Nature in Watercolours, by George Wilson

By Anna Chan

I have recently discovered a lesser known Scottish watercolourist in the National Galleries of Scotland’s temporary exhibition on George Wilson. Acquired from a descendant of Wilson in 2018, the National Galleries have been restoring and conserving the his watercolour artworks, now on public display until February 2025. Thanks to this exhibition, there has been a rise in interest in Wilson’s works which capture the beauty of nature through his unique style in watercolour.

George Wilson was born in Banffshire in 1848. After studying in Aberdeen and University of Edinburgh, he pursued a formal art education in the Heatherley School of Art and Slade School of Fine Art in London. During his time in Heatherley, he formed a close friendship with portrait painter John Butler Yeats, and together they formed an informal artistic group called “The Brotherhood.” The group shared the same interest and love for English poet William Blake and the Pre-Raphaelites. Wilson also stayed in Rome for two years, and after returning to Scotland he continued to visit Italy nearly every year. He was an accomplished draughtsman and produced paintings of literary subjects for public exhibitions. Privately, however, his interest lied in painting landscapes --  he travelled constantly and painted natural sceneries in Italy, France and Algeria.

Fig. 1 George Wilson, A Fallen Beech Tree, 1880. Watercolour on paper, 28.6 x 38.8cm, The Scottish National Gallery

Fig. 2 George Wilson, A View in Algiers, 1885. Watercolour on paper, 18.00 x 34.30 cm, The Scottish National Gallery

Wilson’s watercolour landscapes are known the unmatched details since he was very interested in patterns of foliage in nature. In the painting A Fallen Beech Tree (Fig. 1), he painted a withering beech tree that fell horizontally across the picture plane. He used a dotting method to paint with precision the leaves and grasses on the tree and the road. He also painted the details on the broken tree branches with fine lines and small patches of colour. In another painting, A View in Algiers (Fig. 2), we can see more clearly on the bottom of the painting how he used quick simple brushstrokes to draw out the shapes of the leaves before adding other layers of watercolour, creating the effect of dense foliage on top of each other. Inspired by Pre-Raphaelite landscape paintings, Wilson employed a vibrant but harmonious colour scheme and paid great attention on details, while his preference for using more painterly, spontaneous brushstrokes is clear.

Rarely do his countryside landscapes feature any human figures; they usually hold a sense of solitude and tranquillity within them. They are the documentations of nature he observed while visiting his home in Aberdeenshire or during his travels, and they show his great love and appreciation for nature. The simple yet beautiful compositions and colours show that he did not paint these for commercial or public viewing, but for personal interests and artistic expression.

He rarely displayed or promoted these watercolour works during his career. After his death at the young age of 41, most of his works were left with his family. In the exhibition, two of his sketchbooks are also on display in the exhibition, which contain his sketches and studies on human autonomy and plants. To see more of Wilson’s works, I strongly recommend visiting the exhibition on Wilson in the Scottish National Gallery.

Bibliography

“A Fallen Beech Tree by George Wilson” National Galleries of Scotland. Accessed December 17, 2024. https://www.nationalgalleries.org/art-and-artists/21761

“A View in Algiers by George Wilson” National Galleries of Scotland. Accessed December 17, 2024. https://www.nationalgalleries.org/art-and-artists/166368

“George Wilson” National Galleries of Scotland. Accessed December 17, 2024. https://www.nationalgalleries.org/art-and-artists/artists/george-wilson

“George Wilson | Private Landscapes” National Galleries of Scotland. Accessed December 17, 2024. https://www.nationalgalleries.org/exhibition/george-wilson-private-landscapes