James McLauchlan Nairn (18 November 1859 – 22 February 1904) was a New Zealand painter who (along with G. P. Nerli) strongly influenced

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

painting in the late 19th century. He believed in en plein air or painting outdoors.

Life and work

Nairn studied at 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, an ...

for four years from 1879 before enrolling as a student at the Académie Julian in Paris. During the 1880s Nairn exhibited work at the Glasgow Institute of Fine Arts and the Royal Scottish Academy and was associated with 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 ...

'' - a group of Scottish artist interested in Impressionism. Nairn emigrated from Glasgow to

Dunedin Dunedin ( ; mi, Ōtepoti) is the second-largest city in the South Island of New Zealand (after Christchurch), and the principal city of the Otago region. Its name comes from , the Scottish Gaelic name for Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. Th ...

for his health in 1890. He moved to

Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by metr ...

in 1891, where he was appointed as an art instructor at the

Wellington Technical School , seal_image = , motto = Excellence in Learning , type = State secondary , established = 1886 , streetaddress = 249 Taranaki Street , city = Wellington , postcode = 6011 , country = New Zealand , ...

. He lectured on art and conducted classes for the study of the nude figure. He introduced

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

of the Glasgow school to New Zealand and influenced other New Zealand artists such as Dorothy Kate Richmond, Maud Winifred Sherwood, Mabel Hill, Maude Burge and

Mollie Tripe Mary Elizabeth Tripe (née Richardson, 14 September 1870 – 21 September 1939), generally known as Mollie Tripe, was a New Zealand artist and art teacher. Education and family Tripe was born Mary Elizabeth Richardson in Christchurch, New Z ...

. Nairn's Impressionist style is conveyed in his many paintings of Wellington harbour, especially in "Wellington Harbour, 1894" where his visible brushstrokes capture the effect of the afternoon sun on the water. He painted this landscape en plein air to more truthfully capture the effect of light on water. Nairn joined the New Zealand Academy of Fine Arts soon after settling in Wellington and was elected to the council from 1890 to 1903. He also formed the Wellington Art Club which met regularly at Nair's Pumpkin Cottage. The cottage became a gathering point for Wellington artists. Nairn's influence was felt throughout New Zealand as he regularly sent works for exhibition in other centres. He married Ellen Smith on 17 March 1898 and they had two daughters, Mari Bhan and Ellen May Victoria. He died at his home in Wellington on 22 February 1904, probably of

peritonitis Peritonitis is inflammation of the localized or generalized peritoneum, the lining of the inner wall of the abdomen and cover of the abdominal organs. Symptoms may include severe pain, swelling of the abdomen, fever, or weight loss. One part o ...

. He was 44. File:James M. Nairn - Wellington Harbour - Google Art Project.jpg, Wellington Harbour, 1894, Wellington, by James Nairn. Gift of Miss Mary Newton, 1939. Te Papa (1939-0009-2) File:James M. Nairn - Evans Bay - Google Art Project.jpg, Evans Bay, 1893, Wellington, by James Nairn. Bequest from the estate of Miss S Leatham, 1939. Te Papa (1939-0009-6) File:James M. Nairn - Winter morning, Wellington Harbour - Google Art Project.jpg, Winter morning, Wellington Harbour, circa 1900, Wellington, by James Nairn. Gift of Miss Mary Newton, 1939. Te Papa (1939-0009-7)

References

Sources

Biography in the 1966 ''Encyclopaedia of New Zealand''
*

''Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa'' James Nairn biography

External links

Works by James M. Nairn in the collection of the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nairn, James MacLauchlan New Zealand people of Scottish descent 1859 births 1904 deaths 19th-century New Zealand painters 19th-century New Zealand male artists