Waller Hugh Paton, R.S.A., R.S.W. (1828-1895)
The following four lots represent an accurate pictorial record of Waller Hugh Paton's commissioned and exhibited works from 1845 to his death in 1895. They also record with meticulous accuracy, the artist's observations regarding the technical aspects of his work, together with such miscellaneous details as weather conditions and sale prices.
Born in Dunfermline, the second son of Joseph Neil Paton, a fabric designer and antiquarian, and Margaret Ferrier, Waller Hugh Paton was the younger brother to Sir Joseph Noel Paton (1821-1901). Though Waller Hugh Paton was encouraged from an early age to follow his father's involvement in damask design, it soon became apparent that he wished to pursue a career in painting.
Paton was probably the most important of the many Scottish landscape painters of the period who were directly influenced by the lectures and writings of John Ruskin and the principles of the Pre-Raphaelite movement. As his artistic training was limited to informal tuition from John Adam Houston, he was essentially self taught, and this lack of academic training enabled him to accept Ruskin's radical ideas. In an important lecture on Pre-Raphaelitism that Ruskin delivered in Edinburgh in November 1853, he said that the movement has but one principle, that of absolute uncompomising truth in all that it does, obtained by working everything, down to the most minute detail, from nature, and from nature only, every Pre-Raphaelite landscape background is painted to the last touch, in the open air, from the thing itself. Every Pre-Raphaelite figure, however studied in expression, is a true portrait of some living person. Every minute accessory is painted in the same manner. And one of the chief reasons for the violent opposition with which the school has been attacked by other artists, is the enormous cost of care and labour which such a system demands from those who adopt it, in contradistinction to the present slovenly and imperfect style'. It was these principles which Paton consistantly applied to his painting of the Scottish landscape.
Though there appears to be little narrative content in Paton's paintings and watercolours, several works clearly express the artist's unease about the Highland Clearances. In............... (.....), for instance, sheep quietly graze by a derelict cottage which improbably remains standing as a memorial to the spirit of evicted highland communities.
Ruskin, who remained a loyal supporter of the Paton brothers, staunchly defended Waller Paton when The Scotsman published a bitter attack on Wild Water, Inverglas, Loch Lomond (in Vol.18).'So intrinsically attractive in such a scene as to justify its frequent repitition', wrote the paper's art critic, and as the present specimen exceeds in labourious detail all which have preceeded it, we would fain hope it will be the last of its kind, and that the clever artist will henceforth resort to "Fresh woods and pastures new". With great pretentions to truth in its elaborate detail, we cannot but look on the personal picture as unsound in principle and untrue to nature...., Ruskin replied tartly; 'Such a lovely picture as that of Waller Paton's must either speak for itself, or nobody can speak for it. If you Scotch people don't know a bit of your own country when you see it, who is to help you to know it? If, in that mighty wise town of Edinburgh, everybody still likes flourishes of brush better than ferns and dots of paint better than birch leaves, surely there is nothing for it but to leave them in quietude of devotion to dot and flourish in faith'.
Despite the Scotsman's criticism, Paton continued to enjoy considerable success, and though extremely prolific, exhibiting some 384 works at the Royal Scottish Academy during his career, the quality of his work remained consistently good.
Waller Hugh Paton R.S.A., R.S.W. (1828-1895)
Details
Waller Hugh Paton R.S.A., R.S.W. (1828-1895)
The artist's memoranda album (Volume 1) containing approximately 104 watercolours and drawings recording the commissioned and exhibited paintings and watercolours by Waller Hugh Paton executed between 1848-1865, comprising, landscape scenes in Argyll, Fife. the Lothians, Perthshire, Stirlingshire, and the Lake District including views of Dunblane, Dunfermline and Edinburgh
