'Kashan, Persia', Orientalist watercolour by MacGregor Wilson

This fine watercolour is by the Scottish artist Peter MacGregor Wilson. MacGregor Wilson was well known in his day as a painter in watercolours and oils of portraits, genre scenes, marine subjects, and landscapes. Educated at the Glasgow School of Art, in 1885 MacGregor Wilson became a member of the Royal Scottish Watercolour Society (or RSW, this postnominal present after his name in the signature of the present piece). As an artist, MacGregor Wilson travelled widely, visiting North America, Russia, India, Arabia, and Persia—the present watercolour being an example of a work from the latter.

The painting depicts four figures seated beside a shallow pool. The group is sheltering from the white-hot heat of the day in the shade of a portico, with buildings and further figures visible beyond the screen of the colonnade. The painterly manner is fluid and accomplished, while the colour palette is dominated by ochre tones, indicating the blanching effect of the heat.

The work is signed lower right ‘P. MacGregor Wilson, RSW’ and is situated lower left ‘Kashan, Persia’. It is contained within a giltwood frame.

Frame: Height 40cm, width 45cm, depth 2cm
Sheet: Height 22cm, width 28cm