John Smart (landscape artist)

Gravestone of John Smart at Warriston Cemetery

John Smart (R.S.A.),(R.S.W.)(October 16, 1838 in Leith, Scotland – June 1, 1899 in Edinburgh, Scotland) was a Scottish landscape painter. He also tackled genre subjects, and painted in both oils and watercolour.^[1]

Smart played golf at Leith Links. He is now perhaps best known for his early paintings of golf courses in Scotland, "The Golf Greens of Scotland".

Life

John Smart was born in Leith, the son of Robert Campbell Smart (d.1871), an engraver operating from 20 Elm Row.^[2] His mother was Emily Margaret Morton.^[3]

He was educated at Leith High School, and then studied art at the School of Manufacturers, with the intention of becoming an engraver himself. After showing talent for landscape painting, he instead became a pupil of Horatio McCulloch. He was one of the founder members of the Royal Scottish Society of Painters in Watercolour (R.S.W.) and he was elected to the Royal Scottish Academy (R.S.A.) in 1877 after first being elected an associate (A.R.S.A.)in 1871.

Smart's paintings depicted scenery from across the Lowlands and highlands of Scotland. The critic James Caw said of Smart's landscape paintings, "If coarse in handling and wanting in subtlety of feeling, they are simple and effective in design, vivid in effect and powerful in execution, and breathe an ardent passion for the landscape of his native land."

Both his house and studio were at 13 Brunswick Street in Edinburgh's east end.^[4]

He is buried with his wife, Agnes Purdie Main,in Warriston Cemetery on the north side of the central roundel.

Works

• "The Golfing Greens of Scotland", a collection of twenty water-colours featuring various Scottish golf courses of the 1880s and 90’s - private collections.
• "The Gloom of Glen Ogle" - 1875 - Glasgow Museums Collections
• "A Cloudy Day, Strathearn, Perthshire" - 1896 - The University of Edinburgh Fine Art Collection
• "A Perthshire River" - 1894 - The Stirling Smith Art Gallery & Museum
• "Golden grain" - 1894 - The Stirling Smith Art Gallery and Museum
• "Autumn's Short Shadowy Days" - 1877 - Dundee Art Galleries and Museums Collection (Dundee City Council)
• "The Island Pool on the Orchy" 1889 - Private Collection
• "The Return of the Flock" 1888-91 - Private Collection
• "Young Anglers" - 1866 - Private collection
• "Glen Dochart looking to Benmore and Ben Hallam" 1884 - Private Collection
• "On the Don" - 1887 - Private Collection
• "Seaside" - 1899 - Private Collection

References