MCTAGGART; WILLIAM
1835 Aros - 1910 Broomieknowe

"My Boy Tammie". After a poem by the Scottish poet Hector MacNeill (1746-1818). Oil on canvas. 46 x 36cm. Monogrammed lower right: WMT (lig.). Framed.

Verso:
Various informations on the stretcher:
- at the top handwritten old adhesive label: "'Herding a wee lamb and ewe / For her poor
Mammie' / My Boy Tammie / William McTaggart / ARSA".
- laterally handwritten note: "My Boy Tammie" William McTaggart ARSA 1862.
- at the bottom gallery label of The Fine Art Society Ltd; London December 1977; no. 7308.

The Scottish painter Sir William McTaggart; born in 1835; was fascinated by nature and the human's relationship to nature throughout his life. His vibrant colours and his strong brushwork find their parallels in the impressionism of the 19th century; even though McTaggart's painting generally sticks to the Scottish tradition. In McTaggart's paintings one can find numerous borrowings from Constable and Turner; who he adored.

McTaggart was born on Mull of Kintyre and regularly returned to his birthplace later on from his studio in Glasgow and his house in Broomieknow; which is located a little outside Edinburgh. He studied at the Trustees' Academy in Edinburgh and had early successes when he was chosen aa a member of the Royal Scottish Academy at the age of 24. The ballad "My Boy Tammie"; title and subject of the present painting; was written by the famous Scottish poet Hector Macneill (1746-1818) at that time. The last two lines of the second verse of this popular Scottish folk song read "...Herding a wee lamb and ewe; For her poor mammy". With wide brushstrokes McTaggart embeds the scenery of these lines in a sun-flooded spring-like landscape. In the course of the 1860s McTaggart had more and more important supporters and collectors in Dundee; the capital of the jute industry. Our painting; which originated in 1866; was acquired by the collector George B. Simpson at that time. This is confirmed by the correpondance between the artist and the collector. Back then the textile producer from Dundee was one of the most important Scottish collectors.

Literature:
- Kvaerne; Per: William McTaggert 1835-1910. Singing Songs of the Scottish Heart;
Edinburgh; 2007; p. 43 and p. 59 ill. 47.
- Caw; James L.: William McTaggart. A Biographie and an Appreciation; Glasgow; 1917; p.
229; 1866.

Exhibitions:
- The Fine Art Society London 1977.
- Dundee 1868.
- Royal Glasgow Institute of Fine Arts als "'Ca' the Yowes to the Knowes" 1868.
- Royal Scottish Academy 1867.

Provenance:
- Neumeister Munich; acquired in the 80s.
- Chapman's Edinburgh; December 04; 1880.Art trade; Van Ham.