Sam Black, (5 June 1913 – 23 April 1997) was a Scottish artist and teacher best known both for the artworks he produced during the Second World War and for his post-war academic career in Canada. Black produced landscapes and architectural subjects in oils and watercolours but also worked in other media including welded metals.

Early life

Black, whose father had served in the Royal Navy, was born in

Ardrossan Ardrossan (; ) is a town on the North Ayrshire coast in southwestern Scotland. The town has a population of 10,670 and forms part of a conurbation with Saltcoats and Stevenston known as the 'Three Towns'. Ardrossan is located on the east shore ...

on the west coast of Scotland. Black graduated from the

Glasgow School of Art The Glasgow School of Art (GSA; gd, Sgoil-ealain Ghlaschu) is a higher education art school based in Glasgow, Scotland, offering undergraduate degrees, post-graduate awards (both taught and research-led), and PhDs in architecture, fine art, and ...

in 1936 and then taught art in Scottish schools.

World War Two

At the start of World War Two Black enlisted in the

Royal Scots Fusiliers The Royal Scots Fusiliers was a line infantry regiment of the British Army that existed from 1678 until 1959 when it was amalgamated with the Highland Light Infantry (City of Glasgow Regiment) to form the Royal Highland Fusiliers (Princess Mar ...

and was commissioned as an officer. He went on to become a camouflage officer, training soldiers in personal concealment and in the protection of defensive positions. Later in the war he became the first commander of a newly established Camouflage School. After seeing action in France, Belgium and Germany, Black ended the war as a major with several decorations. At the beginning of the war Black had written to the

War Artists' Advisory Committee The War Artists Advisory Committee (WAAC), was a British government agency established within the Ministry of Information at the outbreak of the Second World War in 1939 and headed by Sir Kenneth Clark. Its aim was to compile a comprehensive artist ...

, WAAC, offering his services as an artist and asking for facilities. His application was supported by

Muirhead Bone Sir Muirhead Bone (23 March 1876 – 21 October 1953) was a Scottish etcher and watercolourist who became known for his depiction of industrial and architectural subjects and his work as a war artist in both the First and Second World Wars. A fi ...

and by the end of the conflict WAAC had acquired five paintings from Black, which are now in the collection of the

Imperial War Museum Imperial War Museums (IWM) is a British national museum organisation with branches at five locations in England, three of which are in London. Founded as the Imperial War Museum in 1917, the museum was intended to record the civil and military ...

Later life

After the war, Black resumed his teaching career, initially as a school inspector and then, from 1949, as Principal Lecturer in Arts at

Jordanhill College Jordanhill Campus is an historic estate within the boundaries of Jordanhill, Glasgow, Scotland, which developed as a country estate. It is best known and most recently used as the home to the Faculty of Education of the University of Strathcl ...

in Glasgow. In 1958, after a summer spent teaching art at a summer school in Canada, Black accepted the post of professor of fine arts and art education at the

University of British Columbia The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a public university, public research university with campuses near Vancouver and in Kelowna, British Columbia. Established in 1908, it is British Columbia's oldest university. The university ranks a ...

, UBC. Black remained at UBC until he retired, to live on

Bowen Island Bowen Island (originally Nex̱wlélex̱m in Sḵwx̱wú7mesh), British Columbia, is an island municipality that is part of Metro Vancouver. Bowen Island is within the jurisdiction of the Islands Trust. Located in Howe Sound, it is approximate ...

, in 1978, a year after he had been elected to the

Royal Canadian Academy of Arts The Royal Canadian Academy of Arts (RCA) is a Canadian arts-related organization that was founded in 1880. History 1880 to 1890 The title of Royal Canadian Academy of Arts was received from Queen Victoria on 16 July 1880. The Governor General ...

. Black continued to paint and produce art throughout his retirement.

Membership

Black was a member or affiliated with the following organizations: * 1953: Elected member of the

Royal Watercolour Society The Royal Watercolour Society is a British institution of painters working in watercolours. The Society is a centre of excellence for water-based media on paper, which allows for a diverse and interesting range of approaches to the medium of wa ...

, * 1963: Elected member of

Canadian Society of Painters in Water Colour The Canadian Society of Painters in Water Colour (in French: La Société Canadienne de Peintres en Aquarelle), founded in 1925 is considered to be Canada's official national watercolour Society. Since the 1980s the Society has enjoyed Vice-regal ...

, * 1965: Member of the Print and Drawing Council of Canada. * 1965: Signature member of the

Federation of Canadian Artists The Federation of Canadian Artists (FCA) is an association of artists in Canada founded in Toronto in 1941. The FCA soon had chapters across the country, and was one of the main forces behind formation of the Canada Council in 1957. After this, the ...

, * 1977: Elected member of the

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Black, Sam 1913 births 1997 deaths 20th-century Scottish painters Alumni of the Glasgow School of Art Artists from British Columbia British Army personnel of World War II British war artists Camoufleurs People from Ardrossan Royal Scots Fusiliers officers Scottish emigrants to Canada Scottish male painters Academic staff of the University of British Columbia World War II artists 20th-century Scottish male artists