David West, RSW
Encyclopedia
David West, RSW, was a watercolour painter of land, sea and sky. He was born on 12 November 1868 in Lossiemouth
, the youngest of 12 children, and died 8 October 1936 in Glasgow
following a seizure.
that traded between the Moray Firth
, Aberdeen
and the Baltic
. His early education was at Lossiemouth
and then Elgin
Academy. West’s parents moved to Aberdeen in 1883 and so he became a pupil at the Aberdeen Grammar School
which he left the following year to go to sea with his father. Before this, he found time to attend the Aberdeen Mechanics Institute and studied life drawing. During his time as a seaman he continued to paint culminating in his award of a gold medal at the Industry and Art Exhibition in Aberdeen in 1888. From 1889 to 1894, West exhibited at the Royal Scottish Academy and the Royal Academy in London. That five year period saw him being accepted for the Royal Academy on successive years.
His exceptional ability in water colour painting was not long in being recognised, and when still in his twenties he had won for himself a wide reputation as a landscape painter. In 1892 he was commissioned by the Countess of Aberdeen to undertake a number of paintings for her. He was well rewarded by the Countess and so in early 1893 he traveled to Holland to study Dutch art. Always fond of his native Morayshire, he returned that same year to Lossiemouth
and set up a studio. Unfortunately, in 1897, this studio burned down and he lost many paintings including several that he had done in oils.
It was soon after this that he left for British Columbia
to take part in the Klondike Gold Rush
. He later named his house "Chilkoot" after the infamous Chilkoot trail that the prospectors and miners would take to reach the Klondike in the Yukon
. West and his party slept on the summit of the Chilkoot Pass on 13 and 14 May, 1898. The Banffshire
Herald ran an account of his travels under the title “On the way to the Klondyke”:
Robert W. Service
, another Scot, poet, author and was also a veteran of the Yukon. One night in some log cabin, Service describes in his book The trail of '98, a gathering of some characters, one of whom was David West:
He returned to Lossiemouth
in November 1898 with numerous sketches and photographs and exhibited four of his Klondike paintings at the RSA the following year.
In 1903, the Society of Scottish Artists
chose West to represent them at the Munich Exhibition. He was elected a Member of The Royal Scottish Society of Painters in Watercolour on 19 February 1908 and exhibited extensively at the Society's Annual Exhibitions and also those of The Royal Glasgow Institute of Fine Arts.
He earned his living as a painter, but his other interests were extensive. An extrovert by nature, he loved telling stories of his past and enjoyed giving talks of his experiences in the Klondike which he illustrated with his sketches and photographs. With the increase in the tourist trade, West and his wife often put on comical shows for locals and visitors at the Stotfield Hotel which was owned by his father-in-law. He was an outdoor type of person; he enjoyed golfing with a passion but also shooting and angling. David West was also a local politician beginning on the Drainie Parish Council, then the Lossiemouth Town Council and finally the Morayshire County Council. His political views were of a conservative nature.
He joined the army in April 1915 to become an ambulance driver at the age of 47. He took possession of his ambulance from the Red Cross and drove it all the way from Lossiemouth to the front line. He was soon wounded, though and was discharged in October 1915.
In 1927, he was invited to Buenos Aires
, Argentina
to hold a one man exhibition. He was the first British artist to do this. He took full advantage of his journey and despite being nearly sixty, undertook long and arduous excursions to Chile
and Brazil
and painted an extensive series of landscapes. West’s paintings were largely of Morayshire scenes but one of his most famous paintings was the Dutch
landscape “On the Scheldt” which was hung in Edinburgh
in 1932. He was elected as Vice-President of the RSW in 1935.
He died on 7 October 1936 in Glasgow
while attending the Royal Glasgow Institute of Fine Arts where he had several paintings on show. Two paintings were posthumously exhibited at the same venue in 1937.
coast, and of old sailing boats he was unsurpassed. His work continues to be sought after at auction demonstrating the quality of his work. His paintings were always an accurate depiction of the view.
Most of his work has a characteristic low skyline. This allowed West to show the wide range of light effects on the Moray Firth water. This depiction of water and sky while at the same time depicting the accurate images of the fishing towns (mainly, but not exclusively, Lossiemouth
) was a hallmark of his painting. He could paint his beloved Moray Firth in all its moods, whether it be calm or stormy. His landscape paintings are equally appealing capturing the colours of the Morayshire moorland, the abundant whins and cloud formations.
Mainly known for his watercolours he also possessed great skill in oil painting and the painting of miniatures. In 1923, he was invited to produce a painting to be hung in Queen Mary's dollhouse designed by the architect Sir Edwin Lutyens
for Queen Mary.
Lossiemouth
Lossiemouth is a town in Moray, Scotland. Originally the port belonging to Elgin, it became an important fishing town. Although there has been over a 1,000 years of settlement in the area, the present day town was formed over the past 250 years and consists of four separate communities that...
