Dr James Pittendrigh MacGillivray RSA
Born 1856
Died 29 April 1938
Active: 1861 - 1937
Country of birth and death: Scotland
Sculptor, poet, photographer, engraver
Born, Inverurie, Aberdeenshire. His father was also a sculptor. He studied at the School of Design, Edinburgh, and was then apprenticed to William Brodie, James Steel and John Mossman. MacGillivray was based in Glasgow from 1875 and then moved back to Edinburgh in 1894. His nick name was 'Macdevilry', coined affectionately by his friend T. J Honeyman, editor of The Scottish Art Review [c. 1967]. MacGillivray was a poet of considerable merit and published two volumes of poems: 'Pro Patria' (1915) and 'Bog Myrtle and Peet Reek' (1922). In 1921 he was appointed Sculptor in Ordinary for Scotland, a post he retained until his death in 1938.
Works
Dates are usually the year a work was exhibited so may differ from date of production.
New entries have been made each time a work was exhibited. Click here for more information.
Dr. Frew
Lent by the Glasgow Art Club. p.112 (261)
Sir Robert Rowand Anderson, LLD
E. A. Hornel
1901
Gipsy Girl
1900
Ein Elfchen
1900
Hypnos
1900
Baronin Threuski
1892
Girlhood
1892
A Student
1893
Lizzie, Daughter of John Tullis, Esq., of Glasgow
1893 (Circa)
Thomas Carlyle
1893 (Circa)
Robert Burns
1893 (Circa)
Charles J. Guthrie, Esq., Advocate, Edinburgh
1894
Carmen
1894
An Echo from Hellas
1894
Sir George Reid
1896 (Circa)
Bust of a Child
1896
Silver Bust on Ebony Board
1896
Dr. Alexander
1896
Florence, Daughter of J. R. Finlay of Aberlour
1898
Professor Masson
1898 (Circa)
William Alexander, LLD, Author of 'Johnny Gibb'
1898
Hannah, Daughter of J. R. Finlay of Aberlour
1898
Hypnos
1900
Relief - Girl's Head
1901
Female Bust
1901
David Livingston
1902 (Circa)
Portrait Bust - the late Sir Pittendrigh George Reid, RSA, ex-President
1913 (Presumed)
Portrait Bust - Mrs Traquair
1913 (Presumed)
Sketch for the John Knox Memorial
1915 (Presumed)
The Iris
1917
Ehrna
1918
A Kid
1919
Lent by Archibald Stevenson, Esq.
p. 138 (363)
Fiona
1921
Goat Kid
1923
Francesco Petrarcha
1926
The Wife of Flanders
1926 (Circa)
La France - 1914
1926 (Circa)
Portrait Bust of Mrs Traquair
1928 (Circa)
Eos
1929 (Circa)
Lent Brother and sister
1931
Locations
Address 3 Fountainbridge Edinburgh | View on map
1872 (Circa) - 1874 (Circa)
Address 3 Spittal Street Edinburgh | View on map
1875 (Circa)
Address 112 Bath Street Glasgow | View on map
1887 (Circa)
Address given as 207 West Campbell Street Glasgow | View on map
1892 (Circa) - 1894 (Circa)
Studio located at The White Studio 207 West Campbell Street Glasgow | View on map
1890 (Circa) - 1892
Studio located at Ravelston Elms 41 Murrayfield Road Edinburgh | View on map
1895 - 1944 (Circa)
Designed and built a house with an adjacent, spacious studio. Sold to the 4th Marquess of Bute in 1917, with Macgillivray continuing to live there until the end of his life.
