James Coutts Michie Associate of the Royal Scottish Academy

Royal Scottish Academy

The Royal Scottish Academy is a Scottish organisation that promotes contemporary Scottish art. Founded in 1826, as the Royal Institution for the Encouragement of the Fine Arts, the RSA maintains a unique position in Scotland as an independently funded institution led by eminent artists and...

 (19 July 1859 – 18 December 1919) was a Scottish painter

Painting

Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a surface . The application of the medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush but other objects can be used. In art, the term painting describes both the act and the result of the action. However, painting is...

 who specialised in landscapes and portraits.

He was born Marywell near Aboyne

Aboyne

Aboyne is a village on the edge of the Highlands in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, on the River Dee, approximately west of Aberdeen. It has a rugby club, which plays on The Green and also has a swimming pool, a golf course with 18 holes, all-weather tennis courts, and a bowling green...

, Scotland

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...

, the third son of a merchant, Harry Michie, and Elizabeth Coutts. He studied under Joseph Farquharson

Joseph Farquharson

Joseph Farquharson DL was a Scottish painter, chiefly of landscapes. He is most famous for his snowy winter landscapes, often featuring sheep and often depicting dawn or dusk...

 at the Trustee Academy in Edinburgh

Edinburgh

Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...

 and later with Carolus-Duran

Carolus-Duran

Charles Auguste Émile Durand, known as Carolus-Duran , was a French painter and art instructor. He is noted for his stylish depictions of members of high society in Third Republic France.-Biography:...

 in Paris

Paris

Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...

. He travelled widely on the continent and north Africa before settling in England about 1893. His paintings include, An Autumn Landscape, Normandy Orchard, Gathering Firewood, Snow Scene, Autumn and portraits of David Murray (painter) (1897) and Elizabeth Crombie Duthie (1885). In 1883 Elizabeth Crombie Duthie gave Duthie Park

Duthie Park

Duthie park, situated in Aberdeen, Scotland, by the banks of the River Dee, comprises of land gifted to the council in 1881 by Lady Elizabeth Duthie of Ruthrieston, in memory of her uncle and of her brother...

 to the city of Aberdeen

Aberdeen

Aberdeen is Scotland's third most populous city, one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas and the United Kingdom's 25th most populous city, with an official population estimate of ....

 in memory of her uncle and brother. James became a key member of the Aberdeen Artist's Society from the late 1880s. Later he became an adviser to the collector George McCulloch

George McCulloch (mine owner)

George McCulloch was the mastermind behind the formation of the Broken Hill Mining Company, a precursor of BHP Billiton.George's father died when he was one year old...

 and married his widow, Mary, in 1908.

Coutts died at Cambledon, near the family home at Haslemere

Haslemere

Haslemere is a town in Surrey, England, close to the border with both Hampshire and West Sussex. The major road between London and Portsmouth, the A3, lies to the west, and a branch of the River Wey to the south. Haslemere is approximately south-west of Guildford.Haslemere is surrounded by hills,...

, England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

. Mary donated a portrait of James by John Pettie

John Pettie

John Pettie RA was a Scottish painter. He was born in Edinburgh, the son of Alexander and Alison Pettie. In 1852 the family moved to East Linton, Haddingtonshire...

 to the Aberdeen Art Gallery

Aberdeen Art Gallery

Aberdeen Art Gallery is the main visual arts exhibition space in the city of Aberdeen in Scotland. It opened in 1885, in a building designed by Alexander Marshall Mackenzie....

in 1920.