Angus artist in limelight as collection goes to auction

A COLLECTION of works by a famed Angus artist of the Victorian era are expected to star at an Edinburgh auction later this month.

Forfar-born James Herald was widely acclaimed for his watercolour and pastel work – much of it depicting his home county.

But the shoemaker’s son shunned the limelight and adulation of audiences in London’s major galleries.

Angus Council collections holds many of his pieces and he was celebrated in the first 2022 exhibition at the Meffan Gallery in his home town.

And now his fans will have a chance to snap up a selection of paintings when they are offered at Bonhams’ Scottish art sale in Edinburgh on May 18.

They include a watercolour said to depict the visit of Wild West showman Buffalo Bill to Arbroath in 1904.

Some of the paintings could fetch as much as £8,000.

Herald was born in 1859 and spent much of his life in Arbroath, with sojourns in Edinburgh and London.

And the people and places of northeast Scotland became his muses.

That’s evident in the selection going under the hammer on May 18.

Herald enjoyed financial success early in his career. But after his return to Arbroath from London in 1901, he became increasingly reclusive.

So for the rest of his life he was happy to scrape a living from his art, often giving away paintings or exchanging them for drink or meals.

However, his lack of interest in money didn’t prevent him from enjoying critical success, including an acclaimed oneman show in London in 1910.

Two of the works were bought and presented to the British Museum with a third going to the V&A Museum.

May Matthews, Bonhams’ head of Scottish art, said: “Herald is a muchunderrated artist.”

The Bonhams sale also includes works by Mearns artist Joan Eardley and Fifer Jack Vettriano.

His piece, between Darkness and Dawn, is estimated to reach between £50,000 and £70,000.

The Travelling Show by James Herald.