Sir J. L. (James Lewis) Caw

Born in Scotland in 1864, Sir James Lewis Caw became an art historian, critic, and gallery director whose work strongly championed the idea of a distinct Scottish school of painting. He began working at the Scottish National Portrait Gallery in 1885 and went on to become the first director of the National Galleries of Scotland in 1907.

Alongside his museum career, he wrote widely on artists and Scottish art, helping bring painters such as Raeburn, Allan Ramsay, and Sir James Guthrie to a broader public. Reliable sources also describe him as a practicing artist as well as a scholar, which helps explain the direct, informed tone of his art writing.

Caw retired in 1930 and was knighted in 1931. Even after retirement, he remained active in promoting Scottish art, including helping organize a major exhibition in London in 1939. He died in 1950, remembered as an important figure in preserving and interpreting Scotland’s artistic heritage.