User:Farragoer/Robert eadie

Robert Eadie (1877-1954) was the youngest of four brothers. The family lived in Glasgow and the boys' mother died while they were still young. Their father, a tobacco spinner, married again, but the boys did not get on with their stepmother and the two oldest left home as soon as they were able to become independent – James, the eldest son, went to the United States and John, a designer in a local carpet factory, set up a home and a family of his own in Glasgow. William, the third son, looked after his younger brother, stood up for him against their stepmother, and helped him with his education and training when Robert showed signs of artistic ability.

Robert Eadie enjoyed the benefits of the then excellent Scottish education system, and he studied further in Paris and Munich. He married a woman from Edinburgh, a city whose residents generally see themselves as being a cut above Glaswegians – although, to do Belle justice, she always remained on friendly terms with her Glasgow in-laws. The couple lived in Glasgow for a time, then moved to Cambuslang, the 'largest (and poshest) village in Scotland', on the outskirts of the city. Latterly he lived in Royal Terrace, Glasgow.

Robert Eadie had a fine tenor voice – a natural rather than a trained talent – and, with his niece Mary (the daughter of Agnes and John Eadie) on piano, he was encouraged to perform "Come Into The Garden, Maude" and similar songs at family gatherings. But his major gift lay in the field of fine art.

He established himself as a successful professional painter, engraver and book illustrator. He received commissions from the management of Glasgow's theatres for paintings of theatres and paintings with theatrical themes, and the management of the Rogano restaurant in Glasgow commissioned a watercolour of the building's facade, which was used on the menu.

Robert Eadie is best known for his elegant, stylised landscapes and portraits that often had an illustrative feel. This technique lent itself well to book illustration and his work was reproduced in publications such as ‘Glimpses of Glasgow’, 1926, ‘The Face of Glasgow’, 1938 and ‘The Face of Edinburgh’, 1939. He will always be remembered for his pencil drawings, watercolours and oils that perfectly captured both place and period. A trip to Rhodesia to visit relatives on his wife's side of the family inspired further landscape paintings and portraits.<1>

He was a member of the Glasgow Society of Painter-Etchers and was elected to membership of the R.S.W. (the Royal Scottish Society of Painters in Watercolour) in 1917. During his lifetime, his work was exhibited at the Royal Academy, the Royal Scottish Academy, the R.S.W., the Royal Glasgow Institute of Fine Arts and Aberdeen Artists' Society.

Robert Eadie's work has survived the test of time and it is still sought after and changing hands for respectable prices at auction houses in the 21st century. Collections of his work are in the Hunterian Art Gallery, Glasgow; Kelvingrove Art Gallery & Museum, Glasgow; Paisley Art Gallery; City of Edinburgh Art Gallery; and the Glasgow Art Club.

Books Illustrated by Robert Eadie

Glasgow: its character, romance and charm (a.k.a. Glimpses of Glasgow) shown in a few illustrations by R. Eadie, R.S.W. (ca.1926) - hardback containing 16 drawings by Robert Eadie with comments on the facing page.

The Face of Glasgow (1938) by William Power - 64-page hardback book with 12 colour plates based on watercolour paintings by Robert Eadie.

The Face of Edinburgh (1939) by William Power - 88-page hardback book with 15 colour plates based on watercolour paintings by Robert Eadie.

The Capital of Scotland [Undated publication from World War II] - 28-page paperback book of "memories and pictures of the city" containing colour plates from Robert Eadie watercolours for "The Face of Edinburgh" with brief notes in English, Polish, Russian, French and Chinese, and additional illustrations by Charles Stewart, the artist for the publisher, Robert Grant & Son, Ltd., of Edinburgh.

The Plumber In Glasgow : The History of the Firm of HUGH TWADDLE & SON, LTD. 130-132 London Road, Glasgow, from 1848 to 1948 by Jack House - 64-page privately printed hardback book illustrated with photographs and four drawings by Robert Eadie.