mostly signed, or signed with initials titled as indicated below, and inscribed on the mounts with the artist's notes on aspect, exhibition and provenance including seven watercolours by Margaret Paton, the artist's wife
5¾ x 9¼in. (14.6 x 23.5cm) and smaller
#25,000-35,000
Our Antique Room
Sun Gleam, Arran
Glen Massan
Evening, Glen Massan
Glen Massan
Highland Glen
Windmill, Lancashire
Ruins in Pittencrieff
Moonlight, East Wemyss
Edinburgh, from Fife Coast
Halsale Church
Stirling from the East
A Wheatfield
Scottish Homestead
English Homestead
Twilight, Kinross
In Armiston Woods
Red lamp
Eden Mouth, Fifeshire
A Ruined Castle
The Black Pool, Finnich Glen
Upper Fall, Finnich Glen
Moonlight, St. Andrews
On the Black Devon
A Ruined Grange
Sunset
Headwell
Loch Achray, Evening
Arran from the Heights of Bute
From Kin... hill, Looking West
Loch Vennachar
From Birnam Woods to Dunsinane
Crookstone Tower
From the Bridge at Perth
Cottages near Perth
On the Coast of Arran
On the Forth
The Old Waggon Road
Hilton House
Bridge in Arran
Evening
The Back Brae, Wooer's Alley, Dunfermline
In the East of Fife
Raven's Hollow, Arran
Leggie Distillery
Landscape with Tree
Highland Stream, Glen Moniemohr Burn, Arran
Highland Cottages
Summer Night, Boneen, Arran
Holy Island from above Lamlash, Arran
A Nameless Hill
Twilight by the Shore, Arran
Twilight on the Moor, Arran
Sketch of Hawk Craig, between Burntisland and Aberdour
Highland Cottages, Arran
Railway Bridge at Paisley, over River Cart
Arrochar Road near Tarbet, between Benrioch & Inveruglass
Mcfarlane's Oak, Inveruglass, Loch Lomond
The Mouth of the Wild Waters, Inveruglass, Loch Lomond
On the Garry below the Pass of Killiecrankie
Loch Lomond
Study of Ferns
A Highland Clachan
The Ash Trees, Loch Achray
Outlet to loch Achray
Duncraggan's huts, Brigg o' Turk (sic)
Loch Achray
Moonlight, Loch Achray
At Aberdour
Near Bridge of Turk
In Glen Ogle, Lochearnhead
At Aberdour
Near the Heugh, Aberdour
Near the White Sands, Aberdour
Benrioch, Loch Long
A Summer Storm, Lochearnhead
The Home of the Clansman, the Brave and the Free
Glen Buckie
Looking towards the Brae's o' Balquhidder
The Craigan, Lochearnhead
'Many the Braes o' Balquhidder'
Balquhidder Kirk Yard
The Two Temples, near London Bridge Station
Lochearnhead
Dumbarnie Links, Largo Bay, Fifeshire
On the Fife Coast, near Strathairly
Barley Field, Strathairly
Largo Bay
Evening in the Fens
Above the Fall, Edinample
Craigmillar Castle
Evening by the Shore, Largo Bay
The Mains of Claverhouse
Rome, from the Pincian Hill
Cologne, from the Bridge of Boats
Morning, Lochearnhead
Evening, from train to London
Noon, behind Castle of Mains
Night, Bridge of Allan
On the Ericht at Craighall, Perthsire
Largo Links, Fife
Largo Bay, Fife
Aberfoil (sic) Road, Loch Achray
Study in the Trossachs
The Tale of St. John from the Druidical Circle near Keswick
Nant Gwynant, or the Vale of Waters, Carnarvonshire
Longhrigg Fell, Westmoreland
Derwent Water
On the Colwyn, North Wales, Looking downstream
On the Colwyn, North Wales, Looking upstream
Entrance to the Pass of Aberglaslyn
Wordsworth's Grave, Grasmere Churchyard
Stock Ghyll Force, Westmoreland
Grisedale Pike, Cumberland, near Keswick
Holyrood Palace & Edinburgh from Queen's Park
Salmon Fishing on the Tay
Derwent Water
Fettes Row
Cottages at the Cruives, Kippenross
The Cruives, Kippenross
The Byke, Kippenross
Loch Achray
Edinburgh from Arthur's Seat
Grasmere Church
Rothay Bridge
St. Bernard's Well
Ambleside
Dunblane Cathedral from the Weir
Dunblane Cathedral from the Green
The Dhulochan near Kinlochleven
Boneen, Isle of Arran
Near Ambleside
Winter Daybreak, Ormskirk
The King's Crag, Coast of Fife
Beachyhead from the Cliff at Hastings
Birnam Hill from Stenton
Marg-na-Niglish, Arran
Mill Hill, Lamlash, Arran
Lamlash from Marg-na-Niglish, Arran
Among the Hills near Kinlochleven
Dreamthorp, Linlithgow
Gortenjockie, Lamlash Bay, Arran
Gortenjockie, Lamlash Bay, Arran
A Drive of Deer, Corrie Bah
On the Allan, near Dunblane
A Bypath, Yorkshire
'Lochaber No more', Bannavie
