Adam Bruce Thomson was a painter of great integrity whose life mirrored the evolution of Scottish painting in the first three-quarters of the twentieth century. Born in 1885, he attended the newly established Edinburgh College of Art and later served in the Great War. Afterward, he returned to the college to teach for 40 years, nurturing generations of young artists. Although Thomson worked in various media, including printmaking and pastel, he is best known for his oil and watercolour paintings. This focused exhibition, featuring many previously unseen works from his studio, showcases Thomson’s enduring fascination with the Scottish landscape over 50 years.

Like his friend William Gillies, Thomson had favourite locations, frequently painting the Scottish Borders, West Highlands, outer isles, and the hills of Edinburgh. After the war, he transitioned from early pastel, gouache, and tempera works to predominantly using watercolour. His distinctive free technique, vigorous descriptive drawing, and strong local colour became vital contributions to The Edinburgh School. The exhibition coincides with a major public retrospective of the artist, The Quiet Path, held at the City Art Centre until October 6, 2024.

Adam Bruce Thomson

Born: 1885

Died: 1976

Bruce Thomson – or ‘Adam B’, as he was often called – was a painter of great integrity whose long, productive life tells the story of Scottish painting for the first three quarters the twentieth century. Thomson was born in 1885, attending first the Trustees Academy and then the newly established Edinburgh College of Art where he received diplomas in both Drawing and Painting, and Architecture before scholarships took him abroad to Spain and then Paris. He was an accomplished etcher and lithographer and he also sought expertise in the difficult media of pastel and watercolour. By the 1920s, his technique was closest to S.J. Peploe, Cadell and other contemporaries favouring the technique of painting on a gesso ground with an oil-reduced vehicle so the subjects tended to be treated in flat areas of colour.

Thomson served in the Great War before returning to the College where he taught etching, composition and still life to the painting school and colour theory to the architecture students. His association with Edinburgh College of Art continued until his death as, although he retired from teaching in 1950, he continued as an examiner and a Trustee. His links with both the RSA, where he was Treasurer for seven years and the RSW, where he served as President for a further seven years from 1957 were very important to him. He was awarded an OBE in 1963. In 2024 the City Art Centre in Edinburgh is holding a major retrospective of his work, The Quiet Path, his first major exhibition in a public institution, to coincide The Gallery will honour Thomson with an exhibition in September 2024.

Sense of Wonder

Adam Bruce Thomson

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