John Blair Biography

John Blair (1850-1934) was a Scottish painter, predominantly of watercolour landscapes. Of humble beginnings in Berwickshire, he moved to Edinburgh to study and spent the rest of his life there. His paintings mainly reflect the landscapes around him, both of urban settings and also of the castles, sea and lochs of the Borders, although he also painted figures and still lifes. As well as his original work, his paintings were viewed by a wide audience in the form of picture postcards, book endpapers and illustrations.

Blair attended the nearby Sunnyside school at Milne Graden, and it is there that local landowner David Milne-Home befriended him. This resulted in Milne-Home arranging for Blair to train at the Trustees Academy School of Art (a forerunner of Edinburgh College of Art), where Blair studied under Charles Hodder.

He first exhibited in the Annual Exhibition of the Royal Scottish Academy in 1870, with paintings entitled 'Newhaven', 'Fawside Castle, Edinburgh' and 'Bait gatherers'. He went on to exhibit 83 paintings in the RSA Annual Exhibitions until 1920. Over 80 of his paintings appear as Tuck's postcards. He produced 16 colour pictures for 'A Summer in Skye' by Alexander Smith.

Blair married his wife Margaret Hume in 1899, with their respective ages 48 and 39. They lived for some time at 37 Argyle Place, Morningside, where Blair stated his profession as 'landscape artist' and 'Painter (artist)'. His obituary in the Berwickshire News stated that his "failing health in late years prevented him using the brush" and this may well explain why he no longer had any paintings exhibited at the Royal Scottish Academy after 1920.

He died in 1934 at his home at the age of 84.