Exhibitions, Meetings, Awards and other Events
Exhibited at Second Exhibition of The International Society of Sculptors, Painters and Gravers (London), 1899
'Monsignor Munro'
Exhibited at Royal Hibernian Academy Annual Exhibition, 1901
'Relief - Girl's Head'
Exhibited at Corporation of Manchester Art Gallery, Eleventh Autumn Exhibition, 1893
'Robert Burns'
Exhibited at First Exhibition of the Society of Scottish Artists, 1892
'Carmen - Zelie de Lussan'
Exhibited at Aberdeen Artists' Society Exhibition of Works of Modern Artists, 1893
Multiple works
Exhibited at Aberdeen Artists' Society Exhibition of Works of Modern Artists, 1896
'Dr. Alexander'
Exhibited at Aberdeen Artists' Society Exhibition of Works of Modern Artists, 1898
Multiple works
Exhibited at Aberdeen Artists' Society Exhibition of Works of Modern Artists, 1900
'Ein Elfchen'
Exhibited at Aberdeen Artists' Society Exhibition of Works of Modern Artists, 1902
Multiple works
Exhibited at Aberdeen Artists' Society Exhibition of Works of Modern Artists, 1923
Multiple works
Exhibited at Aberdeen Artists' Society Exhibition of Works of Modern Artists, 1926
'La France - 1914'
Exhibited at Aberdeen Artists' Society Exhibition of Works of Modern Artists, 1929
'Eos'
Exhibited at Royal Academy of Art: The Exhibition of Scottish Art, 1939
p. 104 (237)
Exhibited at Aberdeen Artists' Society Exhibition of Works of Modern Artists, 1894
2 works for sale
Exhibited at The Ulster Arts Club 10th Annual Exhibition, Municipal Art Gallery, 1915
1915
Exhibited at Ulster Arts Club 8th Annual Exhibition, Municipal Art Gallery, 1913
1913
Exhibited at The Royal Scottish Academy Exhibition, 1826-
1872 - 1944
Exhibited at the annual exhibition 41 times: 1872 (1 work), 1874 (1 work), 1875 (1 work), 1887 (1 work), 1892 (5 works), 1893 (5 works), 1894 (3 works), 1895 (1 work), 1896 (3 works), 1897 (5 works), 1898 (4 works), 1899 (3 works), 1900 (2 works), 1901 (4 works), 1902 (4 works), 1903 (2 works), 1905 (2 works), 1907 (1 work), 1908 (2 works), 1909 (2 works), 1910 (2 works), 1911 (2 works), 1913 (1 work), 1914 (3 works), 1915 (3 works), 1916 (3 works), 1917 (3 works), 1918 (5 works), 1919 (15 works), 1920 (8 works), 1921 (8 works), 1922 (1 work), 1923 (1 work), 1924 (3 works), 1926 (7 works), 1927 (3 works), 1928 (4 works), 1931 (3 works), 1939 (11 works), 1943 (1 work) and 1944 (1 work)
Exhibited at The Royal Glasgow Institute of the Fine Arts Annual Exhibition, 1861-1951
1875 - 1932
Exhibited 23 times (an average of 3 works per show)
Plus posthumous showing in 1938 and 1978 (3 and 2 works per show)
Exhibited at The Exhibition of the Royal Academy of Arts (Summer Exhibition), 1768-
1891 - 1892
Exhibited twice, two works in 1891 and one in 1892.
Institutional and Business Connections
Adjudicated on a panel at The Edinburgh College of Art
1921
p. 6
For the award of Diplomas in the Sculpture Dept.
Advisor to Royal Society of British Sculptors
2 March 1905 - 3 April 1905
Society wrote to MacGillvray following meeting of 2 March, asking him to recommend Scottish sculptors suitable for membership. On 3 April it was reported that he 'had sent a reply of a confidential character which he had directed ought not to be read or shown to anyone except the President [...] it amounted to an expression of inability to make any recommendations'. Note: Oliver Sheppard had been asked to perform the same service concerning Irish sculptors [2 March 1905 and 3 April 1905, Royal Society of British Sculptors: Minutes of Council Meetings, No.I]. Seemingly did suggest, however, that all members of the Scottish and Irish Academies should be elected members without the formality of proposal [8 May 1905, Royal Society of British Sculptors, Minutes of Council Meetings, Vol.I].
Committee member of The Royal Scottish Academy
1910 - 1911
Council member and Curator of Library
Elected ARSA The Royal Scottish Academy
1892
Elected RSA The Royal Scottish Academy
1901
Honorary member of Aberdeen Artists' Society
1937 (Circa)
Member of Scottish Society of Art Workers
1898
Member of Royal Society of British Sculptors
1905 - 1917
Amongst those 'Invited to join without the formality of proposal and seconding' [January 10 1905, Royal Society of British Sculptors, Minutes of Council Meetings, Vol.I].
