Yale Center for British Art, Gift of Isabel S. Kurtz in memory of her father, Charles M. Kurtz
Copyright Status:
Copyright Undetermined
Accession Number:
B1989.17.7
Gallery Label:
Born and raised in Glasgow, the son of a prosperous cotton and muslin manufacturer, James Paterson initially worked in the family business while taking classes at the Glasgow School of Art. In 1877 he left the business to devote himself to painting full time. He trained in Paris, first under Louis Jacquesson de la Chevreuse and then in the atelier of JeanPaul Laurens. Upon returning to Glasgow, he associated with a group of young artists who were collectively known as the Glasgow Boys. He married in 1884 and moved to the Dumfriesshire village of Moniaive, where he lived with his wife, Eliza (née Ferguson), for twenty-two years. Drawn to the countryside, Paterson often worked in the open air, producing atmospheric landscapes in watercolor and oil, such as this picture of nearby Castlefairn, which was exhibited at the St. Louis Exposition in 1895 with over one hundred works by other Glasgow Boys assembled by the art critic Charles M. Kurtz. Gallery label for installation of YCBA collection, 2016
