William Grant Murray
William Grant Murray | |
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Born | Portsoy, Aberdeenshire, Scotland | 11 August 1877
Died | 17 December 1950 Swansea, Wales | (aged 73)
Nationality | British |
Occupations |
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William Grant Murray (11 August 1877 – 11 November 1950), usually known as Grant Murray, was a British art teacher, gallery curator and artist. He was Principal of
Biography
Murray was born on 11 August 1877 in Portsoy, Aberdeenshire, Scotland, the second son of William Alexander Minty Murray (1848–1920), a cabinet maker, and his wife May Grant (1848–1890). His elder brother George Murray (1897–1898) also became an artist, who was renowned for his murals, portraits and mosaics.[3]
He was educated at
In 1909 he married Margaret Falconer Findlay. They had two sons: Ivan Grant (born 1912) and George Findlay (born 1913). He died in Swansea on 17 November 1950.[4]
Swansea Art School
Before moving to Swansea, Murray was Art Headmaster of West Bromwich Municipal School of Art for three and a half years.[2]
While being interviewed for the position of principal of Swansea Municipal School of Art in 1908 (later Swansea Art School, now part of
Unless you are prepared to spend money on your art school, don't appoint me.
He told them that the Art School was the most dismal that he had ever seen, the rooms were too small and the lighting was bad. As far as he could see, their Art School was as good as dead and he had no desire to be associated with the inevitable funeral! He was appointed on the first ballot.[2]
On his appointment he was the only teacher for 107 part-time students. Under his leadership the school grew rapidly in scope and reputation. In 1910 the Art School was ranked 140th in England and Wales; by 1914 it was in 25th place. In 1925 the school won a Grand Prix at the
Murray introduced stained glass making in the art school in 1935. It has since developed into a major centre for artistic glass.[5]
He retired in 1943, after 34 years as principal.[2]
Glynn Vivian Art Gallery
In 1911, two years after becoming principal of Swansea Art School, Murray was asked to become curator of the new Glynn Vivian Art Gallery in Swansea. He accepted, providing that an assistant was appointed at the school, and held both posts concurrently. The gallery was financed by the art collector Glynn Vivian, who provided his collection of paintings, drawings and china.[2]
Building on Glynn Vivian's collection, Murray expanded the gallery's collection by acquiring works by established painters such as Augustus John, Gwen John and James Dickson Innes; and younger painters including Kyffin Williams and John Elwyn.[3]
Murray played a leading part in the acquisition for Swansea of the British Empire Panels by
Murray remained curator of the Glynn Vivian Art Gallery until his death in 1950.[6]
Painting
Murray was a
Public collections
Murray's paintings are in the following public collections:[7]
- Glynn Vivian Art Gallery, Swansea
- National Museum Cardiff
- Cyfarthfa Castle Museum and Art Gallery, Merthyr Tydfil
- Aberdeen Art Gallery
References
- ^ "Portrait of William Grant Murray – Alfred Janes". Swansea Museum. Retrieved 21 May 2014.
- ^ a b c d e f g Twigg, Sylvia (2000). "William Grant Murray (1877–1950) : the master craftsman who converted the whole town". Minerva. 8. Royal Institution of South Wales: 4–16. Retrieved 21 May 2014.
- ^ a b c d e Govier, Stephen J. (1994). "William Grant Murray, 1877–1950, and 'the Swansea school'". Gower. 45. The Gower Society: 23–31. Retrieved 22 May 2014.
- ^ "Mr William Grant Murray ARCA, London". Mapping the Practice and Profession of Sculpture in Britain and Ireland 1851–1951. University of Glasgow. Retrieved 21 May 2014.
- ^ Evans, Gareth (28 April 2010). "Swansea Metropolitan University celebrates 75 years of glass work". Wales Online. Retrieved 22 May 2014.
- ^ Thomas, Ceri (2014). "The visual culture of south Wales since 1910" (PDF). Friends of the Glynn Vivian Newsletter (Spring 2014): 6–8. Retrieved 5 November 2014.
- ^ "William Grant Murray". Art UK. Retrieved 21 May 2014.
External links
- 11 artworks by or after William Grant Murray at the Art UK site