- William George Gillies
Sir William George Gillies (1898 – 1973) was a renowned Scottish landscape and
still life painter.Gillies was born in
Haddington ,East Lothian ; he studied atEdinburgh College of Art and taught there after graduation for over 40 years. He was principal of the College from 1959 until his retirement in 1966. In 1922 along with nine fellow students, including William Crozier andWilliam MacTaggart , he founded the1922 Group , an exhibition society which promoted their works at the New Gallery inEdinburgh for the next ten years.Assisted by a travelling scholarship, Gillies studied under
André Lhote inParis in 1923 and he went on to visitItaly in 1924. For a brief period after these experiences he worked in a cubist manner, but would later revert to a more traditional style. His cubist influenced works are typified by the 1933 still life, "Two Pots, Saucer and Fruit". The arrangement of the objects, which are close together on a tilted table top, are influenced by Cézanne, whereas the understated colours and textures are reminiscent of Braque and Picasso.In 1934 Gillies attended an exhibition of
Paul Klee 's work and was impressed by the childlike qualities and imaginative use of colour that he saw. Klee's influence is clear in Gillies' 1934 work, "The Harbour", which depicts the harbour atAnstruther . Gillies has created a grid-like composition, using bold blocks of contrasting colour emphasising the vertical lines of the buildings and the ships masts. This is balanced by the use of rippling horizontal brushstrokes.Although he experimented with
portrait ure in his early career, Gillies concentrated principally on landscapes and still lifes, frequently depicting theLothian ,Fife and Border regions. Both in his prolific output over the course of his career, and in his 40 years of teaching, Gillies influence on Scottish painting of the twentieth century has been profound.External links
* [http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/online_az/4:322/?initial=G&artistId=3433&artistName=Sir%20William%20Gillies&submit=1 Works in the National Galleries of Scotland]
* [http://www.artcyclopedia.com/artists/gillies_william_george.html William George Gillies at artcyclopedia.com]
* [http://www.geo.ed.ac.uk/scotgaz/people/famousfirst549.html William George Gillies on the Gazeteer for Scotland]
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.