Sir James Guthrie - Mrs Craig Sellar of Ardtornish (1844 - 1929) - NG 2176 - National Galleries of Scotland

Sir James Guthrie (1859–1930) was a Scottish painter and a member of the Glasgow Boys, a group of artists active in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Guthrie was born in Greenock, Scotland, and studied at the Glasgow School of Art. He later studied at the Académie Julian in Paris. Guthrie's paintings often depicted scenes of rural life in Scotland and he was particularly noted for his portraits and landscapes. He was also an accomplished etcher and a member of the Royal Scottish Academy. One of Guthrie's most famous paintings is 'To Pastures New', which shows a group of Highlanders leaving their homes to emigrate to Canada. It is now in the collection of the National Galleries of Scotland. Guthrie was knighted in 1920 for his services to the arts. He died in Rhu, Scotland, in 1930.

Guthrie lived most of his life in the Scottish Borders, since 1883 in Cockburnspath, Berwickshire, where he painted some of his most important works, including A Hind's Daughter (1883), and Schoolmates (1884). He was strongly influenced by the French Realists, especially Jules Bastien-Lepage, and was associated with the Glasgow Boys. In 1888, he was elected an associate of the Royal Scottish Academy, and a full member in 1892. In November 1902 he was unanimously elected to succeed Sir George Reid as RSA president, and he moved with his family from Glasgow to Edinburgh. In 1903, he was knighted. A member of Glasgow Art Club Guthrie exhibited often at the club's annual exhibitions. In 1919, Guthrie was commissioned by South African financier Sir Abraham Bailey, 1st Baronet to paint a group portrait of 17 politicians and statesmen of Britain and its allies who held office during the First World War. The painting, Statesmen of World War I, was completed in 1930, shortly before Guthrie's death. The painting was donated to the National Portrait Gallery, London. Guthrie's 17 preparatory oil studies were donated to Scottish National Portrait Gallery. In 1920, the King of Belgium conferred Guthrie with the Cross of Commander of the Order of the Crown. In 1921, he joined the newly-formed Society of Graphic Art, and exhibited with them in 1921.