General Nicholas Carnegie's, William Smart's House (Montrose, Angus, Scotland)
James Gray Low (1855–1944)
ANGUSalive
Born in Australia in 1855 of Montrose parents who had emigrated but later returned to the town. James Gray Low was a self-taught but very competent artist who came to document in his paintings the town where he was to spend much of his life. From his schooling he had grown up to become a businessman and a prominent participant in the town’s civic life. He was a church elder of the Steeple Church and was an active supporter and leading light of numerous worthy causes in the town including Dorward House, the Public Library and the Montrose Natural History and Antiquarian Society. For eight years from 1910 he was an elected member of the Town Council. Low relinquished office in 1918 but a year later took up post as a Justice of the Peace for Angus.
The watercolours in this exhibition are thought to have been painted as illustrations for his historical writings. They provide an insight into the Montrose of yesteryear, recording for posterity many scenes which have long since vanished. Many date from the 1870s and had been lost until a chance discovery of the paintings in 1987 during renovations of the Montrose Town House.
A number depict the closes of Castle Street and of the High Street and show his great love for these corners of Montrose. He may have intended to use them to illustrate one of his writings on the closes of the town.
The text accompanying the watercolours is in Low’s own words taken from his original descriptions of the paintings.
James Gray Low died in 1944.
Text source: Museums Galleries Archives, ANGUSalive
