William Matthews (1885–1962) was a Scottish painter of landscapes, coastal scenes and figure subjects, and a long-time art teacher in London. He was born in Tough in Aberdeenshire and in his teenage years he assisted his father on the family farm, The Manse Farm House in Tough. By 1911 he was a boarder with the Robertson family, originally from Inverness, at their property near Russell Square, London WC1. At the time he was an art teacher at the Regent Street Polytechnic. In 1913 he married (Ellen) Mary Robertson, the daughter of his landlord, and he served as an airman in World War I. Matthews spent many years teaching at the Regent Street Polytechnic, later becoming the Head of the Painting Department, during which time he continued to paint professionally and to exhibit his work with leading galleries, such as the Royal Academy (19 works from 1919–1943), New English Art Club (3 works from 1927–1928), Royal Institute of Oil Painters (27 works from 1914 and further works shown in the 1940s).
He found his subjects on trips home to Scotland during the holidays. His favourite places to work included The Western Isles, Sutherland, Tarbert, Kintyre, St Andrews, Stirling, and North Berwick. He also worked in Italy in the mid-1920s, staying in the area around Pisa.
After retirement from his teaching post William Matthews returned to live in Scotland. His first wife, Mary died in March 1949, and he later married Elizabeth Agnes Matthews (1905–2000), who donated two of his paintings to public galleries in Scotland. William Matthews died in November 1962 in Aberdeen and he is buried in the cemetery at Tough, the place of his birth.
Text source: Grant Waters
