William Grant Murray (11 August 1877 – 11 November 1950), usually known as Grant Murray, was a British art teacher, gallery curator and artist. He was Principal of Swansea Art School from 1908 to 1943, and the first curator of the

Glynn Vivian Art Gallery The Glynn Vivian Art Gallery is the public art gallery of the City and County of Swansea, in Wales, United Kingdom. The gallery is situated in Alexandra Road, near Swansea railway station, opposite the old Swansea Central Library. History The ...

, Swansea, from 1910 to 1950. He played a leading part in the artistic life of Swansea

between the wars In the history of the 20th century, the interwar period, also known as the interbellum (), lasted from 11 November 1918 to 1 September 1939 (20 years, 9 months, 21 days) – from the end of World War I (WWI) to the beginning of World War II ( ...

Biography

Murray was born on 11 August 1877 in

Portsoy Portsoy () is a small town in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. Historically, Portsoy was in Banffshire until 1975. The original name may come from ''Port Saoithe'', meaning "saithe harbour". Portsoy is located on the Moray Firth coast of northeast Scotl ...

, Aberdeenshire, Scotland, the second son of William Alexander Minty Murray (1848–1920), a cabinet maker, and his wife May Grant (1848–1890). His elder brother George Murray (1897–1898) also became an artist, who was renowned for his murals, portraits and mosaics. He was educated at

Blairgowrie High School Blairgowrie High School is a high school in Blairgowrie, Scotland. Blairgowrie High School has 719 students (as of September census) from Blairgowrie and the surrounding area. The current head teacher is Beverly Leslie. History The school was ...

Blairgowrie School of Art Blairgowrie may refer to: * Blairgowrie, Perth and Kinross, a town in Scotland now part of the burgh of Blairgowrie and Rattray Blairgowrie and Rattray () is a Twin cities (geographical proximity), twin burgh in Perth and Kinross, Scotland. Lo ...

(1893–1897),

Edinburgh School of Art 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 ...

(1897–1898) and the

Royal College of Art The Royal College of Art (RCA) is a public university, public research university in London, United Kingdom, with campuses in South Kensington, Battersea and White City, London, White City. It is the only entirely postgraduate art and design uni ...

in London (1876–1933), where he won several prizes. After leaving the Royal College with an ARCA, he studied at

Académie Julian The () was a private art school for painting and sculpture founded in Paris, France, in 1867 by French painter and teacher Rodolphe Julian (1839–1907). The school was active from 1868 through 1968. It remained famous for the number and qual ...

in Paris in 1905. In 1909 he married Margaret Falconer Findlay. They had two sons: Ivan Grant (born 1912) and George Findlay (born 1913). He died in Swansea on 17 November 1950.

Swansea Art School

Before moving to Swansea, Murray was Art Headmaster of West Bromwich Municipal School of Art for three and a half years. While being interviewed for the position of principal of Swansea Municipal School of Art in 1908 (later Swansea Art School, now part of

University of Wales, Trinity Saint David The University of Wales Trinity Saint David () is a public university with three main campuses in South West Wales, in Carmarthen, Lampeter and Swansea, a fourth campus in London, and learning centres in Cardiff, and Birmingham. The universit ...

), Murray told the interviewing panel: He told them that the Art School was the most dismal that he had ever seen, the rooms were too small and the lighting was bad. As far as he could see, their Art School was as good as dead and he had no desire to be associated with the inevitable funeral! He was appointed on the first ballot. On his appointment he was the only teacher for 107 part-time students. Under his leadership the school grew rapidly in scope and reputation. In 1910 the Art School was ranked 140th in England and Wales; by 1914 it was in 25th place. In 1925 the school won a Grand Prix at the ''

International Exposition of Modern Industrial and Decorative Arts The International Exhibition of Modern Decorative and Industrial Arts () was a specialized exhibition held in Paris, France, from April 29 (the day after it was inaugurated in a private ceremony by the President of France) to November 8, 1925 (O ...

'' in Paris. In 1939 it had 530 students. Murray introduced

stained glass Stained glass refers to coloured glass as a material or art and architectural works created from it. Although it is traditionally made in flat panels and used as windows, the creations of modern stained glass artists also include three-dimensio ...

making in the art school in 1935. It has since developed into a major centre for artistic glass. He retired in 1943, after 34 years as principal.

