Painters and Photographers
‘Artists after all are but men, and must live: and their wives, however worthy of such husbands, are merely women; and their children, though all of them have the mould of cherubs, require to be fed. Wisdom may be strength and knowledge, we know, is power; but money, and money alone, is meat, and drink, and clothing. (Great applause). So what, after all, is it to an artist that his pictures may have evoked the discriminating criticism of the male, and the dear delicious admiration of the female, if year after year, they have returned unsold to his lumbered studio, to cast the cold shadow of practical failure and sickening disappointment over all his future efforts. (Hear, hear and cheers).’ These words were part of a speech at a dinner in 1851 thanking John Watson Gordon for his portrait of the out-going Lord Provost of Edinburgh. No doubt there were times when Gordon would have agreed with the advocate’s sentiments, though his days of struggle were far behind him. This was but one of many portraits for which he received substantial fees. By the time the painter lived in Albany Street he was one of Scotland’s leading portrait painters. (Portrait of The Honourable Mrs Alexander Macalister by John Watson Gordon - collection Glasgow Museums). See Number 52 for more detail on his life.
Although Number 33 was the offices of D. W. Martin and Company and Barter Hanson & Son, both tea, coffee and spice dealers, it also housed the studio of a young artist, Stirling Malloch. He was from Perth and had graduated from the Royal Institution School of Art in 1896. Three years later he won a prize for a painting exhibited at the Royal Scottish Academy exhibition and in 1900 had an exhibition at Miss Murray’s salon. A review of the painting (below) said: ‘the work of the young artist is of a high order, showing rare treatment of his subject, whether in portraiture or landscape….the landscapes are of particular local interest, and are greatly admired. What may be regarded as one of the best is that representing the beach at Seggieden, with the extremely lively representation of salmon fishers (painting below) at work. It is Mr Malloch’s intention to pursue his studies among the beautiful scenery of Perth, and something more is expected of him which will increase the high reputation which he has already gained for himself.’ Sadly that was not to be, for in August 1901 the young artist drowned while bathing at Point Pleasant in New Jersey.
George Farquharson (Number 27), a solicitor, was a member of the committee of The Art-Union of Scotland for the Promotion of the Fine Arts, established in 1837 to foster a Scottish School of painting through helping Scottish artists remain in Scotland by encouraging the purchase and distribution of their art works. The Art-Union concept had begun in Switzerland around 1800 and was introduced to Britain in the 1830s, where it was hugely influential in developing an interest in contemporary art by creating a relatively simple and effective form of private patronage for the middle classes. The Scottish Art-Union’s model was slightly different from others. The annual subscriptions of one guinea were used to create various sums as prizes, which members entered a ballot to win a prize which they used to buy a picture from the art exhibition of the Scottish Academy. In 1845, George Kerr (Number 53) won £10 and purchased the painting Road Scene in Loch Indaal by J. C. Brown. The Art-Union’s membership increased from 340 in 1839 to over 1200 by 1842, and was the model for the American Art-Union, set up in 1839, that was equally successful in helping popularise the work of North American’s artists.
Engravings were extremely popular and Frederick Huth (Number 43) had his work exhibited at the Royal Academy from 1890: ‘Accompanying draughtsmanship rather than tone characterises the agreeable etching by Frederick Huth.’ In 1900 he won a silver medal at the Exposition Universelle in Paris. (Engraving of Sir Walter Scott, ‘after Sir Henry Raeburn’ by Huth). From the first announcements of the discovery of photography in 1839 by Talbot in England and Daguerre in France, Edinburgh citizens took an immediate interest in the new invention. Within a year many of the city’s societies discussed photography and a daguerreotype exhibition was held in in Princes Street. Commercial photographic studios swiftly sprang up and David Hay (Number 4) had his studio in Princes Street, His 1861 advert stated: ‘Greatest Wonder of the Age. Everybody has, or ought to have, a Stereoscope; and everybody can have a Double Portrait taken for the Stereoscope for 5s at Hay’s Photographic Gallery. Opinions of the Press – The remarkable likenesses in the Galleries of Messrs G & D Hay evince the success of these artists in the highest departments of the photographic art.’
Alexander Shand (Number 5) was still a young advocate - he later became a Judge – when he joined the Photographic Society of Scotland. It was founded in 1856 and in its first Annual Exhibition there were over 1,050 photographs from many countries. The Society also ran a series of lectures including, even at that early stage, one on the Law of Copyright and Photography, and members displayed new equipment, including ‘a new form of double stereoscopic camera for taking views in the open air without a dark tent.’
The 20th century has seen further significant artist reside in the street. From around 1910 to 1925, a number of young artists, members of the Young Edinburgh Artists Group, lived or worked in the street. One was Donald Moodie who lived at Number 29 for four years till 1924. Born in 1892, he studied painting at Edinburgh College of Art and in 1914 was awarded the college’s travelling bursary. However, the war intervened and he joined the machine-gun unit of the 5th Royal Scots. This unit which, curiously, consisted mainly of art students fought in Gallipoli and France. A review of the 1919 exhibition of Edinburgh Art College graduates: commented: ‘Many of the male students have been in Gallipoli and France and their contributions are reminiscent of their experiences. Mr Donald Moodie shows Sketches – Gallipoli’. In 1920, Moodie joined the staff of Edinburgh College of Art and in 1922 had a one-man exhibition at the Petit Salon in South Castle Street of paintings he had done in Brittany. (Camaret-sur-Mer in Brittany by Donald Moodie c. 1950) He was a President of the Scottish Society of Artists and in 1952 was elected a full member of the Royal Scottish Academy, and became the Academy’s elected secretary in 1959. He taught at the Art College until 1955 and died in 1963.
Richard Demarco was born in 1930 into a Scottish-Italian family and studied at Edinburgh College of Art. He was appointed art master at Duns Scotus Academy in 1957 and taught there until 1967. In the 1960s, as well as exhibiting his own art work, Demarco became involved in organising exhibitions and events. In 1963, he was a co-founder of the Traverse Theatre, and in 1966, set up the Richard Demarco Gallery. The gallery, which doubled as a performance venue during the Edinburgh Fringe, ran from 1966 to 1992, though its location moved through various Edinburgh addresses. In 1992, he established the Demarco European Art Foundation, and the following year the Foundation took over the former St. Mary’s School building at Number 35. There, Demarco continued to present a diverse range international art activity, including projects with the artist Joseph Beuys. However, in 1998, the building was ear-marked for development into flats. Demarco, supported by a wide range of artists, mounted a campaign to stop the development and enable the arts centre to continue. (photo of the campaign) Unfortunately, the campaign was unsuccessful and the Demarco European Art Foundation was forced to close, although Demarco continued to be an energetic arts impressario in the city.