The work of a lauded Angus artist has gone on display to mark the centenary of his death this year.
James Watterston Herald was born in Forfar on July 29 1859 and died in 1914 in Arbroath. And Angus Council’s collection of his work has gone on display at Arbroath Art Gallery in the town library.
The son of a shoemaker, William Herald, the future artist was encouraged to pursue his ambitions from a young age.
But he was described as a “bad yet dreamy pupil” at Forfar Academy.
He then enrolled at Dundee High School where he was awarded a prize for excellence in drawing.
He was fascinated by the paintings of Arthur Melville, one of the Glasgow Boys who was himself from Angus.
Galleries curator Jim Boon said: “Herald is known mostly for his watercolours and pastels.
“His watercolours are described as being decorative and imaginative. His work attracts many visitors, possibly due to his paintings of the local area and many local connections.”
After a short spell in Edinburgh and 10 years in London, Herald took up residence in Arbroath around 1900, remaining there the rest of his life.
Content to earn no more than a living and judged by contemporaries as a recluse, Herald quietly worked in his Commerce Street studio or his home in Bank Street.
He expressed no interest in personal wealth, giving away sketches in return for a meal.
He died on October 17 1914 aged 55, following a bad fall and a long period of ill health, and is buried in the Western Cemetery in Arbroath.
One of Herald’s best-known works, the 1887 painting Kirriemuir Fair, was sold as part of Lyon & Turnbull’s winter catalogue last year, for an undisclosed sum.
The exhibition can be seen during normal library hours and runs until November 1.