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Sir William Fettes Douglas
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Sir William Fettes Douglas (1822–1891) was a Scottish
painter and art connoisseur, rising to be President of the Royal
Scottish Academy.
He was the eldest son of
James Douglas and
Martha Brook, grand-niece of Sir William Fettes, bart., the founder of
Fettes College; was born on 12 March 1822 in Edinburgh. On the
completion of his education at the High School of Edinburgh, he entered
the Commercial Bank of Scotland, in which his father was accountant ;
but the elder Douglas was an amateur of some talent, and the son devoted
the leisure of the ten years he was in the bank's service to painting
and drawing.
In 1847, he resolved to become an artist. Beyond a
few mouths in the Trustees' Academy, then under Sir William Allan, he
did not receive any systematic training, but he disciplined his hand and
eye by the care and accuracy of the drawing he did by himself, and he
attended the botany and anatomy classes of the university, while at a
somewhat later date he painted a good deal in the country with the Faeds
and Alexander Fraser, the landscape painter.
In 1845, he
exhibited for the first time at the Royal Scottish Academy, and soon his
pictures attracted such notice that in 1851 he was elected an associate,
and three years later a full member. Some of his finest pictures belong
to about this time, and in such as 'The Ruby Ring' (1853) ; 'The
Alchemist' (1855) ; 'Hudibras and Ralph visiting the Astrologer' (1856),
an incident from Butler's famous work ; 'The Rosicrucians' (1856), one
of his finest things in colour ; and 'The False Astrologer,' the
painter's interest in out-of-the-way subjects and his definite leaning
to archaeology are clearly visible. Many of them show much of the
pre-Raphaelite spirit, and are remarkable for wonderfully perfect and
detailed handling and rich and beautiful colour. 'The Summons to the
Secret Tribunal'(1860); 'David Laing, LL.D.,' a portrait picture (1862)
; and 'The Spell' (1864), are among the more important works of a later
date.
In 1859, he made the first of several visits to Italy,
where he devoted much time to studying coins and ivories, enamels and
bookbindings, of which and other rare and beautiful things he
subsequently made a fine collection. Many of his smaller pictures are
masterly studies of such objects, and in nearly all of his principal
pictures they figure as accessories.
As a collector he is said to
have combined the specific knowledge of the connoisseur with the
practical and general discernment of the artist ; but the only
contributions he made to the literature of the subject were the notes in
Mr. Gibson Craig's privately issued 'Facsimiles of old Bookbinding'
(1882). He also possessed a wide and accurate knowledge of pictorial
art, which fitted him admirably for the curatorship of the National
Gallery of Scotland, in which he succeeded James Drummond (1816-1877).
But here again he wrote nothing, although he incorporated much of what
he knew in the catalogue of the gallery. This office he held from 1877
to 1882, when he was elected to the presidential chair of the Royal
Scottish Academy, vacant through the death of Sir Daniel Macnee. He was
knighted at Windsor on 17 May 1822, and appointed a member of the Board
of Manufactures, while in 1884 the university of Edinburgh conferred the
degree of LL.D. upon him.
After 1870 he turned more to landscape,
and in 1874-5 he produced 'Stonehaven Harbour' and 'A Fishing Village,'
which are perhaps the finest pictures that he painted. at this time he
lived at 21 Coates Crescent in Edinburgh's affluent West End. But for
some time after 1879, the effects of a serious illness laid him aside,
and when he resumed his art it was to practise in water-colour only.
From 1877 to 1882 he served as Principal Curator of the National
Gallery of Scotland, being succeeded by Gourlay Steel.
His
drawings are small in size but very charming, and show a true
appreciation of the medium. In the National Gallery of Scotland, he is
represented by three characteristic works ; South Kensington Museum has
'The Alchemist,' and Glasgow Corporation Galleries 'Bibliomania.' His
works are displayed at such notable museums as the National Galleries of
Scotland, Harvard University Art Museums, the National Portrait Gallery,
Tate Gallery, and the Victoria and Albert Museum.
He died at
Newburgh, Fife, on 20 July 1891, but is buried in the south-west spur of
Dean Cemetery in Edinburgh with other family members.
His
youngest brother was Charlie Douglas, who after working for the bank for
some years went to New Zealand and became a notable explorer.
In
November 1880, he married Marion, second daughter of Baron Grahame of
Morphie (who lived at Ravelrig House, Balerno). There were no children.
His portrait, painted by Sir George Reid in 1883, hangs in the library
of the Scottish Academy. It is reproduced in photogravure in the
selection from his works published by the Royal Association for the
Promotion of Fine Arts (1885), and edited by John Miller Gray.
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Sources
Sources for this article include:
•
Dictionary of National Biography, 1901 supplement. London: Smith, Elder
& Co.
Any contributions will be
gratefully accepted
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