About this artwork

Much of Baird’s artistic output from his later years consisted of portraits of friends and local characters. In this example of his formal portraiture, the sitter is James Carson, who was headmaster at Rossie Farm School in Montrose. The portrait was commissioned by a local businessman and was originally presented to the school shortly after the sitter’s retiral. It commemorates Carson’s forty years of service and the associated award of an MBE. Carson was born in Dalry, Ayrshire, and was also Chair of the Montrose branch of the Worker’s Education Association. As a committed Socialist, it is likely that Baird also knew the sitter in this capacity.

Updated before 2020

  • artist:
    Edward Baird (1904 - 1949) Scottish
  • title:
    James Carson MBE
  • date created:
    1944
  • materials:
    Oil on canvas
  • measurements:
    89.00 x 69.00 cm
  • object type:
  • credit line:
    Presented to the SNGMA by Marie and Jonathan Ashworth in memory of their mother, Lynn Ashworth, 1997
  • accession number:
    GMA 4188
  • gallery:
  • depicted:
  • subject:
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Edward Baird

Edward Baird