William Edouard Scott

William Scott was a British artist, best known for his still life and abstract painting. William Scott was born in Greenock, Scotland to Irish and Scottish parents, moving to Ulster when Scott was 11 years old where he spent the remainder of his early life. Scott studied first at Belfast College of Art (1928-1931) and later at the Royal Academy (1931-1935), where he shared accommodation with the poet Dylan Thomas. After completing his studies, Scott lived in France for several years, mainly in Port Avon and St Tropez, developing a life-long kinship with French still life painting. Jean-Baptiste-Siméon Chardin was particularly interesting to the artist during this period, later he would become more influenced by Georges Braque. Alongside French still life painting, Scott drew inspiration from pre-historic art and the untrained art of children. The artist spent his adult life living in both London and Somerset, he was also a frequent visitor to the Cornwall where he connected with artists of the St Ives school and was particularly fond of the fishing village of Mousehole, which is depicted in his work. In 1953, Scott traveled to New York, becoming one of the first British artists to meet the Abstract Expressionists, including Jackson Pollock and Willem de Kooning. Mark Rothko would later visit the the Scotts in Somerset. The recipient of numerous awards throughout his career, including the Painters Prize at the John Moore’s Liverpool Exhibition (1959), Scott also represented Britain at the 1958 Venice Biennale. Scott produced some landscapes and nudes but painted still life work for his entire career, he experimented with abstraction during the 1950s but these were always based within the tradition of still life. His work often bridged the gap between representation and abstraction, with motifs of objects such as cups, saucepans and frying baskets, still recognisable even in his later, more austere work, along with the flat planes of colour that often characterise his work. The artist compared his repeated depictions of kitchen objects to that of Braque’s frequent studies of guitars, 'if the guitar was to Braque his Madonna the frying pan could be my guitar’. While the subject matter remained much the same throughout Scott’s career, elements such as scale developed with his compositions becoming larger and the surface of the painting more laboured and worked. Public collections representing Scott’s work include Tate Gallery which held retrospectives of his work in 1972 and 2013, Fitzwilliam Museum, Jerwood Foundation and the Guggenheim Museum, New York. His work was formally part of the private art collection of David Bowie. Scott’s early life was made into a film, ‘Every Picture Tells a Story’by his artist and director son, James Scott.

When paired with the perfect frame, the right antique and vintage paintings and other wall decorations can either subtly showcase your personality or steal the show altogether. 

The earliest paintings were created on the walls of caves, proving even our ancient ancestors knew that striking artwork is meant to be on display. Cave paintings on an Indonesian island are reportedly older than the earliest cave art in Spain and France, and the figurative paintings back then were produced with inorganic pigments like iron oxide.

Later, the people of Ancient Greece — who learned about art from the Egyptians before them — conceived panel paintings of wax and tempera that were collected and publicly displayed. In the centuries that followed, artists would be commissioned to create large-scale wall murals and frescoed ceilings in sprawling European palaces and in the homes of the aristocracy.

Today, 1stDibs makes it easy for you to celebrate this rich history in your own home. Our collection of paintings includes Art Deco paintings, baroque art and a broad range of other categories. Search by material, period or other attributes to find the right fit — browse an array of 19th century landscape paintings in giltwood frames or abstract oil paintings and portraits made during the 1950s and ‘60s.

An understated contemporary work can complement your space’s color palette without drawing the focus away from the other pivotal design choices you’ve made over the years. Roy Lichtenstein’s Pop art, on the other hand, demands attention with its array of vibrant hues and subjects inspired by popular culture. 

Whether you aim to create a gallery in your home or build a single, stunning focal point, you can find what you’re looking for in an extensive inventory of paintings on 1stDibs.