A portrait of William McInnes (1868-1944) by George Leslie Hunter (1877-1931).
Born in Glasgow, McInnes joined the firm of P H Dixon & Harrison, shipowners and shipbrokers. The firm merged in 1895 with Alan C Gow to create Gow, Harrison & Co, with McInnes as a partner. He was also an art collector, purchasing a great deal of French art from Glasgow art dealer Alex Reid, and left a large bequest to Glasgow Museums when he died.
Hunter was one of Scottish painters known as the Colourists. He was born in Rothesay but moved with his family to San Francisco when he was a child. His father returned to Scotland in 1910 and Hunter soon followed, basing himself in Glasgow. Although lacking formal training, he had begun painting in California and continued on his return to Scotland and on visits to London and France.
In the early 1920s Hunter worked mostly in Fife. During a visit to France in 1922, however, he became friendly with J D Fergusson (1874-1961), another of the Colourists. Around this time Hunter visited an exhibition of work by Henri Matisse (1869-1954) and this greatly influenced his own work. He later moved to the south of France and spent his last years working there.
Reference: 3404
Reproduced with the permission of Glasgow City Council, Glasgow Museums
Keywords:
Alan C Gow, art collectors, artists, aspidistras, bequests, Colourists, Glasgow Museums, Gow, Harrison & Co, P H Dixon & Harrison, portraits, shipping agents
You have 1 image in your photo album.
