CRUMPLED MAN AT LE PONT ROYALE, PARIS, A WATERCOLOUR BY HAMISH CONSTABLE PATERSON

* HAMISH CONSTABLE PATERSON (SCOTTISH 1890 - 1955),
CRUMPLED MAN AT LE PONT ROYALE, PARIS
watercolour on paper, signed and dated 1926
image size 21cm x 31cm, overall size 46cm x 56cm
Mounted, framed and under glass.
Note: The third son of the artist James Paterson, cousin of Viola Paterson and thus a member of the distinguished Scottish painting family. He was actually named James Constable Paterson but was always known as Hamish. In 1910 he began studying at Edinburgh College of Art and his talent was obvious to all. He became an officer in The Black Watch during Army service in World War I and was severely wounded. Although he eventually recovered physically, his experiences left a lasting mental mark and he suffered from "depressions" for the rest of his life. His uncle William Bell Paterson gave him a show in Bond Street (London) in 1922 which included portraits of the former Prime Minister David Lloyd George and many titled people. Hamish's talent as a portraitist was widely admired but instead of accepting lucrative commissions he chose to live in France painting landscapes. It's possible that he sought a life away from the people he knew, perhaps embarrassed by his issues. The vendor believes the crumpled figure in the foreground to be Hamish Paterson. If he's right, Paterson depicts himself as a lonely and forlorn figure with his back turned to the spectacular view and the nearby Louvre.
Although his work continued to be exhibited at the RSA regularly until 1949, many of these pictures were loaned by friends, fellow artists or collectors. His pictures were also shown at the RSW, RA, Royal Glasgow Institute and was included in "The Paterson Family" at Belgrave Gallery (London) in 1977. He retained lifelong friendships with some of the Kirkcudbright group including W.O. Hutchison, Robert Sivell and Mac Fleming. It seems Hamish Paterson largely financed his life in France with the sales of his pictures there and he only returned to the family home at Moniaive (Dumfriesshire) a couple of years before his death. Hamish Paterson's war experiences had a dramatic impact on the rest of his life but his watercolours show the influences and qualities which brought his father such success and had Hamish felt able to remain in Scotland, it's likely that his reputation in his own country would have better matched his abilities and talent.