DOI Artikel:
Gibson, Frank W.: David Muirhead, landscape and figure painter
DOI Seite / Zitierlink:https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.43451#0117
David Muirheaa
in forming an original style of his own. He began
his artistic career in Edinburgh, where he was born,
and he says he had the usual school drawing at the
Royal High School of that town, and after attend-
ing the Royal Institution, which is the Government
school, he tried for and was admitted a student at
the schools of the Royal Scottish Academy, where he
studied under Lawson Wingate, William Hole, and
R. Alexander. After this he came to London and
attended Professor Brown’s class at the Westminster
Art School for a little more than a year. Before
taking up art altogether Mr. Muirhead had some
training as an architect under Mr. Sydney Mitchell.
He began to exhibit pictures at the Royal
Scottish Academy and also at Glasgow; the first
painting he showed in London was exhibited at
the Royal Academy in 1895—a portrait; at the
same place in the following year another portrait.
In 1896 he first showed a landscape at the New
English Art Club. In 1898 to the British Artists’
Exhibition he sent two harbour scenes ; the larger
one was called Old Stonehaven, the other Evening;
and in the same year at the New English Art Club
the most important landscape he had hitherto shown,
The Village of Ceres, a fine pastoral, the sky of
which is painted with such truth that the clouds
really seem to float across it. The Mill at Ceres,
which followed next year, also gives the feeling of
sunlight and heat. From this date he has been
faithful to the New English Art Club, of which he
is a prominent member, and, with the exception
of the Exhibition of International Art (where he
showed at the first display they held in London, in
1898, two portraits and a marine), he has exhibited
nowhere else: thus his finest work has been seen
there, consisting of such pictures as Autumn, which
was a beautiful landscape, full of true sentiment of
the grave kind which Mr. Peppercorn so often
reveals in his scenes. Another very interesting
work is The Fen Bridge, which belongs to Sir
Charles Darling, a painting that has in itself much
beauty of style and feeling for decoration and the
qualities of paint. The Avenue is a canvas on
which is shown most truthfully and most beauti-
fully the brilliancy and sparkle of sunlight filtering
into and through the recesses of a woodland land-
scape. It was painted in 1902. Three or four
years later came the Woodland Pool, a rather
similar subject but a quieter effect of a sunlit
natural scene, but none the less true. The Wind-
mill at Cley is full of solemn sentiment quite in
keeping with its grey tones. One of Mr. Muirhead’s
recent landscapes is The Cornfield, which was shown
at the last Autumn Exhibition of the New English
Art Club; it is a successful attempt to suggest
light and heat. Various as the artist’s subjects in
“A cornfield”
(Theproperty oj Julian Lousada, Esq.)
BY DAVID MUIRHEAD
103
in forming an original style of his own. He began
his artistic career in Edinburgh, where he was born,
and he says he had the usual school drawing at the
Royal High School of that town, and after attend-
ing the Royal Institution, which is the Government
school, he tried for and was admitted a student at
the schools of the Royal Scottish Academy, where he
studied under Lawson Wingate, William Hole, and
R. Alexander. After this he came to London and
attended Professor Brown’s class at the Westminster
Art School for a little more than a year. Before
taking up art altogether Mr. Muirhead had some
training as an architect under Mr. Sydney Mitchell.
He began to exhibit pictures at the Royal
Scottish Academy and also at Glasgow; the first
painting he showed in London was exhibited at
the Royal Academy in 1895—a portrait; at the
same place in the following year another portrait.
In 1896 he first showed a landscape at the New
English Art Club. In 1898 to the British Artists’
Exhibition he sent two harbour scenes ; the larger
one was called Old Stonehaven, the other Evening;
and in the same year at the New English Art Club
the most important landscape he had hitherto shown,
The Village of Ceres, a fine pastoral, the sky of
which is painted with such truth that the clouds
really seem to float across it. The Mill at Ceres,
which followed next year, also gives the feeling of
sunlight and heat. From this date he has been
faithful to the New English Art Club, of which he
is a prominent member, and, with the exception
of the Exhibition of International Art (where he
showed at the first display they held in London, in
1898, two portraits and a marine), he has exhibited
nowhere else: thus his finest work has been seen
there, consisting of such pictures as Autumn, which
was a beautiful landscape, full of true sentiment of
the grave kind which Mr. Peppercorn so often
reveals in his scenes. Another very interesting
work is The Fen Bridge, which belongs to Sir
Charles Darling, a painting that has in itself much
beauty of style and feeling for decoration and the
qualities of paint. The Avenue is a canvas on
which is shown most truthfully and most beauti-
fully the brilliancy and sparkle of sunlight filtering
into and through the recesses of a woodland land-
scape. It was painted in 1902. Three or four
years later came the Woodland Pool, a rather
similar subject but a quieter effect of a sunlit
natural scene, but none the less true. The Wind-
mill at Cley is full of solemn sentiment quite in
keeping with its grey tones. One of Mr. Muirhead’s
recent landscapes is The Cornfield, which was shown
at the last Autumn Exhibition of the New English
Art Club; it is a successful attempt to suggest
light and heat. Various as the artist’s subjects in
“A cornfield”
(Theproperty oj Julian Lousada, Esq.)
BY DAVID MUIRHEAD
103