George Heriot (artist)
Encyclopedia
George Heriot was a Scottish
-Canadian
civil servant, author and artist. He is most notable as a major figure in early Canadian art
.
in 1759, the eldest child of John Heriot, the sheriff clerk of the town, and his wife Marjory. The Heriots were part of the long-established family of the Heriots of Trabroun, the most well-known member of which was the seventeenth-century goldsmith and philanthropist George Heriot
. He was educated at Duns
and the Coldstream
grammar school, before attending the Edinburgh Royal High School
from 1769 to 1774, where he received a conventional classical education
. After leaving the Royal High School he remained in Edinburgh, where he studied art under the encouragement of Sir James Grant
.
In 1777 he travelled to London, apparently with the intention of beginning an artistic career, but instead found himself on a voyage to the West Indies. It is not known why he changed his plans, but his father's business had failed that year, causing his younger brother John
to quit university and join the Army. He wrote and sketched extensively during his time in the Caribbean, and when he returned to London in 1781 he published A Descriptive Poem, written in the West Indies. On his return, he enrolled at the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich. Here, he was taught landscape drawing, then considered an essential part of a military education, by Paul Sandby
.
He had left the Academy by 1783, but remained in Woolwich, employed as a civilian clerk by the Army. In 1792, he was posted to Quebec
, as a clerk in the ordnance office there.
He arrived in Canada in 1792, the beginning of a quarter-century association with the colony. In his first years, little is recorded; some surviving sketches indicate he travelled around Quebec and Montreal, and he published one sketch in the winter of 1792. In 1796, he returned to Britain, travelling along the south coast and in Wales before spending some months at the University of Edinburgh
. After preparing some paintings for exhibition at the Royal Academy, he left for Canada.
Shortly after his return to Quebec, he was appointed to the relatively senior position of assistant storekeeper general, perhaps through the influence of his younger brother, the journalist John Heriot
. He held his two positions concurrently, drawing the salary for both, and when this was discovered by the commander-in-chief in 1799 he was removed from the new position. However, he had met William Pitt
when in London - again through his brother's connections - and through Pitt's influence was appointed the deputy postmaster general for the whole of British North America
in October 1799. He replaced Hugh Finlay, who had fallen into severe financial difficulty and no longer had the support of the government. However, a later attempt to gain Finlay's former seat on the Legislative Council of Lower Canada
was unsuccessful, and permanently soured Heriot's relations with Robert Shore Milnes, the Lieutenant Governor.
He began his new career with vigour, aiming to expand efficient and speedy mail service beyond the existing Quebec to Montreal route, by using the existing profitable service to help kickstart a new network in the newly settled areas of Upper Canada
. However, he quickly encountered both administrative and financial problems; the postmaster general required that all new services be able to support themselves, and refused to allow profits to be reinvested in the system rather than being remitted to central government. However, he received a certain degree of support from the local authorities - Peter Hunter
, the lieutenant-governor of Upper Canada, was strongly in favour of improved infrastructure - and by 1805 had obtained a noticeable though limited increase in the quality of service in the west.
However, he found himself increasingly at odds with the administration, and eventually resigned his position in 1816. He returned to Britain, where he retired.
style at Woolwich, and it can be found in his drawings and watercolours throughout the 1780s.
During his 1796 return to Britain, he submitted three watercolours to the Royal Academy of Arts, which were exhibited the following spring.
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
-Canadian
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
civil servant, author and artist. He is most notable as a major figure in early Canadian art
Canadian art
Canadian art refers to the visual as well as plastic arts originating from the geographical area of contemporary Canada...
.
Early life
Heriot was born at HaddingtonHaddington, East Lothian
The Royal Burgh of Haddington is a town in East Lothian, Scotland. It is the main administrative, cultural and geographical centre for East Lothian, which was known officially as Haddingtonshire before 1921. It lies about east of Edinburgh. The name Haddington is Anglo-Saxon, dating from the 6th...
in 1759, the eldest child of John Heriot, the sheriff clerk of the town, and his wife Marjory. The Heriots were part of the long-established family of the Heriots of Trabroun, the most well-known member of which was the seventeenth-century goldsmith and philanthropist George Heriot
George Heriot
George Heriot was a Scottish goldsmith and philanthropist. He is chiefly remembered today as founder of George Heriot's School, a large private school in Edinburgh; his name has also been given to Heriot-Watt University, as well as several streets in the same city.Heriot was the court goldsmith...
. He was educated at Duns
Duns
Duns is the county town of the historic county of Berwickshire, within the Scottish Borders.-Early history:Duns law, the original site of the town of Duns, has the remains of an Iron Age hillfort at its summit...
and the Coldstream
Coldstream
Coldstream is a small town in the Borders district of Scotland. It lies on the north bank of the River Tweed in Berwickshire, while Northumberland in England lies to the south bank, with Cornhill-on-Tweed the nearest village...
grammar school, before attending the Edinburgh Royal High School
Royal High School (Edinburgh)
The Royal High School of Edinburgh is a co-educational state school administered by the City of Edinburgh Council. The school was founded in 1128 and is one of the oldest schools in Scotland, and has, throughout its history, been high achieving, consistently attaining well above average exam results...
from 1769 to 1774, where he received a conventional classical education
Classics
Classics is the branch of the Humanities comprising the languages, literature, philosophy, history, art, archaeology and other culture of the ancient Mediterranean world ; especially Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome during Classical Antiquity Classics (sometimes encompassing Classical Studies or...