, the youngest of 12 children, and died 8 October 1936 in Glasgow
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
following a seizure.
Life and career
He was the son of Captain James West who commanded a sailing schoonerSchooner
A schooner is a type of sailing vessel characterized by the use of fore-and-aft sails on two or more masts with the forward mast being no taller than the rear masts....
that traded between the Moray Firth
Moray Firth
The Moray Firth is a roughly triangular inlet of the North Sea, north and east of Inverness, which is in the Highland council area of north of Scotland...
, Aberdeen
Aberdeen
Aberdeen is Scotland's third most populous city, one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas and the United Kingdom's 25th most populous city, with an official population estimate of ....
and the Baltic
Baltic Sea
The Baltic Sea is a brackish mediterranean sea located in Northern Europe, from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from 20°E to 26°E longitude. It is bounded by the Scandinavian Peninsula, the mainland of Europe, and the Danish islands. It drains into the Kattegat by way of the Øresund, the Great Belt and...
. His early education was at Lossiemouth
Lossiemouth
Lossiemouth is a town in Moray, Scotland. Originally the port belonging to Elgin, it became an important fishing town. Although there has been over a 1,000 years of settlement in the area, the present day town was formed over the past 250 years and consists of four separate communities that...
and then Elgin
Elgin, Moray
Elgin is a former cathedral city and Royal Burgh in Moray, Scotland. It is the administrative and commercial centre for Moray. The town originated to the south of the River Lossie on the higher ground above the flood plain. Elgin is first documented in the Cartulary of Moray in 1190...
Academy. West’s parents moved to Aberdeen in 1883 and so he became a pupil at the Aberdeen Grammar School
Aberdeen Grammar School
Aberdeen Grammar School, known to students as The Grammar is a state secondary school in the City of Aberdeen, Scotland. It is one of twelve secondary schools run by the Aberdeen City Council educational department...
which he left the following year to go to sea with his father. Before this, he found time to attend the Aberdeen Mechanics Institute and studied life drawing. During his time as a seaman he continued to paint culminating in his award of a gold medal at the Industry and Art Exhibition in Aberdeen in 1888. From 1889 to 1894, West exhibited at the Royal Scottish Academy and the Royal Academy in London. That five year period saw him being accepted for the Royal Academy on successive years.
His exceptional ability in water colour painting was not long in being recognised, and when still in his twenties he had won for himself a wide reputation as a landscape painter. In 1892 he was commissioned by the Countess of Aberdeen to undertake a number of paintings for her. He was well rewarded by the Countess and so in early 1893 he traveled to Holland to study Dutch art. Always fond of his native Morayshire, he returned that same year to Lossiemouth
Lossiemouth
Lossiemouth is a town in Moray, Scotland. Originally the port belonging to Elgin, it became an important fishing town. Although there has been over a 1,000 years of settlement in the area, the present day town was formed over the past 250 years and consists of four separate communities that...
and set up a studio. Unfortunately, in 1897, this studio burned down and he lost many paintings including several that he had done in oils.
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
to take part in the Klondike Gold Rush
Klondike Gold Rush
The Klondike Gold Rush, also called the Yukon Gold Rush, the Alaska Gold Rush and the Last Great Gold Rush, was an attempt by an estimated 100,000 people to travel to the Klondike region the Yukon in north-western Canada between 1897 and 1899 in the hope of successfully prospecting for gold...
. He later named his house "Chilkoot" after the infamous Chilkoot trail that the prospectors and miners would take to reach the Klondike in the Yukon
Yukon
Yukon is the westernmost and smallest of Canada's three federal territories. It was named after the Yukon River. The word Yukon means "Great River" in Gwich’in....
. West and his party slept on the summit of the Chilkoot Pass on 13 and 14 May, 1898. The Banffshire
Banffshire
The County of Banff is a registration county for property, and Banffshire is a Lieutenancy area of Scotland.The County of Banff, also known as Banffshire, was a local government county of Scotland with its own county council between 1890 and 1975. The county town was Banff although the largest...
Herald ran an account of his travels under the title “On the way to the Klondyke”:
Camped at Lake Inderman, AlaskaAlaskaAlaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...
, May 23rd 1898. We got through the great Chilkoot pass safely, and saw the great snowslide where so many were killed. The heat today was great and the snow and ice are going fast, and in a few days we will be in our canoes and on our way to the ‘Golden YukonYukonYukon is the westernmost and smallest of Canada's three federal territories. It was named after the Yukon River. The word Yukon means "Great River" in Gwich’in....
’. I hope I’ll pull through whether I have gold or not. I can hardly get peace to write for a young Yank laying off yarns about his father and uncle in the American [Civil] War. I am in grand health and I feel fit. The scenery is grand and I’ll have a good stock of sketches, and with my Kodak camera I’ll have something [of] worth.
