Lot Essay
James Herbert Gunn was born in Glasgow in 1893. Between 1909 and 1912 he studied at Glasgow School of Art, Edinburgh College of Art and in Paris at the Acadmie Julian. In 1912 he returned to live in Glasgow and exhibited at the Royal Scottish Academy in 1913.
Gunn moved to London in 1925 having had his first painting accepted at the Royal Academy in 1923. At first he painted and exhibited landscapes and portraits but in 1929 took the decision to concentrate almost solely on portraiture. He was elected President of The Royal Society of Portrait Painters in 1953, elected a Royal Academician in 1961 and knighted in 1963.
Gunn moved to London in 1925 having had his first painting accepted at the Royal Academy in 1923. At first he painted and exhibited landscapes and portraits but in 1929 took the decision to concentrate almost solely on portraiture. He was elected President of The Royal Society of Portrait Painters in 1953, elected a Royal Academician in 1961 and knighted in 1963.