Scottie Wilson
1891–1972, Scottish
Tags: Ceramics, Drawing, Painting
Louis Freeman (who later changed his name to Robert “Scottie” Wilson) grew up in a tenement room- and-kitchen in Glasgow and left home at the age of nine to be a drummer boy in the army, where he acquired the nickname “Scottie,” commonly applied to Scottish soldiers.
Scottie Wilson’s early drawings were populated by malevolent figures that he described as “evils and greedies.” He started creating his totemlike figures and patterns, often built up of parallel lines, in his secondhand shop in Toronto. Years later, Wilson described how he was listening to Mendelssohn when “all of a sudden I dipped the bulldog pen into a bottle of ink and started drawing—doodling I suppose you’d call it—on the cardboard tabletop.”1 His later works are benevolent, decorative depictions of nature, especially birds, fish, flowers, and fauna, which (perhaps coincidentally) happen also to be the three major components of the crest of Glasgow, where he spent much of his childhood. He also designed and hand painted earthenware with the same iconography for England’s Royal Worcester Porcelain Company. Artists André Breton and Pablo Picasso were early collectors of his now widely sought-after work.
Portfolio of Work
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Square with Seven Circles, ca. 1950
Ink and crayon on paper
British
Green Brown Greedies, ca. 1946
Ink, crayon, and watercolor on paper
British
Figure-8 Faces, 1946
Crayon and watercolor on paper
British
Pinwheel, ca. 1935-1940
Pencil, colored pencil, and ink on paper
British
Sailing Totems, ca. 1929-1942
Pencil, colored pencil, and ink on paper
British
Spring, ca. 1960
Colored ink on paper
British
Temple of light, ca. 1942
Colored pencil and ink on paper
British
Center Fish Circle on Black, c. 1965
Pencil, colored pencil, and watercolor on black paper
British
Red Vase, ca. 1960
Colored ink on paper
British
Yellow Fish and Faces, c. 1935
Pencil, ink, and crayon on paper
British
Black/Pink Fish and Faces, ca.1942-50
Ink and crayon on paper
British
Hand-Painted Plate, 1960
Ceramic with hand-painted overglaze
British
Hand-Painted Plate, 1960
Ceramic with hand-painted overglaze
British
Hand-Painted Plate, 1960
Ceramic with hand-painted overglaze
British
Scottie Wilson: Peddler Turned Painter
Book about Scottie Wilson
British
Animal and Globe, 1935-40
Ink and crayon on paper
British
The Greedies,1945
Pen, ink, and watercolor on paper
British
3 Vases, 1955-65
Ink on board
British
The Magic Castle in the Mirror, 1955
Colored ink on paper
British
Orange and Purple Swans, 1955-65
Ink on board
British
Hand-Painted Plate, 1960
Ceramic with hand-printed overglaze
British
Red Fish Blue Fish in Brown Circle, 1960-72
Watercolor, ink and gouache on paper
British
Blue Birds in the Tree, ca. 1960
Ink and crayon on black paper
British
Blue Birds in the Tree, ca. 1960
Crayon and ink on black paper
British
Yellow Birds in the Tree, ca.1960
Felt-tip pen on black paper
British
Butterfly Palace II, ca. 1965 - 72
Gouache on paper
British
Five Butterflies, ca. 1965 - 72
Gouache, crayon, and watercolor on paper
British
Five Circles on Blue, ca. 1965 -72
Gouache on paper
British
Black and White with Yellow Windows, ca. 1965 - 72
Gouache and ink on board
British
Big Blue Butterfly, ca. 1971
Gouache on cardboard
British
Coffee Cup and Saucer,1962
Glazed earthenware
British
Coffee Pot, 1962
Glazed earthenware
British
Cruet Tray with Salt and Pepper Shaker, 1962
Glazed earthenware
British
Eggcup, 1962
Glazed earthenware
British
Oval Platter, 1962
Glazed earthenware
British
Royal Worcester ceramics with design by Scottie Wilson, 1962
Glazed earthenware
British
Royal Worcester ceramics with design by Scottie Wilson, 1962
Glazed earthenware
British
Black Mouse, n.d.
Pen, ink and crayon
British