A James McIntosh Patrick Discovery

I was excited to discover a special painting by James McIntosh Patrick (1907-98) recently, in a private Scottish collection.

Braemar Castle, Royal Deeside

This Spring I was invited to visit the home of a recently deceased collector in Edinburgh. Unbeknownst to me, before I arrived his relatives had formed a human chain to bring some 200 pictures down from the attic for me to see. As I entered the house, I spotted a large, unframed work propped against a table, with only its back visible. I tipped it towards me a little so that I could see the upper part of its face and, even when viewing it from above, thought that it might be something special.

On turning it round my suspicion was confirmed: a sunlit Highland scene was revealed, with the signature and date ‘J McINTOSH PATRICK 37’ at the lower right. I started to get excited as McIntosh Patrick is one of Scotland’s leading twentieth-century artists. The building at its centre was soon identified as Braemar Castle in Royal Deeside. The castle has recently been leased to the community and has undergone a major conservation project. It now aims to ‘deliver an exciting and innovative community activity programme for volunteering, learning and well-being called Raising the Standard.’

It’s Quicker by Rail: Royal Deeside

I felt that the painting had the attractive qualities of the celebrated inter-war ‘It’s Quicker by Rail’ publicity campaign. A quick Google search revealed that the discovered work was none other than the original of McIntosh Patrick’s poster for the London North Eastern Railway (LNER) and London Midland Scottish Railway (LMS) ‘It’s Quicker by Rail: Royal Deeside’ poster of 1937. The idyllic scene was intended to attract people to travel to the area by train, whether along the east coast with LNER or along the west cost with LMS.

A Watercolour Study

Further research by Andrew McLean of the National Railway Museum revealed that a watercolour study for the painting and poster, titled Braemar and also dated 1937, is in the Fleming Collection. This may well have been created by the artist en plein air in front of the scene depicted and used when creating the fully realised painting once back in the studio.

As related by Richard Furness in his book Poster to Poster: Railway Journeys in Art Volume I Scotland (JDF & Associates Ltd, Tirley, 2009) McIntosh Patrick had a long and fruitful relationship with various railway companies and eventually the nationalised railway, from the 1930s until 1960. He encouraged people to catch a train to visit places including Crieff, Dunfermline, Dunnottar Castle, Edinburgh, Loch Leven, North Berwick, Pitlochry and St Andrews.

In the Press

I am delighted to say that Alastair Dalton, Transport Correspondent and Columnist for The Scotsman and Scotland on Sunday took up the story of the James McIntosh Patrick discovery with gusto. It received a full-length feature on the former’s website and a full page in the latter, both on 26 May 2024. The painting is to be offered by Lyon & Turnbull in their Scottish Paintings & Sculpture ft. J. D. Fergusson at 150 auction on 6 June 2024.

McIntosh Patrick features in this blog and for more on travelling by rail, follow this link.