ...

. Another brother, John Pearson Alison, was a farmer at

D'Arcy, Midlothian D'Arcy is a hamlet in Midlothian, Scotland, located just south of Dalkeith near Edinburgh. It is ¼ mile east of Mayfield and lies within the Civil Parish of NewbattleHistoric Environment Scotland website canmore.org.uk/site/53579 retrieved Nov ...

.The County Directory of Scotland, ed. By Francis Braid, General Post Office, Edinburgh; publ. by R Grant & Son, 107 Princes Street, Edinburgh, 1902; p.149

Painting

He trained as painter 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 ...

(RSA) in Edinburgh, where he exhibited landscape paintings of

Cousland Cousland is a village in Midlothian, Scotland. It is located east of Dalkeith and west of Ormiston, on a hill between the Rivers Tyne and Esk. History Cousland was a possession of the Sinclair family of Roslin from the late 12th century, and ...

(Midlothian) and

St Mary's Loch St Mary's Loch is the largest natural loch in the Scottish Borders, and is situated on the south side of the A708 road between Selkirk and Moffat, about south of Edinburgh. Description It is long and wide, and was created by glacial acti ...

(Selkirkshire) in 1881 and 1882; also a portrait of his father entitled ''Thomas Alison, Esq., Chief Magistrate of Dalkeith''.The Royal Scottish Academy Notes, ed. George R. Halkett, publ. Thos. Gray & Co., Edinburgh 1881; pp. 93,99The Royal Scottish Academy Notes, ed. George R. Halkett, publ. Thos. Gray & Co., Edinburgh 1882; pp. 70,77 He won two silver medals in 1881, for exhibits at the RSA,The Year's Art, 1881, by Marcus B. Huish, publ. Macmillan, London, 1881. and in 1882 won a gold prize in a national competition of the works of schools of Art for an oil figure painted from an antique, He was a member of the Life School in the RSA (where fine art was taught until the school moved to the newly formed of Edinburgh College of Art in 1907),"Art UK" website artuk.org/discover/artworks/reclining-female-nude-225919 - retrieved Dec 2023 winning a prize for the second best Painting from Life, in 1881.Fifty-Fourth Annual Report of the Council of the Royal Scottish Academy of Painting, Sculpture & Architecture; publ. Thomas And Archibald Constable, Edinburgh, 1881; p.8 After training as a painter, Thomas Alison pursued this as his occupation. As well as the RSA, he exhibited at the Society of Scottish Artists (SSA), the Fine Art Exhibition in the Albert Institute, Dundee, amongst others. Among his works that were exhibited were ''

Crichton Castle Crichton Castle is a ruined castle near the village of Crichton in Midlothian, Scotland. It is situated at the head of the River Tyne, south of the village of Pathhead, and the same distance east of Gorebridge. Constructed as a tower house in ...

, A Red Deer Calf among the Rushes, A Sketching Club'' and ''In

Rothesay Rothesay ( ; ) is the principal town on the Isle of Bute, in the council area of Argyll and Bute, Scotland. It lies along the coast of the Firth of Clyde. It can be reached by a Caledonian MacBrayne ferry from Wemyss Bay, which also offers an ...

Bay''. By 1895 he was charging 8 guineas (£8 8s) for some works.Fine Art Exhibition, Albert Institute, Dundee,1883, The Seventh. Printed By John Leng & Co., Bank Street, Dundee; pp. 62, 100 Fine Art Exhibition, Albert Institute, Dundee,1884, The Eighth. Printed By John Leng & Co., Bank Street, Dundee; pp. 23, 103 Fine Art Exhibition, Albert Institute, Dundee,1895, The Fourteenth. Printed By John Leng & Co., Bank Street, Dundee; pp. 28, 33, 57Artist Biographies - British and Irish Artists of the 20th Century, www.artbiogs.co.uk/1/artists/alison-thomas retrieved Dec 2023 He gained a high reputation as a portrait painter, his commissions including a portrait of Thomas Sturrock, Town Clerk of Dalkeith, hung in the

Municipal Buildings, Dalkeith The Municipal Buildings are based in Buccleuch Street in Dalkeith, Scotland. The structure, which served as the meeting place of Dalkeith Burgh Council, is a Category B listed building. History The first municipal building in the town was Dalke ...

, and a portrait of the

Earl of Stair Earl of Stair is a title in the Peerage of Scotland. It was created in 1703 for the lawyer and statesman John Dalrymple, 2nd Viscount of Stair. Dalrymple's father, James Dalrymple, had been a prominent lawyer; having served as Lord Presiden ...

Later life

He continued to live in the family home at Rosehill and participated in local life. He was Secretary of the Buccleuch Street Literary Society and Treasurer of the Industrial Department of the Dalkeith Horticultural and Industrial Society.Dalkeith District Directory, 1894, publ. P & D Lyle, Dalkeith, 1894; pp. 46,49The County Directory of Scotland, ed. By Francis Braid, General Post Office, Edinburgh; publ. by R Grant & Son, 107 Princes Street, Edinburgh, 1902; p.367 (recorded without the suffix junior as his father died in 1897) He was a member of the Town Council of Dalkeith from 1904 to 1920, being continuously elected every three years. This culminated in his election as Provost of Dalkeith 1918 to 1920. He also served for a number of years as a member of the Parish Council of the civil parish of Dalkeith. He died at Rosehill, Dalkeith on 26 August 1931 (aged 70) and is buried at Dalkeith.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Alison, Thomas 1860 births 1931 deaths Scottish artists 19th-century Scottish painters 20th-century Scottish painters Scottish male painters People from Dalkeith