David Dougal Williams

David Dougal Williams
Born David Dougal Williams
1888
Liscard, Cheshire
Died 28 September 1944
Dundee, Scotland
Nationality British
Education Edinburgh University, Edinburgh College of Art, Moray House Training College
Known for Painting

David Dougal Williams (June 1888 - 28 September 1944) was a Cheshire-born artist and art teacher who lived and worked in Dundee. [1]


Early Years

David Dougal Williams was born in 1888 in Liscard, in Cheshire, the third son of four to writer and geographer John Francon Williams and his wife Barbara Balmain Dougall. David was baptized on 22 July 1888 at St. Mary’s Church, Liscard.[2] David had three brothers, John B. (born 1878, Northampton), Aeneas Francon Williams (born 1886, Liscard) and George Francon (born 1890, Liverpool), and one sister, Margaret Mary Ann (born October, 1891, Liscard). David grew up in an artistic and literary household: his father John Francon Williams was a writer, geographer, cartographer and inventor, and David's brother Aeneas Francon Williams was also a keen artist and a writer. By 1901, the Williams family had moved to the South of England and was living at Queens Grove Road in the affluent area of Chingford in Essex. [3]

Williams trained at Edinburgh College of Art and at Edinburgh University and Moray House Training College. His first professional job was as a Designer. At this point in his life, Williams had already married.

In 1916, during the World War, Williams joined the King's Own Scottish Borderers 3rd Battalion, an infantry regiment of the Scottish Division of the British Army.[4] He was stationed in Scotland.

Career

After the World War ended, Williams remained in Scotland and Lived and worked for a short period in Oban in Argyll where he was principal art teacher at Oban High School. In October 1922, Williams moved to Dundee to take up the post of assistant art master at Morgan Academy, a post he held until 1929.[5] In Dundee, Williams lived with his wife and two siblings (a daughter and a son) at 35 Blackness Avenue. In 1929, Williams became the principal art master at Logie Central School in Dundee where he remained teaching for fifteen years until his death in 1944.

Twentieth Century Scottish Art

Williams was a respected figure amongst Dundee art circles and art world. He was a contemporary of such artists as John MacLaughlan Milne and James McIntosh Patrick. During the inter-war years a classical tradition in Scottish painting had emerged that experimented with Surrealism that was also influenced by the meticulous technique of Italian Renaissance painting. An artist of repute, David D. Williams had numerous paintings exhibited, including ‘God Be With You ‘Till We Meet Again’ and the seascape ‘Outward Bound’ in 1937 at the Royal Cambrian Academy in Cardiff.[6] His seascape ‘Outward Bound’ was also exhibited at the Imperial Gallery in Kensington, London.[7] Williams was an active member of the Dundee Art Society and the treasurer of Dundee’s, Elim Foursquare Church.

Williams died in Dundee on 28 September 1944 after a brief illness.

Family

David’s son, Arthur A.F. Williams, was also an artist and trained at Dundee College of Art.[8]

David’s brother Aeneas Francon Williams was a writer, poet and missionary.[9]

Source

  1. ↑ Dundee Courier, 29 September 1944, p. 3 – Death of Dundee Art Master Mr. David D. Williams of Logie Central School (obituary)
  2. ↑ Familysearch.org - Births, Marriages and Deaths, Cheshire Parish Registers, 1538-2000: David Dougall Williams was baptized on 22 July 1888 at St. Mary, Liscard, in Cheshire.
  3. ↑ 1901 England and Wales Census: https://familysearch.org/search/record/results?count=20&query=%2Bgivenname%3A%22Aeneas%20Francon%22~%20%2Bsurname%3AWilliams~%20%2Bbirth_year%3A1886-1886~
  4. ↑ British Army Service Records no. 27951, Edinburgh, Midlothian, 1916 – Held in the National Archives, British Army Service Records: Findmypast.co.uk – David Dougal Williams, aged 28.
  5. ↑ Dundee Courier, 13 October 1922, p. 14 - Dundee School Appointments (report)
  6. ↑ Royal Cambrian Academy of Art, 1937 Catalogue, 55th Annual Exhibition (retrieved 6 August 2017) - Williams, Mr. David Dougal, 35, Blackness Avenue, Dundee.- ‘God Be With You ‘Till We Meet Again’ (number 294) and ‘Outward Bound’ (number 298) in the catalogue – page 30 & 40
  7. ↑ Dundee Courier, 29 May 1936 – Art Teacher from Logie Central School Exhibited in London
  8. ↑ Dundee Courier, 29 September 1944, p. 3 – Death of Dundee Art Master Mr. David D. Williams of Logie Central School (obituary)
  9. ↑ Dundee Courier, 21 July 1938, p. 6 – Missionary as Poet - Aeneas Francon Williams poetry book Dream Drift (review)
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