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Description: | 70.0 x 86.0 s. b.l. "George Houston" CRE HOUSTON, George; (Scottish; 1869-1947) Throughout his painting career, George Houston expressed, in a minor key, the tonal sophistication which he absorbed from the landscape painters of the Glasgow School. A native of Dalry, Ayrshire, he lacked as an artist the glancing light effects and spectacular technical schematisation of a James Paterson. Nevertheless, his own technique, though lacking in the 'sprezzatura' of the Glasgow tradition, was perfectly suited to the tranquil subject matter of his art.
Houston was a prolific exponent of the small scale canvas, the type of practitioner whose work may, in a gallery setting, be glanced at, bypassed but ultimately returned to for reassessment. The landscape of his native region, the south-west of Scotland, possessed all that he required by way of creative catalyst - its hills less brooding, its rivers lazier in their meandering, than the savage terrain of the North. As a member of the Royal Scottish Academy, the Society of Watercolourists and the 'Society of 25 Artists', he brought to his exhibition pieces both delicate draughtsmanship and a sedate technique perfectly adapted to the requirements of his subjects. His touch was always judicious, and never strove for meretricious effects.
The artist whose 'River Landscape' is seen here may never entirely captivate the viewer who seeks dynamism of composition and fiery technique. Houston's lack of expressive drive, his aim of recording rather than empathizing, does not seem the leaven from which great art rises. Nevertheless, if one examines the subtle touches with which he establishes the gathering clouds of the sky, or the tree-dotted meander of riverbank, one is forced to conclude that one might be looking at one of the foremost Glasgow masters during a rather more than usually reticent phase. Certain of James Paterson's studies of Moniaive are remarkably similar. It is, above all, the light and harmonious tonality of 'River Landscape' which redeems any deficiencies in composition or technical flair, and George Houston brought much skill and judgment to this aspect of his work.
Text © Marion Lawson, History of Art Department, University of Glasgow 1984. | License: | http://www.hmag.gla.ac.uk/spirit/rights/ | Publisher: | Hunterian Museum and Art Gallery, University of Glasgow | Rights holder: | Hunterian Museum and Art Gallery, University of Glasgow | Subjects: | LANDSCAPE : SCOTLAND : RIVER : CAMPUS : | Source: | Hunterian Museum | Creator: | Hunterian Museum and Art Gallery, University of Glasgow | Identifier: | http://www.huntsearch.gla.ac.uk/cgi-bin/... | Language: | en-GB | Go to resource |
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