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James Douglas RSW 1858 - 1911 |
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James Douglas Watercolour Painter |
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Dundee James Douglas born in Dundee on April 28, 1858, was the second youngest of seven children. His father was an upholsterer and musician. James claimed to be a self-taught artist, exhibiting for the first time at the age of 16 in Dundee in 1874. This exhibit was one of his drawings. He exhibited three watercolours of at the inaugural Dundee Fine Arts Exhibition of 1877, and a watercolour, an oil, and a pen & ink at the Dundee Fine Art Exhibition of 1879. |
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Edinburgh James Douglas later maintained studios in Edinburgh for many years, first renting the large studio recently vacated by Noel Paton around 1880. He spent a year studying in Paris, 1883-4, and then returned to Edinburgh. He moved to the English Lake District following his marriage in 1891, then to Bavaria in 1895, before returning to Edinburgh in 1898. |
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RSW He was elected Member of the Royal Scottish Society of Painters in Watercolours (RSW) in 1900. He signed his subsequent paintings 'J Douglas RSW' rather than dating them. However, by 1907 he was suffering from mental illness and was struck off for non-payment of his subscription. He died on July 18, 1911. |
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James Douglas Postcards |
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James Douglas' preference was for landscape painting in the countryside. His known paintings of Edinburgh are largely confined to those which were reproduced as postcards for WR&S and Cynicus." Well over 100 of Douglas' paintings were produced as postcards by the publishers: - William Ritchie & Sons (WR&S), Edinburgh, and - Cynicus Publishing Co, Tayport, Fife. Cynicus Postcard St Andrews The postcard subjects were usually landscapes. They included: - Edinburgh (12 cards) - Scotland (excluding Edinburgh) - those parts attractive to the Edwardian tourist (over 100 cards) - English Lake District, home to the artist, 1891-95 (13 cards) - Bavarian townscapes of Rothenburg ob der Tauber, home to the artist, 1895-97. (6 cards)" |
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James Douglas Paintings & Exhibitions |
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Early Exhibitions An exhibition of James Douglas' work was held at the Perth Museum & Art Gallery, Scotland in May 2002. It featured 60 of his watercolour paintings, also postcards, photographs and other ephemera. The catalogue for this exhibition, prepared by James W Barnes, includes a list of over 250 paintings exhibited by James Douglas between 1877 and 1912. Douglas exhibited his work at exhibitions in London, Paris, Vienna, Liverpool, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Aberdeen and Dundee. These exhibitions included:
James Douglas' best known painting was probably his large-scale watercolour "Dundee 1888" . It was hung in the Victoria Galleries, Dundee, a new gallery built to commemorate Queen Victoria's Golden Jubilee. Photogravure prints of the painting were produced for sale in 1889. |
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Early Exhibitions There were to be no further exhibitions of James Douglas's work until that held in the Perth Museum and Art Gallery in 2002. This was followed by an exhibition featuring 30 of his German pictures, held in Rothenburg ob der Tauber, Bavaria in December 2003. |
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James Douglas Studios |
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Most of James Douglas' paintings were submitted to exhibitions from the following addresses, mainly in Edinburgh:
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James Douglas Edinburgh Postcards |
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These are the Edinburgh paintings of James Douglas that have been reproduced as postcards: |
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Postcards published by W R & S |
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- Edinburgh from the Crags (see illustration 1 above) |
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- Calton Hill (see illustration 2 above) |
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- Edinburgh Castle |
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- Edinburgh Castle from Greyfriars |
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- Edinburgh Castle and City Wall |
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- Queen Mary's Bedchamber Holyrood Palace |
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Postcards published by Cynicus Publishing Co |
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- Scott's monument and Castle from Princes Street |
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- The Fountain Princes Street Gardens |
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- Knox's House |
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- Holyrood Palace and King's Park from Calton Hill |
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- The Tollbooth, Canongate |
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- Queen Mary's Bedchamber Holyrood Palace |
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- Charlotte Square |
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Acknowledgement |
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Thank you to Jim Barnes, Angus, Scotland, for providing almost all of the information on this page. James Barnes has been researching the life and work of James Douglas for over 20 years. He wrote the catalogue produced for the James Douglas Exhibition held in the Perth Museum & Art Gallery in 2002, - Peter Stubbs: September 16-26, 2006. |