James McBey
James McBey (1883-1959) was a Scottish born, self-taught artist. He took an interest in printmaking after reading about etching entitled "Traité de la Gravure a l'Eau-Forte." He was so dedicated to his learnings he even built his own press out of a laundry machine known as a mangle.
He had his first exhibition at Goupil Gallery in 1911 and was appointed as the official war artist to the Palestine Expeditionary Force in 1916. Many of the drawings he produced during the latter period are now in the collection of the Imperial War Museum.
His artistic career boomed during the 1920s to the point where he was featured in Malcolm Salaman's series "Modern Masters of Etching."
Unfortunately, as with so many, McBey suffered setbacks during the Great Depression, but stayed employed producing portraits and taking on commissions.
McBey's work can be found in the collections of the National Portrait Gallery, London; the Fine Arts Museum of San Francisco; the National Gallery of Art, Washington; the Huntington Library, California; and by the Aberdeen Art Gallery and the Boston Public Library.
