Sir James Lewis Caw LLD HRSA (25 September 1864 – 5 December 1950) was a Scottish art historian, critic and gallery director. He argued for the existence of an independent and free-standing "Scottish school of painting" arising in the second half of the 19th century.

Life

The grave of Sir James Caw, Newington Cemetery, Edinburgh

Caw was born in

Ayr Ayr (; sco, Ayr; gd, Inbhir Àir, "Mouth of the River Ayr") is a town situated on the southwest coast of Scotland. It is the administrative centre of the South Ayrshire Subdivisions of Scotland, council area and the historic Shires of Scotlan ...

, the son of James Caw, a draper, and his wife Eliza Murray Greenfield. After study at

Ayr Academy Ayr Academy (Scottish Gaelic: ''Acadamaidh Inbhir Àir'') is a non-denominational secondary school situated within the Craigie Estate area at University Avenue in Ayr, South Ayrshire. It is a comprehensive school for children of ages 11–18 fro ...

, he became an apprentice engineer at the West of Scotland Technical College in Ayr. He then worked from 1887 as an engineering draughtsman, initially in Glasgow. Caw was introduced to the Scottish art world in the early 1880s by James Guthrie, and made significant friendships, in particular with some of the

Glasgow Boys The Glasgow School was a circle of influential artists and designers that began to coalesce in Glasgow, Scotland in the 1870s, and flourished from the 1890s to around 1910. Representative groups included The Four (also known as the Spook School ...

. He began work at the

Scottish National Portrait Gallery The Scottish National Portrait Gallery is an art museum on Queen Street, Edinburgh. The gallery holds the national collections of portraits, all of which are of, but not necessarily by, Scots. It also holds the Scottish National Photography Co ...

in 1885; in 1907 he became the initial director of the

National Galleries of Scotland National Galleries of Scotland ( gd, Gailearaidhean Nàiseanta na h-Alba) is the executive non-departmental public body that controls the three national galleries of Scotland and two partner galleries, forming one of the National Collections o ...

. He was a member of the Scottish Arts Club. In 1931 Caw was knighted. He died at his home in

Lasswade Lasswade is a village and civil parish in Midlothian, Scotland, on the River North Esk, nine miles (14.5 kilometres) south of Edinburgh city centre, contiguous with Bonnyrigg and between Dalkeith to the east and Loanhead to the west. Melville C ...

on 5 December 1950. He is buried in

Newington Cemetery Newington Cemetery is a cemetery in Edinburgh, Scotland. Technically it lies beyond Newington itself, standing on an awkward elongated kite-shaped site between a railway line and Dalkeith Road, between Prestonfield and Peffermill. History ...

in south Edinburgh.

Works

Caw is considered the major historian of Scottish art of the first half of the 20th century. He wrote an ambitious survey entitled ''Scottish Painting Past and Present 1620 - 1908'' (1908). Works on individual artists include: *''Portraits by Sir Henry Raeburn'' (1909) *''William McTaggart, R.S.A., V.P.R.S.W.: A Biography and an Appreciation'' (1917) *''Sir James Guthrie, a Biography'' (1932) Himself a watercolour painter, Caw exhibited from 1887 to 1922.

Family

Caw married in 1909 Anne Mary McTaggart, daughter of

William McTaggart William McTaggart (25 October 1835 – 2 April 1910) was a Scottish landscape and marine painter who was influenced by Impressionism. Life and work The son of a crofter, William McTaggart was born in the small village of Aros, near Camp ...

. They had no children.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Caw, James Lewis 1864 births 1950 deaths Scottish art critics British arts administrators Scottish painters Scottish male painters