David Macbeth Sutherland was a British painter. Born in Wick, Scotland in 1883, Sutherland studied at the Royal Scottish Academy and Edinburgh College of Art. He was awarded a prestigious scholarship during his studies, which he used to travel to Spain, France, Belgium and the Netherlands before returning to his native Scotland. His travels through the idyllic rural towns and cities of the continent proved to be very formative, providing much inspiration for the artist’s work. Sutherland was particularly well regarded for his landscape studies, though the artist was also an accomplished portrait painter and a fervent supporter of education in the arts. Early in his career the artist accepted a teaching position at his former school the Edinburgh College of Art, where he remained between the years 1913 – 1933, before being appointed as Principal of Gray’s School of Art, Aberdeen where he remained until 1948.

Sutherland continued to paint throughout his long teaching career, developing a highly stylised method of depicting the environment around him. Sutherland was elected member of the Royal Scottish Academy in 1937. The artist died in 1973. His work can be seen today in the collection of the Aberdeen Art Gallery.