Going to Church 1921, Oil

Sir David Murray (Scotland 1849-1933) is a success story out of the working class streets of Glasgow, Scotland.  Murray was the son of a shoemaker and worked in a variety of factory and clerical settings for 11 years while he studied evenings at the Glasgow School of Art. By the age of 30, he was able to work full time as a successful landscape painter; throughout his career he maintained a workman-like regard and respect for the profession of painting and painters.

In 1881 he was elected to the Royal Scottish Academy and in 1882 Murray moved to London. In 1884 one of his paintings was purchased for the Tate. On one of his few trips to the continent, Murray was awarded a bronze medal in the Paris exhibition of 1889. He was elected an associate of the Royal Academy in 1891 and became a full member in 1905. In 1917 Murray was elected president of the Royal Institute of Painters in Watercolours.

King George V knighted Murray in 1917 as much for his accomplishments as an artist as for his administrative skills in his artistic associations.