. After leaving the Royal High School he remained in Edinburgh, where he studied art under the encouragement of Sir James Grant
Sir James Grant, 8th Baronet
Sir James Grant of Grant, 8th Baronet FRSE FSA , was a Scottish landowner and politician....
.
In 1777 he travelled to London, apparently with the intention of beginning an artistic career, but instead found himself on a voyage to the West Indies. It is not known why he changed his plans, but his father's business had failed that year, causing his younger brother John
John Heriot (journalist)
John Heriot was a Scottish journalist and writer. He was forced to join the Royal Marines due to family hardship, and served as a junior officer during the American Revolutionary War...
to quit university and join the Army. He wrote and sketched extensively during his time in the Caribbean, and when he returned to London in 1781 he published A Descriptive Poem, written in the West Indies. On his return, he enrolled at the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich. Here, he was taught landscape drawing, then considered an essential part of a military education, by Paul Sandby
Paul Sandby
Paul Sandby was an English map-maker turned landscape painter in watercolours, who, along with his older brother Thomas, became one of the founding members of the Royal Academy in 1768.-Life and work:...
.
He had left the Academy by 1783, but remained in Woolwich, employed as a civilian clerk by the Army. In 1792, he was posted to Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
, as a clerk in the ordnance office there.
Canada
University of Edinburgh
The University of Edinburgh, founded in 1583, is a public research university located in Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland, and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The university is deeply embedded in the fabric of the city, with many of the buildings in the historic Old Town belonging to the university...
. After preparing some paintings for exhibition at the Royal Academy, he left for Canada.
Shortly after his return to Quebec, he was appointed to the relatively senior position of assistant storekeeper general, perhaps through the influence of his younger brother, the journalist John Heriot
John Heriot (journalist)
John Heriot was a Scottish journalist and writer. He was forced to join the Royal Marines due to family hardship, and served as a junior officer during the American Revolutionary War...
. He held his two positions concurrently, drawing the salary for both, and when this was discovered by the commander-in-chief in 1799 he was removed from the new position. However, he had met William Pitt
William Pitt the Younger
William Pitt the Younger was a British politician of the late 18th and early 19th centuries. He became the youngest Prime Minister in 1783 at the age of 24 . He left office in 1801, but was Prime Minister again from 1804 until his death in 1806...
when in London - again through his brother's connections - and through Pitt's influence was appointed the deputy postmaster general for the whole of British North America
British North America
British North America is a historical term. It consisted of the colonies and territories of the British Empire in continental North America after the end of the American Revolutionary War and the recognition of American independence in 1783.At the start of the Revolutionary War in 1775 the British...
in October 1799. He replaced Hugh Finlay, who had fallen into severe financial difficulty and no longer had the support of the government. However, a later attempt to gain Finlay's former seat on the Legislative Council of Lower Canada
Legislative Council of Lower Canada
The Legislative Council of Lower Canada was the upper house of the bicameral structure of provincial government in Lower Canada until 1838. The upper house consisted of appointed councillors who voted on bills passed up by the Legislative Assembly of Lower Canada. The legislative council was...
was unsuccessful, and permanently soured Heriot's relations with Robert Shore Milnes, the Lieutenant Governor.
He began his new career with vigour, aiming to expand efficient and speedy mail service beyond the existing Quebec to Montreal route, by using the existing profitable service to help kickstart a new network in the newly settled areas of Upper Canada
Upper Canada
The Province of Upper Canada was a political division in British Canada established in 1791 by the British Empire to govern the central third of the lands in British North America and to accommodate Loyalist refugees from the United States of America after the American Revolution...
. However, he quickly encountered both administrative and financial problems; the postmaster general required that all new services be able to support themselves, and refused to allow profits to be reinvested in the system rather than being remitted to central government. However, he received a certain degree of support from the local authorities - Peter Hunter
Peter Hunter
Lieutenant-General Peter Hunter was a British Army officer and colonial administrator. He was eldest son to John Hunter laird of Knapp and Euphemia Jack of Longforgan, Perthshire, Scotland....
, the lieutenant-governor of Upper Canada, was strongly in favour of improved infrastructure - and by 1805 had obtained a noticeable though limited increase in the quality of service in the west.
However, he found himself increasingly at odds with the administration, and eventually resigned his position in 1816. He returned to Britain, where he retired.
Artistic work
Heriot was probably introduced to the picturesquePicturesque
Picturesque is an aesthetic ideal introduced into English cultural debate in 1782 by William Gilpin in Observations on the River Wye, and Several Parts of South Wales, etc. Relative Chiefly to Picturesque Beauty; made in the Summer of the Year 1770, a practical book which instructed England's...
style at Woolwich, and it can be found in his drawings and watercolours throughout the 1780s.
During his 1796 return to Britain, he submitted three watercolours to the Royal Academy of Arts, which were exhibited the following spring.