About this artwork
Tom Johnston was a historian, journalist and left-wing politician who served as Secretary of State for Scotland during the Second World War. Born in Kirkintilloch, he studied at the University of Glasgow where he helped launch the socialist journal, ‘Forward’, in 1906. He first entered the Commons in 1922 and served as an MP for various constituencies. He was appointed Scotland’s Regional Commissioner for Civil Defence in 1939 and Secretary of State for Scotland in Churchill’s coalition government of 1941. After retiring from politics in 1945, Johnston became chairman of several bodies, including the North of Scotland Hydro-Electric Board. This portrait shows Johnston aged about seventy-five, in a characteristic navy blue double-breasted suit and bow tie.
Updated before 2020
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artist:Sir Herbert James Gunn (1893 - 1964) Scottish
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title:Thomas Johnston, 1881 - 1965. Statesman
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date created:About 1955
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materials:Oil on canvas
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measurements:127.00 x 101.60 cm; Framed: 135.00 x 115 x 7 cm
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object type:
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credit line:Bequeathed by the sitter 1965
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accession number:PG 2056
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subject:
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artwork photographed by:Antonia Reeve
Sir Herbert James Gunn
Sir Herbert James Gunn
Glasgow-born artist (Herbert) James Gunn briefly studied art at Glasgow and Edinburgh before moving to the Académie Julian in Paris in 1911. After serving with the 10th Scottish Rifles in the First World War, Gunn returned to Scotland where he married twice within a decade. His second wife, Pauline...