John Houston (painter)

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John Houston
Born(1930-04-01)1 April 1930
Died27 September 2008(2008-09-27) (aged 78)
NationalityScottish
Alma materEdinburgh College of Art
AwardsGuthrie Award, 1960 (joint winner)

John Houston, OBE, RSA (1 April 1930 – 27 September 2008) was a Scottish painter.

Houston was born in Buckhaven, Fife, raised in nearby Windygates, and educated at Buckhaven High School and Edinburgh College of Art. An early career as a semi-professional footballer with Dundee United F.C. was ended by a knee injury.[1]

Houston taught at Edinburgh College of Art between 1955 and 1989.[2] He painted landscapes in an expressionist style. His works are on display at many Scottish art galleries.[3] He was elected to the Royal Scottish Academy in 1972 and was accorded a retrospective at the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art in 2005.[2]

Houston received an Honorary Doctorate from Heriot-Watt University in 2004 [4]

Personal life[edit]

He was married to the painter Dame Elizabeth Blackadder until his death.[1] The couple lived in Queen's Crescent, Newington, and on Fountainhall Road, Edinburgh.[5]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b Packer, William (3 October 2008). "John Houston: Painter of the postwar Scottish school who found his truest subject in the landscape". The Guardian. Retrieved 7 October 2008.
  2. ^ a b "John Houston: Scottish painter and teacher". The Times. London, UK. 4 October 2008. Retrieved 7 October 2008.
  3. ^ "John Houston". Gazetteer for Scotland. Retrieved 7 October 2008.
  4. ^ "HW Minutes 2004" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 28 January 2021.
  5. ^ Peploe, Guy, "Painters in Parallel: Elizabeth Blackadder (1931 - 2021) and John Houston (1930 - 2008)", in Modern Masters XVI, The Scottish Gallery, December 2023, p. 24 ISBN 9781912900787

External links[edit]