Street scene - evening, a watercolour c 1887 by John Quinton Pringle (1864-1925).
Born in Annfield Street in 1864, Pringle was apprenticed to an optician at the age of 12 and later had his own optician's shop in the Saltmarket. He is better remembered, however, for his art. He won a bursary in 1885 to attend evening classes at Glasgow School of Art and won several prizes while a student there, including the Gold Medal for Life Drawing in the National Competition run by the Department of Science and Art.
Pringle decided not to work as a professional artist because he did not want to compromise his art. He continued to paint, frequently using his back shop as a studio, and often drew his inspiration from the East End where he lived and worked. In 1923 he made the decision to sell his shop and concentrate on his art, but died of cancer in April 1925.
Reference: 63-1f
Reproduced with the permission of Glasgow City Council, Glasgow Museums
Keywords:
artists, bursaries, Department of Science and Art, evening classes, Glasgow School of Art, nightscenes, opticians, paintings, street lights, streetscenes, watercolours