Glynn Vivian Art Gallery

In 1911, two years after becoming principal of Swansea Art School, Murray was asked to become curator of the new

in Swansea. He accepted, providing that an assistant was appointed at the school, and held both posts concurrently. The gallery was financed by the art collector

Glynn Vivian Richard Glynn Vivian (31 August 1835 – 7 June 1910) was a British art collector and philanthropist from the Vivian family, and the founder of the Glynn Vivian Art Gallery in Swansea. Biography Born on 31 August 1835, Richard Glynn Vivian was th ...

, who provided his collection of paintings, drawings and china. Building on Glynn Vivian's collection, Murray expanded the gallery's collection by acquiring works by established painters such as

Augustus John Augustus Edwin John (4 January 1878 – 31 October 1961) was a Welsh painter, draughtsman, and etcher. For a time he was considered the most important artist at work in Britain: Virginia Woolf remarked that by 1908 the era of John Singer Sarg ...

Gwen John Gwendolen ''Gwen'' Mary John (22 June 1876 – 18 September 1939) was a Welsh people, Welsh artist who worked in France for most of her career. Her paintings, mainly portraits of anonymous female sitters, are rendered in a range of closely relat ...

and

James Dickson Innes James Dickson Innes (27 February 1887 – 22 August 1914) was a Welsh painter, mainly of mountain landscapes but occasionally of figure subjects. He worked in both oils and watercolours. Style Of his style, art historian David Fraser Jenkins w ...

; and younger painters including

Kyffin Williams Sir John Kyffin Williams, (9 May 1918 – 1 September 2006) was a Welsh landscape painter who lived at Pwllfanogl, Llanfairpwll, on the Island of Anglesey. Williams is widely regarded as the defining artist of Wales during the 20th century. Pe ...

and John Elwyn. Murray played a leading part in the acquisition for Swansea of the ''British Empire Panels'' by

Frank Brangwyn Sir Frank William Brangwyn (12 May 1867 – 11 June 1956) was a Welsh artist, painter, watercolourist, printmaker, illustrator and designer. Brangwyn worked in a wide range of artistic fields. As well as paintings and drawings, he produc ...

. These sixteen large panels had been commissioned in 1927 for the Royal Gallery at the

House of Lords The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the lower house, the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. One of the oldest ext ...

as a memorial to the dead of the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, but they were rejected as unsuitable for the

Palace of Westminster The Palace of Westminster is the meeting place of the Parliament of the United Kingdom and is located in London, England. It is commonly called the Houses of Parliament after the House of Commons and the House of Lords, the two legislative ch ...

. They were installed in the

Brangwyn Hall The Brangwyn Hall () is a concert venue in Swansea. It is named after the artist Frank Brangwyn, whose ''British Empire Panels'', originally intended for the House of Lords, are displayed there. History The Brangwyn Hall was designed and buil ...

Swansea in 1934, where they remain. Murray remained curator of the Glynn Vivian Art Gallery until his death in 1950.

Painting

Murray was a figurative artist who mainly painted landscapes in watercolour and oils. At the Académie Julian in Paris he learned to brighten his palette, and to take on new ideas from the

impressionists Impressionism was a 19th-century art movement characterized by visible brush strokes, open composition, emphasis on accurate depiction of light in its changing qualities (often accentuating the effects of the passage of time), ordinary subjec ...

Public collections

Murray's paintings are in the following public collections: * Glynn Vivian Art Gallery, Swansea *

National Museum Cardiff National Museum Cardiff (), formerly known as the National Museum of Wales, is a museum and art gallery in Cardiff, Wales. The museum is part of the wider network of Amgueddfa Cymru – Museum Wales. Entry is kept free by a grant from the Wel ...

Cyfarthfa Castle Cyfarthfa Castle (; ) is a castellated mansion that was the home of the Crawshay family, ironmasters of Cyfarthfa Ironworks in Park, Merthyr Tydfil, Wales. The house commanded a view of the valley and the works, which ‘at night, offer a tru ...

Museum and Art Gallery,

Merthyr Tydfil Merthyr Tydfil () is the main town in Merthyr Tydfil County Borough, Wales, administered by Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council. It is about north of Cardiff. Often called just Merthyr, it is said to be named after Tydfil, daughter of K ...

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

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Murray, William Grant 1877 births 1950 deaths 19th-century British painters 20th-century British painters 19th-century British male artists 20th-century British male artists Académie Julian alumni Alumni of the Edinburgh College of Art Alumni of the Royal College of Art British arts administrators British male painters People educated at Blairgowrie High School People from Portsoy