Robert W. Service
Robert W. Service
Robert William Service was a poet and writer who has often been called "the Bard of the Yukon".Service is best known for his poems "The Shooting of Dan McGrew" and "The Cremation of Sam McGee", from his first book, Songs of a Sourdough...
, another Scot, poet, author and was also a veteran of the Yukon. One night in some log cabin, Service describes in his book The trail of '98, a gathering of some characters, one of whom was David West:
Several men had dropped by to swell this Bohemian circle. Some had brought bottles. There was a painter who had been hung (West), a Mus.Bac., an ex-champion amateur pugilist, a man who "suped" for Mansfield, and half a dozen others. The little cabin was crowded, the air hazy with smoke, the conversation animated. Suddenly the conversation turned to the immorality of the town.
He returned to Lossiemouth
Lossiemouth
Lossiemouth is a town in Moray, Scotland. Originally the port belonging to Elgin, it became an important fishing town. Although there has been over a 1,000 years of settlement in the area, the present day town was formed over the past 250 years and consists of four separate communities that...
in November 1898 with numerous sketches and photographs and exhibited four of his Klondike paintings at the RSA the following year.
In 1903, the Society of Scottish Artists
Society of Scottish Artists
The Society of Scottish Artists is a Scottish artist-run organization which seeks to promote and encourage experimentation and the "adventurous spirit" in Scottish art....
chose West to represent them at the Munich Exhibition. He was elected a Member of The Royal Scottish Society of Painters in Watercolour on 19 February 1908 and exhibited extensively at the Society's Annual Exhibitions and also those of The Royal Glasgow Institute of Fine Arts.
He earned his living as a painter, but his other interests were extensive. An extrovert by nature, he loved telling stories of his past and enjoyed giving talks of his experiences in the Klondike which he illustrated with his sketches and photographs. With the increase in the tourist trade, West and his wife often put on comical shows for locals and visitors at the Stotfield Hotel which was owned by his father-in-law. He was an outdoor type of person; he enjoyed golfing with a passion but also shooting and angling. David West was also a local politician beginning on the Drainie Parish Council, then the Lossiemouth Town Council and finally the Morayshire County Council. His political views were of a conservative nature.
He joined the army in April 1915 to become an ambulance driver at the age of 47. He took possession of his ambulance from the Red Cross and drove it all the way from Lossiemouth to the front line. He was soon wounded, though and was discharged in October 1915.
In 1927, he was invited to Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires is the capital and largest city of Argentina, and the second-largest metropolitan area in South America, after São Paulo. It is located on the western shore of the estuary of the Río de la Plata, on the southeastern coast of the South American continent...
, Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
to hold a one man exhibition. He was the first British artist to do this. He took full advantage of his journey and despite being nearly sixty, undertook long and arduous excursions to Chile
Chile
Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
and Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
and painted an extensive series of landscapes. West’s paintings were largely of Morayshire scenes but one of his most famous paintings was the Dutch
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
landscape “On the Scheldt” which was hung in Edinburgh
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
in 1932. He was elected as Vice-President of the RSW in 1935.
He died on 7 October 1936 in Glasgow
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
while attending the Royal Glasgow Institute of Fine Arts where he had several paintings on show. Two paintings were posthumously exhibited at the same venue in 1937.
Style
As a painter of the sea, the sandy wastes and the sky along the Moray FirthMoray Firth
The Moray Firth is a roughly triangular inlet of the North Sea, north and east of Inverness, which is in the Highland council area of north of Scotland...
coast, and of old sailing boats he was unsurpassed. His work continues to be sought after at auction demonstrating the quality of his work. His paintings were always an accurate depiction of the view.
Most of his work has a characteristic low skyline. This allowed West to show the wide range of light effects on the Moray Firth water. This depiction of water and sky while at the same time depicting the accurate images of the fishing towns (mainly, but not exclusively, Lossiemouth
Lossiemouth
Lossiemouth is a town in Moray, Scotland. Originally the port belonging to Elgin, it became an important fishing town. Although there has been over a 1,000 years of settlement in the area, the present day town was formed over the past 250 years and consists of four separate communities that...
) was a hallmark of his painting. He could paint his beloved Moray Firth in all its moods, whether it be calm or stormy. His landscape paintings are equally appealing capturing the colours of the Morayshire moorland, the abundant whins and cloud formations.
Mainly known for his watercolours he also possessed great skill in oil painting and the painting of miniatures. In 1923, he was invited to produce a painting to be hung in Queen Mary's dollhouse designed by the architect Sir Edwin Lutyens
Edwin Lutyens
Sir Edwin Landseer Lutyens, OM, KCIE, PRA, FRIBA was a British architect who is known for imaginatively adapting traditional architectural styles to the requirements of his era...
for Queen Mary.