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James McBey
1883 (Newburgh) – 1959 (Tangier)
Mrs Elizabeth Grant Murray “The red scarf”
1923
Oil on canvas
35 x 28 ins., 89 x 71 cms.
Signed twice and dated June 1923.
About the Sitter
Elizabeth Grant Murray was the wife of the artist William Grant Murray who appears to have been a friend of McBey. The sitter’s identity has been verified by the Aberdeen City Museum and Art Gallery. The original title of the painting was “The red scarf” and this is inscribed in pencil on the turned edge of the canvas. Although McBey painted a number of portraits, these seem to have been primarily of friends and of sitters who interested him. Apart from being a flamboyant work, the present painting does seem to capture a rapport with Mrs. Grant Murray.
About the Artist
James McBey’s career was eventful and international. Born at Newburgh, Aberdeenshire, he first worked at the North of Scotland Bank in Aberdeen from 1899 to 1910. As an artist he was entirely self-taught, taking up etching when he was 17. He became known as a landscape painter and etcher. On leaving the bank he came to London where his first exhibition, held in 1911, was a great success.
He was an Official War Artist with the Egyptian Expeditionary Force 1917-18 on its advance through Palestine and Syria. A lot of his later work was produced on his travels abroad and in particular he visited Holland, France, Italy, Spain and Morocco. He later lived in America (becoming a US citizen in 1942) and Tangier where he died.
About this Work
William Grant Murray (1877-1950) was a painter of landscapes. He studied at the Edinburgh School of Art and at the Royal College of Art in London where he received his diploma in 1904. He then went to Paris to study at the Academie Julian. He lived in Swansea for some years and was Principal of the Swansea School of Art and Crafts and Curator of Swansea Art Galleries.