CarylW Posted 14 July , 2011 Share Posted 14 July , 2011 Recently bought what I believe to be a watercolour painting by the artist Captain George Drummond Fish No provenance but signed G Drummond Fish and painted in his style of landscape painting of Irish and Scottish scenes. Quite a prolific artist by the look of things Obviously I need to have the painting checked out to verify but trying to find out a little more about the artist himself. (no plans to sell. If it is by him it will be a treasured possession) With the artist described as 'Captain' and the dates given, I wondered about the possibility that he was a Great War veteran and looked for a service record, none found but found "a" MIC for a Captain George Drummond Fish, Royal Irish Rifles, Theatre of war: Gallipoli August 1915 and he appears to have an MBE. Is this him? Only found very little about the artist online but a small biography reveals that he was born 1876, died 1938, trained at the Liverpool School of Art Does anyone happen to know anything more about him? Caryl Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seaJane Posted 14 July , 2011 Share Posted 14 July , 2011 Caryl, got your pm but on leave till Monday (this is per phone). Who's who & who was who online to many public library users. Checked London Gazette online? Try searching National Portrait Gallery collections npg.org.uk, IWM ditto iwm.org.uk I think Pray excuse brevity! sJ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CarylW Posted 14 July , 2011 Author Share Posted 14 July , 2011 Thanks Jane I'll check the sites you mention. Haven't tried London Gazette as yet. I was just going through the various online databases of the National Library of Wales Found a very small article in the Times about an exhibition of his - thought there might have been an obit at least. Trying to find the Who's Who in there Caryl Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seaJane Posted 14 July , 2011 Share Posted 14 July , 2011 Hi Caryl, For future reference the link is http://ukwhoswho.com and add your library card number in the required field, but I have just checked (husband kindly letting me play with his laptop) and the gentleman is not there. I've tried the National Register of Archives for Liverpool School of Art but no luck: maybe Liverpool Local Studies can help: http://liverpool.gov.uk/libraries-and-archives/archives-local-and-family-history/ And just possibly the Research Library of the Royal Academy of Arts may be able to help - their e-mail for enquiries is at the bottom of this page: http://www.royalacademy.org.uk/collectionsandlibrary/research-library-and-archive,97,AR.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CarylW Posted 15 July , 2011 Author Share Posted 15 July , 2011 Thanks Jane. I'll be going to Liverpool soon, so if I can't find out anything by other means I'll have a root around there. Went to a large county reference library today to have a look, only to be told that they had moved the entire collection to the centre of town (where I'd just come from!) Reading what short snippets are available online, the artist is described as 'Irish' and I'm assuming he came from Ulster, if indeed he was in the RIR Will post if I find out anything more Thanks for your interest Caryl Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seaJane Posted 16 July , 2011 Share Posted 16 July , 2011 Hi Caryl I have now searched the IWM art collections and enquiry database and they seem to have nothing on him: but you could start a new inquiry here: http://iwm.altarama.com/reft000.aspx. They do have a specific archive and maybe his name slipped through unindexed. http://collections.iwm.org.uk/server/show/ConWebDoc.908 Also searched the Tate collections - they appear not to have anything either... and the Royal Watercolour Society has no paintings by him. However, perhaps their respective archivists/librarians... ? http://www.tate.org.uk/research/researchservices/ http://www.royalwatercoloursociety.co.uk/page.asp?pgid=9&pid=30 I've tried the Public Record Office Northern Ireland http://applications.proni.gov.uk/LL_DCAL_PRONI_ECATNI/SearchPage.aspx but no luck there either. An elusive man! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
