Primitive artist, born in Glasgow, real name Louis Freeman, also known as Robert Wilson. Wilson liked to keep some mystery about his origins and exact date of birth, of which there are several versions. His parents emigrated from Lithuania and Scottie left school at nine to help his family survive by selling patent medicines in the street. Ran away at 16 and joined the Army, serving in India and South Africa. After a period in Scotland again, he went to Canada from about 1930, where he stayed 14 years, initially running an unsuccessful second-hand furniture business. When his first drawings sold well at the Picture Loan Society, Toronto, in 1943 at a one-man show, he returned to England in 1945 and had a one-man exhibition at the Arcade Gallery in that year.