Member of committee at The Edinburgh College of Art
1904 (Circa) - 1921 (Circa)
McGillivray was commissioned by the Scotch Office to prepare a report on the provision of Art Education in Britain and the Continent and it was he who drew up the first specification both for the curriculum of the college but also for the types of accommodation, especially for sculpture and the cast collection to contain. McGillivray went as far as to prepare a set of outline plans, these were never adopted. However, through his influence, the first school to be built was the School of Sculpture, and the transfer of all the antique casts from the Royal Institution at the Mound.
Member of council The Royal Glasgow Institute of the Fine Arts
1890 (Circa) - 1893
Paid membership subscription to The Royal Glasgow Institute of the Fine Arts
1880 (Circa) - 1930 (Circa)
President of The Palette Club
1882 - 1930 (Circa)
First President
Resigned from Royal Society of British Sculptors
15 May 1911
Resigned from council [15 May 1911, Royal Society of British Sculptors: Minutes of Council Meetings, no.1].
Note that MacGillivray must have re-joined the society between 1912 and 1917, as he is recorded as having resigned again in 1917 [20 May, 1917].
Resigned from The Royal Glasgow Institute of the Fine Arts
November 1893
Resigned due to his inability to attend meetings, his resignation was accepted with regret.
Student at The School of the Board of Manufacturers
1871 - 1973
Entered age 15. Studied water-colour. Fell out with the tutor in the Antique Drawing class and left aged 17. This was the only formal education he received.
Trainee at J. & G. Mossman
1880 (Circa)
Worked for James Steel
1872 (Circa)
Personal and Professional Connections
Assistant to William Brodie
1869 (Circa) - 1875 (Circa)
Macgillivray entered Brodies studio at age 13
Assistant was Andrew Dods
Assistant was William Shirreffs
1880 (Circa) - 1890 (Circa)
on the Monument to William Ewart Gladstone.
Assistant was John Tweed
1888 (Circa)
Assistant was Louis Reid Deuchars
December 1908
MacGillivray employed Deuchars to work on the Gladstone memorial in Edinburgh, the association lasted only a few weeks
Assisted by George MacD. Kane
Assisted with work on the Gladstone Memorial
Daughter/son/child of William Ewan MacGillivray
Employed John Mossman
1875
Helped to execute a number of Glasgow Buildings including the Statue of Livingston and the new Metropole Theatre.
Feud with Robert Stodart Lorimer
1928 (Circa)
MacGillivray was not commissioned for the Scottish National War Memorial - a job he thought should be his as Sculptor-in-Ordinary for Scotland. It was given instead to Louis Reid Deuchars, who MacGillivray also provoked a vendetta against till long after they both had died.
Nominator of Percival (Percy) Herbert Portsmouth
5 November 1906
For memebership of Royal Society of British Sculptors.
Nominator of Alexander Carrick
1916
RSA
Nominator of John White Somerville
1916
RSA
Nominator of (Edgar) Bertram Mackennal
1920
For HRSA
Nominator of Alexander Proudfoot
1920
Nominator of Fanindra Nath Bose
1924
Portrayed in bust by William A. Lamb
1932
Exhibited at the RSA Annual Exhibition, 1932.
Descriptions of Practice
Listed as medallist Biographical Dictionary of Medallists, Coin, Gem, and Seal-Engravers, Mint Masters, &c., Ancient and Modern with References to their Works, B.C. 500 - A.D. 1900, Volume VIII, 1930 Biographical Dictionary of Medallists
Listed as a sculptor. Forrer notes that the artist created a 'Presentation Medal to Capt. Rob. F. Scott of the David Livingstone Medal in gold, 1904'. See vol. 8, (1930), p. 2.
Listed under Sculptors Biographical Dictionary of Medallists, Coin, Gem, and Seal-Engravers, Mint Masters, &c., Ancient and Modern with References to their Works, B.C. 500 - A.D. 1900, Volume III, 1907 Biographical Dictionary of Medallists
Listed as a contemporary sculptor who 'has also touched on medallic work. See Forrer, vol. 3, (1907), p. 522.
