George Johnston (1933-  )

Church Street

In 1966 George Johnston came to Dundee as Schools Adviser in Art and Design, a post he still holds with Tayside Region (1991).

Outline Biography
1933 Born in Edinburgh
Childhood spent in Edinburgh, Caithness and Bathgate
1951-56 Studied at Edinburgh College of Art
1956-58 Lieutenant in Intelligence Corps, attached to H.Q. Scottish Command
1958-63 Art teacher at Lindsay High School, Bathgate
1963-66 Head Of Art at Falkirk Technical College
1966-91 Schools adviser in Art and Design
1956-91 Series of one-man shows and other group shows. Regular exhibitor in RSA, RGI and RSW
1977 Elected a member of Royal Scottish Society of Painters in Watercolours , (RSW)
1991 Retrospective Exhibition in Dundee Art Galleries and Museums.
The University bought the painting from this show in 1991, thanks to a grant from the National Fund for Acquisitions.

Collection Reference Number: DUNUC ARTS:65

Robert Scott Lauder (1803-1869)

Elizabeth Graham (Lady) Steell, c.1827

Born in Edinburgh, Lauder was one of the first 24 artists to be admitted as members of the Royal Scottish Academy. In 1852 he was made Master of the Trustees' Academy in Edinburgh, ultimately becoming one of their greatest teachers, but at the expense of his own artistic career.

Collection Reference Number: DUNUC ARTS:72

Sir John Steell

Steell was Queen Victoria's official Sculptor in Scotland, and was responsible for such distinctive landmarks as Walter Scott's statue at the Scott Monument, Edinburgh, and that of Robert Burns in Albert Square, Dundee.

These portraits of Steell and his wife were donated by his grand-daughter Elizabeth Steell in 1964, along with two marble busts by Steell himself.

Collection Reference Number: DUNUC ARTS:73

Madeleine Jeanne Lemaire (1845-1928)

Peonies

Lemaire was born in Ares and died in Paris. She won honours for her flower paintings among them the Legion of Honour in 1906

Dr James Nicoll purchased this painting from Christie's in 1924.

Collection Reference Number: DUNUC ARTS:78

William York MacGregor (1855-1923)

Canal

Known as the "father" of the Glasgow Boys, MacGregor's studio in Bath Street was the group's regular meeting place. He encouraged artists to be bold: "Hack the subject out as you would were you using an axe, and try to realise it, get its bigness."

This magnificent landscape was purchased by the University with assistance from the Scottish Arts Council and the National Fund for Acquisitions in 1973.

Catalogue Reference Number: DUNUC ARTS:84

William McTaggart (1835-1910)

Lobster Fishers, Machrihanish Bay, 1909

McTaggart was a gifted and prolific landscape artist and was a pupil of Scott Lauder along with Hugh Cameron and George Paul Chalmers. McTaggart remained in Scotland for most of his life and became well known in the 1860s.

This painting was in the collection of W B Dickie, Esq of Dundee, who lent the painting to the University for a long period in the 1960s. He agreed in 1966 to sell it to the University.

Collection Reference Number: DUNUC ARTS:88

Sir Joseph Noel Paton (1821-1901)

The Dowie Dens o' Yarrow

Closely associated with Pre-Rapahelites Millais and Holman Hunt, Paton was one of the 19th century's foremost religious painters. This is one of a series of paintings inspired by the traditional Scots folk song "The Dowie Dens o' Yarrow".

Collection Reference Number: DUNUC ARTS:103

James McIntosh Patrick (1907-1998)

Balgavies Loch, 1962

Balgavies House, near by the loch, between Forfar and Friockheim, was the country seat of the Baxter Family.

Born in Dundee, the son of an architect, McIntosh Patrick studied at Glasgow School of Art where he won the Newbery Prize. He started as an etcher in 1927, on contract for £250 a year to produce twelve plates, but with the collapse of the etching market during the Depression, he turned to oils and watercolours.

This was commission by the University paid for by a donation from J C Lamb.

Collection Reference Number: DUNUC ARTS:104

Rhum & Eigg from Ardtoe, Acharacle, Argyllshire, 1958/59

This picture was presented in token of gratitude and esteem by members of the Council of Queen's College, Dundee to Dr Thomas Malcolm Knox, Principal of the University, on the occasion of his laying the foundation-stone of the college's new front building, 28 April 1959." Part of the Knox bequest.

