William Grant Murray (11 August 1877 – 11 November 1950), usually known as Grant Murray, was a British art teacher, gallery curator and artist. He was Principal of

Swansea Art School , students = 5,765 , undergrad = 4,520 , postgrad = 1,075 , other = 175 FE , city = Swansea , country = Wales, UK , campus = Urban , address = Mount PleasantSwansea SA1 6ED , we ...

from 1908 to 1943, and the first curator of the

Glynn Vivian Art Gallery The Glynn Vivian Art Gallery is the public art gallery of the City and County of Swansea, in Wales, United Kingdom. The gallery is situated in Alexandra Road, near Swansea railway station, opposite the old Swansea Central Library. History The ...

, Swansea from 1910 to 1950. He played a leading part in the artistic life of Swansea between the wars.

Biography

Murray was born on 11 August 1877 in

Portsoy Portsoy ( gd, Port Saoidh) is a town in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. Historically, Portsoy was in Banffshire. The original name may come from ''Port Saoithe'', meaning "saithe harbour". Portsoy is located on the Moray Firth coast of northeast Scotlan ...

, Aberdeenshire, Scotland, the second son of William Alexander Minty Murray (1848–1920), a cabinet maker, and his wife May Grant (1848–1890). His elder brother George Murray (1897–1898) also became an artist, who was renowned for his murals, portraits and mosaics. He was educated at Blairgowrie High School, Blairgowrie School of Art (1893–97), Edinburgh School of Art (1897–98) and the

Royal College of Art The Royal College of Art (RCA) is a public research university in London, United Kingdom, with campuses in South Kensington, Battersea and White City. It is the only entirely postgraduate art and design university in the United Kingdom. It o ...

in London (1876–1933), where he won several prizes. After leaving the Royal College with an ARCA, he studied at Académie Julian in Paris in 1905. In 1909 he married Margaret Falconer Findlay. They had two sons: Ivan Grant (born 1912) and George Findlay (born 1913). He died in Swansea on 17 November 1950.

Swansea Art School

Before moving to Swansea, Murray was Art Headmaster of West Bromwich Municipal School of Art for three and a half years. While being interviewed for the position of principal of Swansea Municipal School of Art in 1908 (later Swansea Art School, now part of

University of Wales, Trinity Saint David , image = Crest of TSD.png , image_size = 200px , caption = Coat of armsUniversity of Wales Trinity Saint David , established = 2010 (Saint David's College, Lampeter founded 1822 and opened 1827; royal charter 1828) , ...

), Murray told the interviewing panel: He told them that the Art School was the most dismal that he had ever seen, the rooms were too small and the lighting was bad. As far as he could see, their Art School was as good as dead and he had no desire to be associated with the inevitable funeral! He was appointed on the first ballot. On his appointment he was the only teacher for 107 part-time students. Under his leadership the school grew rapidly in scope and reputation. In 1910 the Art School was ranked 140th in England and Wales; by 1914 it was in 25th place. In 1925 the school won a Grand Prix at the ''

International Exposition of Modern Industrial and Decorative Arts The International Exhibition of Modern Decorative and Industrial Arts (french: Exposition internationale des arts décoratifs et industriels modernes) was a World's fair held in Paris, France, from April to October 1925. It was designed by the Fren ...

'' in Paris. In 1939 it had 530 students. Murray introduced stained glass making in the art school in 1935. It has since developed into a major centre for artistic glass. He retired in 1943, after 34 years as principal.

Glynn Vivian Art Gallery

In 1911, two years after becoming principal of Swansea Art School, Murray was asked to become curator of the new

in Swansea. He accepted, providing that an assistant was appointed at the school, and held both posts concurrently. The gallery was financed by the art collector Richard Glynn Vivian, who provided his collection of paintings, drawings and china. Building on Richard Glynn Vivian's collection, Murray expanded the gallery's collection by acquiring works by established painters such as

Augustus John Augustus Edwin John (4 January 1878 – 31 October 1961) was a Welsh painter, draughtsman, and etcher. For a time he was considered the most important artist at work in Britain: Virginia Woolf remarked that by 1908 the era of John Singer Sarge ...

Gwen John Gwendolen Mary John (22 June 1876 – 18 September 1939) was a Welsh artist who worked in France for most of her career. Her paintings, mainly portraits of anonymous female sitters, are rendered in a range of closely related tones. Although s ...

and James Dickson Innes; and younger painters including

Kyffin Williams Sir John Kyffin Williams, (9 May 1918 – 1 September 2006) was a Welsh landscape painter who lived at Pwllfanogl, Llanfairpwll, on the Island of Anglesey. Williams is widely regarded as the defining artist of Wales during the 20th century. Pe ...

and

John Elwyn William John Elwyn Davies (20 November 1916 – 13 November 1997), professionally known as John Elwyn, was a Welsh painter, illustrator and educator. Early life Davies was born in Adpar, Newcastle Emlyn in rural south Cardiganshire on 20 Nove ...

. Murray played a leading part in the acquisition for Swansea of the ''British Empire Panels'' by

Frank Brangwyn Sir Frank William Brangwyn (12 May 1867 – 11 June 1956) was a Welsh artist, painter, watercolourist, printmaker, illustrator, and designer. Brangwyn was an artistic jack-of-all-trades. As well as paintings and drawings, he produced des ...

. These sixteen large panels had been commissioned in 1927 for the Royal Gallery at the

House of Lords The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by appointment, heredity or official function. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminste ...

as a memorial to the dead of the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, but they were rejected as unsuitable for the Palace of Westminster. They were installed in the

Brangwyn Hall , former_names = , alternate_names = , image = Brangwyn hall.jpg , alt = , caption = Brangwyn Hall entrance , map_type = , altitude = , building_type ...

Swansea in 1934, where they remain. Murray remained curator of the Glynn Vivian Art Gallery until his death in 1950.

Painting

Murray was a figurative artist who mainly painted landscapes in watercolour and oils. At the Académie Julian in Paris he learned to brighten his palette, and to take on new ideas from the

impressionists Impressionism was a 19th-century art movement characterized by relatively small, thin, yet visible brush strokes, open Composition (visual arts), composition, emphasis on accurate depiction of light in its changing qualities (often accentuating ...

Public collections

Murray's paintings are in the following public collections: * Glynn Vivian Art Gallery, Swansea *

National Museum Cardiff National Museum Cardiff ( cy, Amgueddfa Genedlaethol Caerdydd) is a museum and art gallery in Cardiff, Wales. The museum is part of the wider network of Amgueddfa Cymru – National Museum Wales. Entry is kept free by a grant from the Welsh Gov ...

* Cyfarthfa Castle Museum and Art Gallery, Merthyr Tydfil *

Aberdeen Art Gallery Aberdeen Art Gallery is the main visual arts exhibition space in the city of Aberdeen, Scotland. It was founded in 1884 in a building designed by Alexander Marshall Mackenzie, with a sculpture court added in 1905. In 1900, it received the art ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Murray, William Grant 1877 births 1950 deaths 19th-century British painters British male painters 20th-century British painters British arts administrators People educated at Blairgowrie High School Alumni of the Edinburgh College of Art Alumni of the Royal College of Art Académie Julian alumni 19th-century British male artists 20th-century British male artists