George Harcourt

George Harcourt RA (1868-1947) was a Scottish portrait and figure painter, known for painting influential members of society.

Born in Old Kilpatrick in 1868, Harcourt's family moved to nearby Dumbarton while he was still a toddler. In the 1871 census, Harcourt's family were living with two lodgers in a modest property in the HIgh Street, Dumbarton and Henry Harcourt, George's father worked as a labourer.

Harcourt received his initial art training at the Dumbarton School of Art, a satellite of the Glasgow School of Art which operated in Dumbarton at the end of the 19th century. His 1887 third-grade examination, for painting in monochrome, gave him the result as "fair" but he achieved a "good" for ornamental design. Aged 20 he won the Denny Scholarship which funded further studies abroad.

He studied at the Herkomer School of Art in Bushey from 1889 to 92 and later went on to become the head of school. He rose to become the President of the Royal Society of Portrait Painters in 1945 following a spell as vice-president (1934-45) and was also the Director of the Royal Academy. He first became an associate of the Royal Academy in 1919 (ARA) and was then elected as an Academician (RA) in 1926. In 1944 he was elected as a senior Academician (Senior RA) and became Director of Schools in 1927.

After studying art in Dumbarton, Harcourt initially worked as an interior decorator of salons and luxury cabins at the local shipyard Denny Brothers Shipbuilding. In 1888 he went to Bushey, north London, and enrolled in the Herkomer School of Art. The school, founded by the German-born painter Hubert von Herkomer (1849-1914) in 1883, enjoyed a good reputation in England at the time and was known for its unconventional educational practice. As one of the best students, Harcourt later became a lecturer at the art school. Later, he taught at the London Slade School of Fine Art, where his daughter Anne studied.

Over the years, Harcourt's style of painting changed from a Pre-Raphaelite-influenced naturalism to an almost photorealistic portraiture. This perfection not only gave him a reputation among colleagues but also secured him a good income as a portraitist of the British upper class.

Harcourt died on 30 September 1947.