James McIntosh Patrick was a Scottish painter. Born in Dundee, Scotland in 1907, McIntosh Patrick was encouraged by his father, an architect, to paint and draw at an early age. McIntosh Patrick studied painting at the Glasgow School of art between the years 1924 to 1928, and later travelled to Paris to continue his artistic education more informally before returning to his native Dundee. In the late 1920s and early 1930s the artist focused his professional attention on the popular medium of etching. When the appreciation of the technique began to decline, McIntosh Patrick returned his focus to painting once more. Working in both watercolour and oil, the artist began to produce a variety of accomplished compositions ranging from portraits, still life studies and landscape paintings. Though a celebrated portraitist in his early career, the artist’s highly detailed and keenly observed paintings of the countryside of his native Scotland are among his most enduring works.

The onset of the Second World War halted the artist’s flourishing career. McIntosh Patrick served in the Camouflage Corps in North Africa and Italy, continuing to exercise his artistic skill in disguising and concealing military equipment and buildings. Following the War the artist returned to Dundee, where he spent time perfecting his exacting technique out of doors. In 1957 McIntosh Patrick was elected full member of the Royal Scottish Academy. Particularly known for his depiction of the landscape surrounding his home in Dundee and the rich and changing environment of the Angus region, McIntosh Patrick was widely celebrated for his meticulously detailed compositions. Traditional yet bold in colour, the artist was often noted for his inviting use of perspectival techniques. The artist died in 1998. His work remains in a number of eminent collections in Britain, including those of the Tate and the National Galleries of Scotland.