Collection Reference Number: DUNUC ARTS:107

Samuel John Peploe (1871-1935)

Roses & Still Life

One of the great Scottish Colourists, Peploe was born and studied in Edinburgh, and worked mainly there and in France, where he was greatly influenced by the Fauves group. Although best known for still lifes like this, he also painted evocative portraits and landscapes.

This is one of two Peploes in the University Fine Art Collection, and was purchased in 1964. It remains the copyright of the artist's estate.

Collection Reference Number: DUNUC ARTS:110

Sir Henry Raeburn (1756-1823)

James Duff, 4th Earl of Fife

Arguably Scotland's most highly acclaimed painter, Raeburn was born in Edinburgh and spent most of his working life there. His reputation as a portrait painter was such that he could charge more than 100 guineas a portait. He was knighted in 1822, having already been appointed King's Limner and Painter for Scotland.

James Duff became Earl of Fife in 1811 and was made a Baron in 1827, having served as MP for Banffshire 1818-1827. He was also Rector of Marischal College, Aberdeen 1820-1824. His nephew succeeded him as 5th Earl, and his son the 6th Earl married Princess Louise, daughter of King Edward VII. She sold the portrait at Christies in 1924, and it was acquired by the University of Dundee.

Collection Reference Number: DUNUC ARTS:123

Thomas Miles Richardson (1784-1848)

Tarbert Castle, Loch Fyne, 1838

A Newcastle landscape painter and watercolourist. Richardson worked as a cabinet-maker until 1806 when he became Master of St Andrews School.

Richardson's subjects are mostly views of the North East, he also painted Continental scenes but these were worked up from drawings made by others. His watercolours show an admiration for David Cox but his figures in his pictures are similar to William Shayer. His works have always enjoyed a wide reputation in the north of England. He exhibited at the RA between 1814-45.

Thomas Miles Richardson was born at Newcastle in 1784. He commenced exhibiting at the Royal Academy at an early age. Subsequently he joined the New Watercolour Society. The subjects of his pictures, which were mainly taken from the Northern Counties, won him wide reputation. His work in water colour shows very great talent. His life was chiefly spent at Newcastle, where he died in 1848. He is represented in the National Collection.

Collection Reference Number: DUNUC ARTS:126

Leopold Rivers (1852-1905)

Dartmoor Farmhouse

A landscape painter, the son and pupil of William Joseph Rivers he exhibited at the RA from 1873-1904

Originally in the collection of a Mrs Cuthbertson of Torquay. Purchased in 1949 by Dr Nicoll possibly via a local sale or private bargain. Dr Nicoll lived in Torquay in his retirement.

Collection Reference Number: DUNUC ARTS:129

Anthony Fredrick August Sandys (1829-1904)

May, 1902

Pre-Raphaelite painter, portraitist and illustrator. Sandys was born in Norwich and studied at the RA Schools under George Richmond and Samuel Lawrence, who taught him to draw in chalks. He began to exhibit in the RA in 1851 and became a member of the Pre-Raphalites soon after. His work falls into three distinct categories. Firstly, his oil paintings, secondly his portrait drawings and thirdly his woodcuts and illustrations. His portrait drawings were mostly done on pale colours on light blue paper. In female portraits he often added a background of lilies, iris or other flowers which give them an Art Nouveau appearance. His illustrations are an unique blend of Pre-Raphaelite subjects and almost Durer-like precision. After 1880, he began to devote himself more and more to chalk portraits. He exhibited at the RA 1851-1856.

Collection Reference Number: DUNUC ARTS:133

Emma Sandys (1843-1876)

Pleasant Dreams, 1876

Originally thought to be the work of her brother Frederick, this work has since been correctly identified by Pamela Gerrish Nunn (Senior Lecturer Art History, University of Canterbury, New Zealand & Emma's biographer)

Donated by Dr James Nicoll 1951

Collection Reference Number: DUNUC ARTS:132

Charles Sims (1873-1928)

On the Dunes, c.1897

Charles Sims was the son-in-law of the landscape painter John MacWhirter. He studied at the Royal College of Art and the Academie Julian in Paris. This painting shows the artist's wife (Helen MacWhirter) and son at Etretat in Normandy.

Purchased from Christies in 1922 by Dr James Nicoll, who donated it to the University in 1951.

Collection Reference Number: DUNUC ARTS:140

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