James Watt is the pre-eminent Scottish maritime artist of the twentieth century and the River Clyde is his muse. We present this to compliment our current exhibition of his work to celebrate his 90th birthday, The Lost Clyde.
Born in Port Glasgow, James Watt studied at The Glasgow School of Art and has dedicated his life to recording the remarkable River Clyde and its industries. From charting the mid-twentieth century highs to the more recent lows, his work forms both a highly personal and irreplaceable historic archive of a river whose industries helped shape the modern world and personifies the notion of the artist as the ‘chronicler of change’.
Artists featured in this Curation:
James Watt (1931–2022)
15 artworks
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Sandgrab
Sandgrab 1969
James Watt (1931–2022)
Acrylic on canvas
H 70 x W 94.3 cm
Dumfries and Galloway Council
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Sandgrabs
Sandgrabs c.1975
James Watt (1931–2022)
Oil on canvas
H 91 x W 122 cm
Scottish Maritime Museum
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Ship
Ship
James Watt (1931–2022)
Oil on canvas
H 35.5 x W 50.5 cm
Glasgow Life Museums
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Harbour Scene
Harbour Scene
James Watt (1931–2022)
Oil on canvas
H 54 x W 90 cm
Paisley Museum and Art Galleries, Renfrewshire Council Collections
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East India Extending
East India Extending 1972
James Watt (1931–2022)
Oil on canvas
H 76 x W 102 cm
Scottish Maritime Museum
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'Portway', Victoria Harbour
‘Portway’, Victoria Harbour c.1965
James Watt (1931–2022)
Oil on canvas
H 51 x W 127 cm
Scottish Maritime Museum
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Crinan Basin
Crinan Basin c.1980
James Watt (1931–2022)
Oil on canvas
H 56 x W 76 cm
Scottish Maritime Museum
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Three Puffers, Greenock
Three Puffers, Greenock
James Watt (1931–2022)
Oil on canvas
H 40.7 x W 91.8 cm
The Hunterian, University of Glasgow
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Old Barge, Crinan Canal
Old Barge, Crinan Canal
James Watt (1931–2022)
Oil on canvas
H 46.2 x W 101.8 cm
The Hunterian, University of Glasgow
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Landscape
Landscape
James Watt (1931–2022)
Oil on canvas
H 39 x W 90 cm
Paisley Museum and Art Galleries, Renfrewshire Council Collections
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Reaper, Anstruther II
Reaper, Anstruther II
James Watt (1931–2022)
Oil on canvas
H 100 x W 108.5 cm
University of Strathclyde
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Greenock
Greenock 1981
James Watt (1931–2022)
Oil on canvas
H 36 x W 51 cm
McLean Museum and Art Gallery – Inverclyde Council
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Victoria Harbour, Greenock
Victoria Harbour, Greenock
James Watt (1931–2022)
Oil on canvas
H 56 x W 92 cm
McLean Museum and Art Gallery – Inverclyde Council
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Greenock
Greenock 1970–1980
James Watt (1931–2022)
Oil on canvas
H 90 x W 120.3 cm
McLean Museum and Art Gallery – Inverclyde Council
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East India Sunday
East India Sunday c.1965
James Watt (1931–2022)
Oil on canvas
H 40 x W 101 cm
McLean Museum and Art Gallery – Inverclyde Council
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"Greenock" by John Davidson (1857-1909)
Poem chosen by James Watt for Lost Clyde exhibition
Image credit: The Watt Institution