MacWhirter specialised in romantic scenery, particularly views of the Scottish Highlands, Islands, and Lochs. He experimented with the detailed images of the Pre-Raphaelites at first, influenced by John Everett Millais, but subsequently embraced a more sweeping style.

John MacWhirter RA HRSA RSW, 1839-1911

The son of an Edinburgh paper manufacturer, MacWhirter left his job as a bookseller's apprentice to take up art. He exhibited at the Royal Scottish Academy for the first time at fifteen. While still in his teens he travelled on the Continent, the first of many visits, and also visited America. His early style was influenced by the Pre-Raphaelites; a number of his detailed wildflower studies in watercolour were acquired by Ruskin. Later his style became broader, reflecting his training under Robert Scott Lauder at the Trustees' Academy in Edinburgh. In 1869 he moved to London, establishing himself as a landscape painter. MacWhirter was a colourist, emphasizing the essential beauty of the landscape, particularly of Scotland. His was a more peaceful and poetic landscape than the 'mountain and flood' variety of his contemporary Peter Graham.