Paterson was one of the first adherents to the Glasgow School, through his childhood friendship with W.Y.MacGregor. Born in Glasgow into a prosperous family, he persuaded his father to underwrite four years study in Paris. Recalling the drudgery and disorganisation of the studio system, he admitted that ‘a man gifted with real artistic capacity…[learns] much in the routine work of an atelier.’  Paterson absorbed the lesson of tonal painting from the French. His ability to convey depth through light as in Edinburgh from Craigleath Quarry produced works of great elegance and dispatch.

James Paterson RSA PRSW RWS, 1854-1932

Born in Glasgow, Paterson attended classes at Glasgow School of Art while working as a clerk. In 1878 he studied in Paris in the studios of Jacquesson de la Chevreuse, a former pupil of Ingres, and Jean-Paul Laurens. He was to become one of the leading members of the Glasgow School and a lifelong friend of W.Y. Macgregor.