Listed under Sculptors Edinburgh & Leith Post Office Directory 1900-1901
p. 743
Listed under Sculptors
Listed under Sculptors Edinburgh & Leith Post Office Directory 1910-1911
p. 964
Listed under 'Sculptors'
Listed under Sculptors Edinburgh & Leith Post Office Directory 1930-1931
p. 1205
Listed under Sculptors
Listed under Sculptors The Glasgow Post-Office Annual Directory for 1890-1891 Sixty-Third Annual Publication
p. 1151
Publications
Edited Scottish Art Review
1888 - 1892
Co-Founder and editor. Also contributed many articles, many of which were strong diatribes directed towards the RSA.
Sources
Aberdeen Artists' Society. Eighteenth Exhibition of Works of Modern Masters, 1923
November 1923
p. 43
Aberdeen Artists' Society. Eighth Exhibition of Works of Modern Artists, 1896
October 1896
p. 47
Exhibited 3 works
Aberdeen Artists' Society. Eleventh Exhibition of Works of Modern Masters, 1902
October 1902
p. 49
Aberdeen Artists' Society. Nineteenth Exhibition of Works of Modern Masters, 1926
November 1926
p. 83
Aberdeen Artists' Society. Ninth Exhibition of Works of Modern Artists, 1898
October 1898
p. 51
Exhibited 6 works
Aberdeen Artists' Society. Seventh Exhibition of Works of Modern Artists, 1894
October 1894
p. 44
Aberdeen Artists' Society. Tenth Exhibition of Works of Modern Masters, 1900
October 1900
p. 50
Catalogue of the Eleventh Autumn Exhibition, 1893
1893
Cat. No. 793, pp. 62, 73
Catalogue of the Exhibition of Scottish Art 1939, Royal Academy of Arts, London
1939
p. xxxv
Catalogue of The Ulster Arts Club 10th Annual Exhibition, Municipal Art Gallery, 1915
1915
Catalogue of The Ulster Arts Club 8th Annual Exhibition, Municipal Art Gallery, 1913
1913
Edinburgh & Leith Post Office Directory 1900-1901
May 1900
p. 743
Listed under Sculptors
Edinburgh & Leith Post Office Directory 1910-1911
1910
p. 964
Listed under 'Sculptors'
Edinburgh & Leith Post Office Directory 1930-1931
1930
p. 1205
Listed under Sculptors
Folio
October 2004
List of Members: Royal Society of British Sculptors
2008
Royal Society of British Sculptors. Minutes of Council Meetings No. 1, 1905-1913
19 May 1913
10 January 1905; 2 March 1905; 3 April 1905; 8 May 1905; 5 November 1906; 15 May 1911.
Royal Society of British Sculptors. Minutes of Council Meetings No. 2, 1913-1922
1922 (Presumed)
20 May 1917
Scottish Sculpture Archive Virtue and Vision: Sculpture and Scotland 1540-1990
1990
Scottish Sculpture Archive Virtue and Vision: Sculpture and Scotland 1540-1990
1990
file includes; xeroxes of personal letters, details of commissions, newspaper clippings, etc.
Scottish Society of Art Workers: Constitution & Rules, Minute book
1898
The Dictionary of Scottish Art and Architecture
2004
p. 336
The Edinburgh College of Art Report by the Board of Management for the session 1920 -1921
1921
p. 6
The Eighty-Fourth Annual Report of the Council of The Royal Scottish Academy, 1911
1911
The Glasgow Post-Office Annual Directory for 1890-1891 Sixty-Third Annual Publication
1890
p. 1151
The Macgillivray Papers: The National Library of Scotland
The Ninety-Third Annual Report of the Council of The Royal Scottish Academy, 1920
1920
Citing this record
'Dr James Pittendrigh MacGillivray RSA', Mapping the Practice and Profession of Sculpture in Britain and Ireland 1851-1951, University of Glasgow History of Art and HATII, online database 2011 [http://sculpture.gla.ac.uk/view/person.php?id=msib6_1207588262, accessed 26 Mar 2023]
