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William Fettes DouglasThe Gossip - Scottish 19thC art Victorian oil painting young romantic couple1868
1868
About the Item
A fine Victorian Scottish genre oil on canvas painting which dates to 1868 and is titled The Gossip by famous Scottish artist William Fettes Douglas RSA. It is a stunning depiction of a courting couple in very good condition. It is a very evocative genre painting and a fine period oil painting. Douglas is a highly sought-after genre artist whose paintings are listed in the auction catalogues to many thousands GBP.
Signed upper right.
Provenance. Scottish estate.
Condition. Oil on canvas, 18 inches by 15 inches unframed and in excellent condition.
Housed in a fine frame 26 by 23 inches framed and in good condition.
Sir William Fettes Douglas (1822–1891) was a Scottish painter and art connoisseur, rising to be President of the Royal Scottish Academy. He was the eldest son of James Douglas and Martha Brook, grandniece of Sir William Fettes, bart., the founder of Fettes College. He was born on 12 March 1822 in Edinburgh. On the completion of his education at the High School of Edinburgh, he entered the Commercial Bank of Scotland, in which his father was accountant. However, the elder Douglas was an amateur of some talent, and the son devoted the leisure of the ten years he was in the bank's service to painting and drawing. In 1847 he resolved to become an artist. Beyond a few months in the Trustees' Academy, then under Sir William Allan, he did not receive any systematic training, but he disciplined his hand and eye by the care and accuracy of the drawing he did by himself. He also attended the botany and anatomy classes of the university, while at a somewhat later date he painted a good deal in the country with the Faeds and Alexander Fraser, the landscape painter. In 1845, he exhibited for the first time at the Royal Scottish Academy, and soon his pictures attracted such notice that, in 1851, he was elected an associate, and three years later a full member. Some of his finest pictures belong to about this time, such as 'The Ruby Ring' (1853), 'The Alchemist' (1855), 'Hudibras and Ralph visiting the Astrologer' (1856), an incident from Butler's famous work 'The Rosicrucians' (1856), one of his finest things in colour and 'The False Astrologer'. The painter's interest in out-of-the-way subjects and his definite leaning to archaeology are clearly visible. Many of them show much of the pre-Raphaelite spirit, and are remarkable for wonderfully perfect and detailed handling and rich and beautiful colour. He also possessed a wide and accurate knowledge of pictorial art, which fitted him admirably for the curatorship of the National Gallery of Scotland, in which he succeeded James Drummond (1816-1877). He incorporated much of what he knew in the catalogue of the gallery. This office he held from 1877 to 1882, when he was elected to the presidential chair of the Royal Scottish Academy, vacant through the death of Sir Daniel Macnee. He was knighted at Windsor on 17 May 1822, and appointed a member of the Board of Manufactures, while in 1884 the university of Edinburgh conferred the degree of LL.D. upon him. After 1870 he turned more to landscape, and in 1874-5 he produced 'Stonehaven Harbour' and 'A Fishing Village,' which are perhaps the finest pictures that he painted. But for some time after 1879, the effects of a serious illness laid him aside, and when he resumed his art it was to practise in water-colour only. From 1877 to 1882 he served as Principal Curator of the National Gallery of Scotland, being succeeded by Gourlay Steel. His drawings are small in size but very charming, and show a true appreciation of the medium. In the National Gallery of Scotland, he is represented by three characteristic works ; South Kensington Museum has 'The Alchemist,' and Glasgow Corporation Galleries 'Bibliomania.' His works are displayed at such notable museums as the National Galleries of Scotland, Harvard University Art Museums, the National Portrait Gallery, Tate Gallery and the Victoria and Albert Museum. He died at Newburgh, Fife, on 20 July 1891, but is buried in the south-west spur of Dean Cemetery.
- Creator:William Fettes Douglas (1822 - 1891, Scottish)
- Creation Year:1868
- Dimensions:Height: 26 in (66.04 cm)Width: 23 in (58.42 cm)Depth: 2 in (5.08 cm)
- Medium:
- Movement & Style:
- Period:
- Condition:
- Gallery Location:London, GB
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU853113420162
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