Introduction
‘In April 1884 James Paterson and his brother Robert married the Ferguson sisters from Hillhead, Glasgow. As a wedding gift, James received a house in Moniaive, Dumfriesshire which became his base for the rest of his life. A growing reputation as a watercolourist was confirmed the following year when he was elected to the Royal Society of Painters in Watercolours. Confident handling of the medium mirrored that of Melville, and was perhaps the by-product of lengthy training in the Paris ateliers’ (McConkey 24).
‘Although in later years, Paterson painted in Edinburgh and was a regular visitor to Tenerife, his lifelong passion was for the shires of Ayr and Dumfries, painting on the coast at Fencebay and in the Nith valley on Cluden water by its two ancient mills. Such was his commitment to the scenery of the area that in 1893, he published Nithsdale, an illustrated volume of his own works with the Glasgow publisher, James Maclehose&sdquo; (McConkey 53).
Works
- A Quiet Moment in the Shade
- Tuberous Begonia
- Fencebay, Fairlie
- Cluden Mill on the Nith near Dumfries
- Bathing Rocks, Rough Firth
- Portrait of Daniel Alexander Williamson
Bibliography
McConkey, Kenneth. Lavery and the Glasgow Boys. Exhibition Catalogue. Clandeboye, County Down: The Ava Gallery; Edinburgh: Bourne Fine Art; London: The Fine Art Society, 2010. no. 21.
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Last modified 29 August 2021