DOI Heft:
No. 227 (February 1912)
DOI Artikel:Stodart-Walker, Archibald: A Scottish landscape painter: James Cadenhead, A.R.S.A., R.S.W.
DOI Seite / Zitierlink: https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.21156#0035
James Cadenhead, A.R.S.A.
underwent during his sojourn in Paris, the dis-
covery of the work of Cazin had the most power-
ful effect upon his mind and upon his craftsman-
ship. Returning to Scotland in 1884, Cadenhead
worked for a time in his native city, removing in
1891 to Edinburgh. In 1893 he was elected a
Member of the Royal Scottish Society of Painters
in Water Colour, and in 1902 followed his election
as an Associate of the Royal Scottish Academy.
Amongst other positions of responsibility, Mr.
Cadenhead has been Chairman of the Society of
Scottish Artists, and as one of the original com-
mittee of the Scottish Modern Arts Association
did much to ensure the ultimate success of that
society, the first of its kind to be formed in Great
Britain for the purchase of modern works of art.
To-day Mr. James Cadenhead is a conspicuous
figure in various phases of the artistic and social
life of Edinburgh. A gifted literary exponent of
his craft, a graceful poet, a fine musician, and a
man of large general culture,
Cadenhead is much more
than a professional painter.
Many of his essays on art
and artists are models of
lucid interpretation of the
attitude of the painter to-
wards nature and his craft.
He has delivered numerous
addresses on subjects rele-
vant to the arts in Edin-
burgh, Aberdeen, and
Dundee, and is much sought
after by philosophical and
other societies for his ex-
positions of the why and
wherefore of the artistic ideal.
It can hardly be doubted,
from the intellectual side,
that Mr. Cadenhead has no,
or few, rivals amongst the
painters of the present day.
His accumulated knowledge,
in history, criticism, philo-
sophy, and the arts, is great,
and had he not adopted
painting as a profession, he
might have made a name in
University and literary
circles.
This culture, indeed, is
counted by some critics
as a handicap to the spon-
taneous expression of his
vision as an artist. But such criticism is faulty.
Cadenhead remains the artist he is because of this
culture, not in despite of it. In fact, it is as an artist
that he approaches art. This may seem a state-
ment of supererogation. But it is hardly so in an
age when the word “art ” is very loosely interpreted.
We use the word “art ” as it would be used in the
case of such men as Charles Lamb, Walter Pater,
and Robert Louis Stevenson in literature. To
them the mode of expression was the principal
thing, a more serious concern indeed than the
thing expressed. So it is with James Cadenhead.
He is as fastidious in his choice of paint and design
as a painter as these men were in their choice ol
words and sentences as men of letters, and unless
he can make his scholarship and culture ready
servants of his brush, painting can mean little to
him.
If the word “ scholarly ” can be applied with-
out contradiction to the work ot any modern
underwent during his sojourn in Paris, the dis-
covery of the work of Cazin had the most power-
ful effect upon his mind and upon his craftsman-
ship. Returning to Scotland in 1884, Cadenhead
worked for a time in his native city, removing in
1891 to Edinburgh. In 1893 he was elected a
Member of the Royal Scottish Society of Painters
in Water Colour, and in 1902 followed his election
as an Associate of the Royal Scottish Academy.
Amongst other positions of responsibility, Mr.
Cadenhead has been Chairman of the Society of
Scottish Artists, and as one of the original com-
mittee of the Scottish Modern Arts Association
did much to ensure the ultimate success of that
society, the first of its kind to be formed in Great
Britain for the purchase of modern works of art.
To-day Mr. James Cadenhead is a conspicuous
figure in various phases of the artistic and social
life of Edinburgh. A gifted literary exponent of
his craft, a graceful poet, a fine musician, and a
man of large general culture,
Cadenhead is much more
than a professional painter.
Many of his essays on art
and artists are models of
lucid interpretation of the
attitude of the painter to-
wards nature and his craft.
He has delivered numerous
addresses on subjects rele-
vant to the arts in Edin-
burgh, Aberdeen, and
Dundee, and is much sought
after by philosophical and
other societies for his ex-
positions of the why and
wherefore of the artistic ideal.
It can hardly be doubted,
from the intellectual side,
that Mr. Cadenhead has no,
or few, rivals amongst the
painters of the present day.
His accumulated knowledge,
in history, criticism, philo-
sophy, and the arts, is great,
and had he not adopted
painting as a profession, he
might have made a name in
University and literary
circles.
This culture, indeed, is
counted by some critics
as a handicap to the spon-
taneous expression of his
vision as an artist. But such criticism is faulty.
Cadenhead remains the artist he is because of this
culture, not in despite of it. In fact, it is as an artist
that he approaches art. This may seem a state-
ment of supererogation. But it is hardly so in an
age when the word “art ” is very loosely interpreted.
We use the word “art ” as it would be used in the
case of such men as Charles Lamb, Walter Pater,
and Robert Louis Stevenson in literature. To
them the mode of expression was the principal
thing, a more serious concern indeed than the
thing expressed. So it is with James Cadenhead.
He is as fastidious in his choice of paint and design
as a painter as these men were in their choice ol
words and sentences as men of letters, and unless
he can make his scholarship and culture ready
servants of his brush, painting can mean little to
him.
If the word “ scholarly ” can be applied with-
out contradiction to the work ot any modern