The McInnes Collection

McINNES, WILLIAM

(1868-1944)

4 Mariscat Road, Pollokshields, Glasgow

Occupation:

Ship-owner

1891 P H Dixon & Harrison – Marine Insurance Clerk

1895 Gow, Harrison & Co (a merger of P H Dixon & Harrison and Alan C Gow)

1907 – 1944 Partner, Gow, Harrison & Co

Biography:

William McInnes was born on 13 September 1868 at 6 Cavendish Street, Glasgow. He was named after his paternal grandfather who had fathered eleven children in Crieff, of whom William’s father John was the eldest. After relocating to Glasgow between 1841 and 1851 John McInnes, a railway engineer, married Margaret McFadyen and had four children; William, Finlay (1870), Thomas (1872) and Ann (1876). Sadly in 1879 William’s mother died of tuberculosis. The change in family circumstances meant that his family moved in with their extended family. William never married and his siblings had few children. The extended nature of the family, aunts and uncles remained close knit throughout William’s life.

William McInnes was central to the new breed of mercantile collectors in the West of Scotland who were the second generation of new wealth. Whereas Glaswegian collectors of earlier generations such as James Reid preferred pictures by Turner, Jozef Israëls and Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot, the generation of McInnes on the whole acquired contemporary Scottish, Impressionist and Post Impressionist art. The new group of collectors were merchants and industrialists many of whom were very closely linked to shipping in some form as Dr T.J. Honeyman noted in 1968 ‘In Glasgow, shipping people appear to be remarkable for their interest in the fine arts.’^[1] Honeyman (1891-1971) had been a dealer with the firm of Alex. Reid and Lefevre and was appointed Director of Glasgow Museums and Art Galleries in 1939.

McInnes became Partner in an established Glasgow Shipping Company in 1907, Gow, Harrison & Co. where he made acquaintance with other collectors including Leonard Gow and Major Ion Harrison who were both partners in Gow, Harrison & Co. Other closely associated Collectors were David W T Cargill and Sir William Burrell. McInnes, like many of his associates, was interested in travel and furthering his education in the Arts. With the bequest to Glasgow Art Gallery came his reference library, including volumes by James Caw and Roger Fry. Through education and sound advice McInnes was able to make more exciting choices to develop himself as a picture buyer which is reflected in his later acquisitions in London and Europe of avantgarde Post Impressionist works.

William McInnes moved in artistic circles, and around him was an informal but formidable advisory team, including the dealer Alexander Reid (1854-1928), his son, A. J. McNeill Reid (1893-1972), the Scottish Colourist painter George Leslie Hunter (1877-1931) and Dr T. J. Honeyman.

Hunter travelled with McInnes on occasion and showed him paintings by the Fauves and Post Impressionists that were available in continental Europe.  Hunter painted a striking and colourful portrait of McInnes, who is depicted seated and turning towards the viewer, with paintings on the walls partly hidden behind a huge green plant with spiky leaves in a red vase.

McInnes is described as a modest, unassuming individual who did seek attention or the limelight, and it was noted that he bought paintings not only for his own pleasure, but for his friends. ^[2]

McInnes died on 19 March 1944. His obituary in the Glasgow Herald stated: “McInnes was a man of cultured taste, he was keenly interested in music and art. He had brought together in his home a collection of pictures which was notable for its quality and catholicity.” It adds finally “He was an intimate friend and patron of the late Leslie Hunter with whom he made several visits to the continent.”^[3]

Collection & Taste:

All the French paintings in McInnes’s collection were purchased through Alexander Reid and his son Alexander James McNeill Reid between 1910 and 1942. Reid influenced the collector’s choices through exhibitions and as Anne Donald conveyed in her introduction to the French Paintings Catalogue published by Glasgow Museums in 1985 ‘the pictures in the McInnes bequest reflect the interests not only of the collector but also the dealers who influenced his choice’.^[4]

The McInnes collection, about 700 items, includes over 70 paintings, with prints, drawings, porcelain, silver and glass. From the available information there is no evidence as to whether McInnes was following a plan. However, the systematic progression through the 1920s and 30s suggests that he developed his own tastes. McInnes seems to have been guided in his collecting by his own research and the small group of advisors around him. There are clear patterns that develop and suggest that McInnes and his advisors had a rationale in mind as to what he was trying to achieve. His collection has three main sections; early 20th century Scottish, Impressionist and Post-Impressionist painting. The inclusion of contemporary Scottish artists indicates that McInnes was keen to support their endeavours, perhaps because of their interest in French art that was so covetable. His eventual bequest of French paintings made the French representation in the Glasgow Collections one of the most significant in Europe. Its significance propelled Scottish art in direct parallels with that of the French art. At the time of the bequest there was an amount of press interest. The Glasgow Herald’s obituary made reference to McInnes’s cohesive efforts for a catholic view of paintings at the turn of the century and into the 20th century.^[5]

The most important aspect of the collection is the French paintings, this group which accounts for much of the cream of the City’s collection: Monet’s Vétheuil, Renoir’s The Painter’s Garden, Cagnes and his Portrait of Madame Charles Fray, Van Gogh’s Blute-Fin Windmill, Montmartre, Cézanne’s Overturned Basket of Fruit, Picasso’s The Flower Seller painted in 1901, Matisse’s The Pink Tablecloth, a particularly fine Degas pastel, Dancers on a Bench and two small sketches by Seurat, The House among Trees and The River Banks, one of the many studies for the artist’s major composition, Bathers at Asnières. At the time of the bequest the collection gave new artistic representations to the Glasgow Art Gallery. McInnes witnessed many collections being dispersed which he benefitted from. It can be assumed that he took this into account when deciding to bequeath his pictures.

As Director of the Glasgow Art Gallery, Dr T. J. Honeyman was minded to acquire collectors as a route to acquiring their collections for public benefit. William McInnes is a prime example of a civic minded individual, often met with in Glasgow, who through continuous acquisitions over a period of time created a significant collection to be enjoyed in perpetuity by the people of Glasgow and visitors to its Art Gallery.

^[1] T J Honeyman (1968), Patronage & Préjudice, p.19.

^[2] T.J. Honeyman (1971) Art and Audacity London: Collins p 124.        

^[3] Obituary (1944) Glasgow Herald 20 March 1944. McINNES, William. p. 4 http://www.glasgowherald.co.uk;

^[4] Anne Donald (1985) French Paintings, Glasgow Art Gallery p.9.

^[5] GMA.2014.2.32, The Glasgow Herald, 20/03/1944

Highlights:

Vincent Van Gogh, The Blute-Fin Windmill, Montmartre (Acc. 2425)

Pablo Picasso, The Flower Seller, 1901 (Acc. 2417)

Henri Matisse, The Pink Tablecloth (Acc. 2402)

Bibliography

1945. Kelvingrove Art Gallery & Museum, The McInnes Collection Exhibition Catalogue, Glasgow: Glasgow Art Gallery

2022. James McNaught, Glasgow University, M Litt Submission, The McInnes Collection: William McInnes (1868-1944) and his role as patron of the arts in Glasgow during the first half of the 20th century

Author: James D S McNaught

Date: 9 January 2024