Tiffany and I first met James Orr whilst on a trip to Ayrshire, scouting for new artists in the 1990s. Visiting his studio in Prestwick, we were struck by his natural good humour and disarming modesty regarding his obvious talent. Knowing we were actively looking for Scottish painters, he was characteristically generous in his keenness to suggest fellow artists. Throughout our working relationship, James was always a joy to deal with and utterly professional in his commitment to his craft.
A late starter, he enjoyed a career in the real world before taking life drawing classes at Glasgow School of Art in the mid 1970s. There he benefited from the guiding hands of John Boyd and William Crosbie, two of the great names of late twentieth century Scottish painting. The crispness of his style and faultless brush strokes belied his adherence to plein air sketches and drawings, never relying on photographic references. His artistic career quickly blossomed throughout the 1980s and 90s, garnering awards at the public societies and seeing his work purchased by HRH The Duke of Edinburgh.
We are delighted and proud to be holding this small retrospective for James in our Pall Mall gallery and for which we would like to thank his daughter Jacqueline, an old friend of Panter & Hall and now a successful painter in her own right.
- Matthew Hall