headgardener Posted 16 July , 2011 Share Posted 16 July , 2011 Don't know what you've already got on this man. He's definitely the man from the MIC; George DRUMMOND-FISH, MBE, t/2Lt R.Irish Rif, t/2Lt General List, Captain General List. Gallipoli August 1915. 1918 address; GHQ, Park Gate, Dublin. Post war address; 'Milano', Vico Rd, Dalkey, Co. Dublin. I have details from the 'Directory of British Artists 1880-1940' and his listing in the 'Records of the Royal Hibernian Academy of Art', in case you haven't already got them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CarylW Posted 16 July , 2011 Author Share Posted 16 July , 2011 SJ You have been busy! Many thanks again. I will follow up your advice and contact the relevant people headgardener. Thanks for confirming that the MIC was his and for the other information. No I don't have a copy of either reference book. I was hoping I'd find one in the reference library Didn't find anything in the London Gazette, or the Belfast Gazette but the search feature often defeats me Don't have anything on him, only the MIC and a very short bio found online about him training in the Liverpool School of Art and winning a travelling scholarship which took him to Paris, Brussels and Antwerp from here http://www.anthonywo...ge-drummondfish I'd be very interested just to read anything relating to the story of the man because I'm intrigued now. Wonder why he was given an MBE? Noticed this on the National Archives site "....A number of awards of OBE and MBE were made for gallantry "not in the face of the enemy" (for example, bomb disposal and so on) and ranked below the George Medal...." The records of recommendations of awards given prior to 1950 don't appear to have survived Caryl Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
headgardener Posted 16 July , 2011 Share Posted 16 July , 2011 Why was he given an MBE.....? Well, he was a Staff Officer, and that seems to have been a good enough reason at that time. The stuff about the traveling scholarship is from the Dictionary of British Artists (listed as G. DRUMMOND-FISH) He was a portrait and landscape painter who exhibited from 1906-1938. He studied at Liverpool School of Art (what I believe is now that Paul McCartney academy). Traveling scholarship to Paris, Brussels and Antwerp. Served WW1. Was living in Hoylake in 1906, Dublin in 1918, and Dalkey, Co. Dublin 1925. Exhibited at the Walker gallery (1 piece), Royal Cambrian Acaademy (3 pieces), Royal Hibernian Acaademy of Art (12 pieces), Royal Institute of Painters in Watercolour (1 piece) and Walker's Gallery, London (468 pieces). One of them is probably yours! Records of the Royal Hibernian Academy of Art show him as Captain G. Drummond FISH, painter, 1918 address; Embarkation Office, North Wall, Dublin. 1920-25; 'Milano'... (see above). They have a list of about 15 paintings which he completed during this period. I didn't write them down. What's yours called, by the way? Any chance of posting a photo? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CarylW Posted 16 July , 2011 Author Share Posted 16 July , 2011 Thanks headgardener. I very much appreciate this information. My painting isn't called anything that I'm aware of, that is at one time I suspect it was nicely mounted and framed, maybe with a title but a possibility is that someone has taken a liking to the frame, perhaps thinking the painting wasn't of any consequence and hence the painting was unframed when I bought it. Or the frame and glass were broken. There is a little bit of wear, one or two water drops but there is a signature on the left hand bottom corner G. Drummond Fish. I know what to do and where to go to have it verified (hopefully it will be) and I'll have it restored and framed I'll take a photo but I'd rather PM or e-mail than post here. Plus I could send a larger file size than could be posted here (Liverpool School of Art old building on Hope Street, where John Lennon also studied, has been taken over by Liverpool John Moores University as the School of Humanities and Social Science, part of the faculty of Media Art and Social Science) Caryl Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CarylW Posted 16 July , 2011 Author Share Posted 16 July , 2011 .....Was living in Hoylake in 1906, ...... Forgot to say that I found this part particularly interesting because the Wirral is where the painting came from before I bought it! (and of course, just over the water is...) Caryl Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GCC Posted 19 June , 2022 Share Posted 19 June , 2022 Hi Caryl, I only stumbled across this today circa 11 years post your original enquiry! George Drummond Fish was my Great grandfather and whilst I don't know an awful lot about him, I do have multiple paintings and drawings to hand. Clearly a very talented individual and most evident that the years and following generations have diluted his creativity, well certainly from my perspective! Feel free to reach out if you are still interested in him. KR Gavin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seaJane Posted 19 June , 2022 Share Posted 19 June , 2022 6 hours ago, GCC said: Gavin Welcome to the forum Gavin. I am tagging @CarylW here which I hope will send an alert about your post. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GCC Posted 19 June , 2022 Share Posted 19 June , 2022 Ah that's brill many thanks for that! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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