John Duncan - 038 - Public domain dedication image

John Duncan first trained as an illustrator in his native city, Dundee. After periods of work and study in London and Antwerp, Duncan settled in Edinburgh in 1892. In the wider European context, Duncan was an exponent of the Symbolist movement. As well as Celtic imagery, he was inspired by the early Italian Renaissance.

John Duncan (1866–1945) was born in Dundee, Scotland, the son of a cattle dealer, and was studying at the Dundee School of Art by the age of eleven. He was a great experimenter with techniques and much of his work is in tempera. His subject-matter was rooted in the Celtic Revival and the Pre-Raphaelite tradition, but he also painted ‘straight‘ landscapes.