Scottie Wilson was born Louis Freeman around the 1890s in Scotland. His father was from Jewish descent and, on emigrating from Lithuania to Britain, had changed the family surname to Freeman before settling in Glasgow. A childhood in poverty led to Wilson leaving school at an early age and taking up market trading. In 1906 he became a soldier in the Scottish Rifles, serving in India and South Africa.
At the end of the First World War, he left the army and moved to Canada, changing his name to Scottie Wilson. He opened a small junk shop in Toronto and it was in the back of this shop, on a card-table covered in cardboard, that Wilson discovered his compulsion for drawing. One of the items in the shop was a particularly fine pen which he had been reluctant to part with. Looking at it one day, he picked it up and started to draw on the cardboard. Soon the table-top was covered in his ink drawings. Finding that he couldn’t stop, he purchased drawing paper and children’s crayons from Woolworths and continued to develop his drawing, producing pictures to hang on the walls and display in the window.
Returning to London in 1945 gave Wilson the opportunity to exhibit his work at the Arcade Gallery, where many established artists had exhibited. This show led to his inclusion in a group exhibition on Surrealism in Paris. Jean Dubuffet became a collector of his work and he was invited to France, where he met up with Dubuffet and, at the same time, was introduced to Picasso who also admired his work.
With his work being appreciated and promoted by such influential artists, Wilson was able to make a living from his artwork.
Returning to London in 1945 gave Wilson the opportunity to exhibit his work at the Arcade Gallery, where many established artists had exhibited. This show led to his inclusion in a group exhibition on Surrealism in Paris. Jean Dubuffet became a collector of his work and he was invited to France, where he met up with Dubuffet and, at the same time, was introduced to Picasso who also admired his work.
With his work being appreciated and promoted by such influential artists, Wilson was able to make a living from his artwork.
Throughout his career as an artist Wilson used pen and ink as a basis for his drawings, along with coloured crayons, watercolour and coloured inks on paper or card. He enjoyed telling stories and often gave different accounts of events in his life. The imaginative subjects that he used in his drawings were based on birds, fish, trees, flowers, heads and faces and included characters he called ‘Evils and Greedies’ who were placed alongside symbols for goodness and truth.
Read more about Scottie Wilson's art works here:
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