The Blue Shirt (1937-1947)

James Cowie

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Artist James Cowie (b.1886, d.1956)
Title The Blue Shirt
Date 1937-1947
Period 20th century ; 1930s ; 1940s
Description The painter is seated in his studio at Hospitalfield behind a canvas which partly obscures his left side. In the background there is a sideboard, bowl of fruit and beyond, copies of "The Inspiration of the Epic Poet" by Poussin and the "Diane de Poitiers" by an unknown artist: oblique references to the tension the artist felt between overt reserve and latent sensuality such as he recognised in Poussin whose work he so admired. This most distinguished addition to the University of Edinburgh Fine Art Collecttion may be regarded as a commentary on the great Self Portrait by Poussin of 1650. On the verso is an abandoned self portrait at half length in which the artist, wearing a hat and brown suit, leans towards the viewer. Behind the sitter is the outline of what appears to be an 18th century hunting scene. The portrait was purchased by the University from the artist's daughter, Mrs. Ruth Christie, in 1974. Cowie was one of the most individual Scottish artists of his time in Scotland. Whereas most painters of his generation favoured a subjective kind of painting, marked by a rich use of paint and colour, Cowie stood for coolness and clarity. A great admirer of Italian art of the 14 and 15ht centuries, he was one of the finest draughtsmen of his time. He was born in 1886, the son of an Aberdeenshire farmer, Peter Cowie. He entered the Aberdeen University to read English, but though he retained strong literary interests, did not complete his degree. He enrolled concurrently in a teacher training course at the United Free Church Training College in Aberdeen and it was there that he turned to painting. On completing this course, he took a post as art teacher ain Fraserburg Academy in 1909. In 1912, on money saved from his teaching to Glasgow School of Art for two years. During the war he was a conscientious objector. After the war he took up the post of art master at Bellhshill Academy, near Glasgow, which he retained until his apppintment in 1935 as Head of Painting ain Gray's School of Art in Aberdeen. It was in this year also, when nearly 50, that he held his first one-man exhibition. The characteristic style of his painting was formed in the years after 1930 and some of his best-known and most memorable paintings are of his pupils at Bellshill Academy during the early 1930s, for example 'Falling Leaves' (1934) (Aberdeen Art Gallery) and 'Portrait Group' (1932-1940) (Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art). Cowie only stayed at Gray's School a short time and in 1937 took up the post of Warden of Hospitalfield, Arbroath, where he remained until 1947. His main duty there was to sueprvise a small group of students who came from the various Scottish art colleges during the summer months. From this position Cowie had a significant influence on the careers of a number of important Scottish artists. In fact his influence was such that Sir William gillies felt it necessary to warn at least one student against the risk of it, which is a measure of the extent to which Cowie was seen to the be outside the mainstream of Scottish painting. Joan Eardley was one of his students, however, who benefited from contact with his high artistic standards. During his years at Hospitalfield. Cowie's work entered a kind of metaphysical phase and especially striking from this period are the still lifes and landscapes that he painted. The poetic paintings of these years reflect his renewed interest in literature. In 1948 he retired to Edinburgh. He had been elected RSA in 1943 and he became Secretary to the Academy from 1948 to 1952. In 1952 he was awarded the degree of Honorary LLD by the University of Edinburgh, but shortly afterwards he suffered a stroke and he remained ill until his death in 1956.
Material canvas (textile material)/textile materials/materials (substances) ; oil paint (paint)/paint (coating)
Dimensions 70.5 cm x 57.8 cm
Type Painting
Collection Art Collection
Accession Number EU0776



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