William Stewart MacGeorge (1861-1931)
| Artist Name | William Stewart MacGeorge (1861-1931) |
|---|---|
| Title | Portrait of Echo McCulloch |
| Description | This wonderful Scottish Impressionist Victorian portrait oil painting is by much noted and exhibited Scottish artist William Stewart MacGeorge. The sitter is Echo McCulloch of Ardwell House, near Gatehouse of Fleet, just west of Kirkcudbright. She later became Mrs Echo Bourne May. Painted circa 1900 it is a full-length portrait of a Echo in a white dress with pink sash. She is sat on a willow tree at the edge of a pool which is shimmering in the sunshine behind her. She is resting her head on her hands against the tree trunk and innocently gazing at the artist/viewer. MacGeorge often painted children but it is unusual for him to paint a single child like this. Although much influenced by fellow Glasgow Boy Hornel, this painting has the style and grace of Renoir's landscapes and portraits of the 1880's. The brilliance of this painting is the superb brushwork, impasto and play of light. A really lovely example of MacGeorge's work and of Victorian Scottish art. Ardwall House is an eighteenth-century mansion near Gatehouse of Fleet in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland. Built in 1762 for the McCullochs of Ardwall, it was extended in 1895 with the addition of pavilion wings to either side of the house. It was designated a Category A listed building in 1971. It is still in use, and remains in the hands of the McCulloch family. Signed lower left. |
| Provenance | Oxfordshire estate. |
| Medium | Oil on Canvas |
| Size | 20 x 24 inches |
| Frame | Housed in an ornate gilt frame, 32 inches by 28 inches and in good condition. |
| Condition | Good condition. |
| Biography | William Stewart MacGeorge (1861–1931) was a Scottish artist associated with the Kirkcudbright School. Born in Castle Douglas, lived at 120 King St. He attended the Royal Institution Art School in Edinburgh before studying under Charles Verlat in Antwerp 1884-85. On his return he painted subjects which involved children playing, executed in low tones. After becoming influenced by Edward Atkinson Hornel, who had also studied under Verlat, MacGeorge began using brighter colours and greater impasto. He continued to focus on the usual pastoral features so loved by Impressionists - children at play, fields of flowers, woods, rivers with fishermen, farm labourers, the effect of light and some evening scenes. MacGeorge was also inspired by the ballards of the Borders. Around 1912 he also spent some time painting in Venice. In 1929, two years before his death, MacGeorge married the widow of Hugh Munro, the watercolour artist Mabel Victoria MacGeorge and settling in Gifford in East Lothian where he died aged 70. His widow bequeathed about 45 of his paintings to Haddington Town Council. MacGeorge exhibited at the Paris Salons, winning a bronze medal at the Paris Exposition Universalle of 1900. He became a member of the Royal Scottish Academy in 1898 and an academician in 1910. He exhibited at the RSA (1881-1932), RGI (1883-1932) and RA (1894-1925). |
| Price | SOLD |