The artist's memoranda album (Volume 1) containing approximately 104 watercolours and drawings recording the commissioned and exhibited paintings and watercolours by Waller Hugh Paton executed between 1848-1865, comprising, landscape scenes in Argyll, Fife. the Lothians, Perthshire, Stirlingshire, and the Lake District including views of Dunblane, Dunfermline and Edinburgh
mostly signed, or signed with initials titled as indicated below, and inscribed on the mounts with the artist's notes on aspect, exhibition and provenance including seven watercolours by Margaret Paton, the artist's wife
5¾ x 9¼in. (14.6 x 23.5cm) and smaller
#25,000-35,000
Our Antique Room
Sun Gleam, Arran
Glen Massan
Evening, Glen Massan
Glen Massan
Highland Glen
Windmill, Lancashire
Ruins in Pittencrieff
Moonlight, East Wemyss
Edinburgh, from Fife Coast
Halsale Church
Stirling from the East
A Wheatfield
Scottish Homestead
English Homestead
Twilight, Kinross
In Armiston Woods
Red lamp
Eden Mouth, Fifeshire
A Ruined Castle
The Black Pool, Finnich Glen
Upper Fall, Finnich Glen
Moonlight, St. Andrews
On the Black Devon
A Ruined Grange
Sunset
Headwell
Loch Achray, Evening
Arran from the Heights of Bute
From Kin... hill, Looking West
Loch Vennachar
From Birnam Woods to Dunsinane
Crookstone Tower
From the Bridge at Perth
Cottages near Perth
On the Coast of Arran
On the Forth
The Old Waggon Road
Hilton House
Bridge in Arran
Evening
The Back Brae, Wooer's Alley, Dunfermline
In the East of Fife
Raven's Hollow, Arran
Leggie Distillery
Landscape with Tree
Highland Stream, Glen Moniemohr Burn, Arran
Highland Cottages
Summer Night, Boneen, Arran
Holy Island from above Lamlash, Arran
A Nameless Hill
Twilight by the Shore, Arran
Twilight on the Moor, Arran
Sketch of Hawk Craig, between Burntisland and Aberdour
Highland Cottages, Arran
Railway Bridge at Paisley, over River Cart
Arrochar Road near Tarbet, between Benrioch & Inveruglass
Mcfarlane's Oak, Inveruglass, Loch Lomond
The Mouth of the Wild Waters, Inveruglass, Loch Lomond
On the Garry below the Pass of Killiecrankie
Loch Lomond
Study of Ferns
A Highland Clachan
The Ash Trees, Loch Achray
Outlet to loch Achray
Duncraggan's huts, Brigg o' Turk (sic)
Loch Achray
Moonlight, Loch Achray
At Aberdour
Near Bridge of Turk
In Glen Ogle, Lochearnhead
At Aberdour
Near the Heugh, Aberdour
Near the White Sands, Aberdour
Benrioch, Loch Long
A Summer Storm, Lochearnhead
The Home of the Clansman, the Brave and the Free
Glen Buckie
Looking towards the Brae's o' Balquhidder
The Craigan, Lochearnhead
'Many the Braes o' Balquhidder'
Balquhidder Kirk Yard
The Two Temples, near London Bridge Station
Lochearnhead
Dumbarnie Links, Largo Bay, Fifeshire
On the Fife Coast, near Strathairly
Barley Field, Strathairly
Largo Bay
Evening in the Fens
Above the Fall, Edinample
Craigmillar Castle
Evening by the Shore, Largo Bay
The Mains of Claverhouse
Rome, from the Pincian Hill
Cologne, from the Bridge of Boats
Morning, Lochearnhead
Evening, from train to London
Noon, behind Castle of Mains
Night, Bridge of Allan
On the Ericht at Craighall, Perthsire
Largo Links, Fife
Largo Bay, Fife
Aberfoil (sic) Road, Loch Achray
Study in the Trossachs
The Tale of St. John from the Druidical Circle near Keswick
Nant Gwynant, or the Vale of Waters, Carnarvonshire
Longhrigg Fell, Westmoreland
Derwent Water
On the Colwyn, North Wales, Looking downstream
On the Colwyn, North Wales, Looking upstream
Entrance to the Pass of Aberglaslyn
Wordsworth's Grave, Grasmere Churchyard
Stock Ghyll Force, Westmoreland
Grisedale Pike, Cumberland, near Keswick
Holyrood Palace & Edinburgh from Queen's Park
Salmon Fishing on the Tay
Derwent Water
Fettes Row
Cottages at the Cruives, Kippenross
The Cruives, Kippenross
The Byke, Kippenross
Loch Achray
Edinburgh from Arthur's Seat
Grasmere Church
Rothay Bridge
St. Bernard's Well
Ambleside
Dunblane Cathedral from the Weir
Dunblane Cathedral from the Green
The Dhulochan near Kinlochleven
Boneen, Isle of Arran
Near Ambleside
Winter Daybreak, Ormskirk
The King's Crag, Coast of Fife
Beachyhead from the Cliff at Hastings
Birnam Hill from Stenton
Marg-na-Niglish, Arran
Mill Hill, Lamlash, Arran
Lamlash from Marg-na-Niglish, Arran
Among the Hills near Kinlochleven
Dreamthorp, Linlithgow
Gortenjockie, Lamlash Bay, Arran
Gortenjockie, Lamlash Bay, Arran
A Drive of Deer, Corrie Bah
On the Allan, near Dunblane
A Bypath, Yorkshire
'Lochaber No more', Bannavie