ART EXHIBIT
Robert John Craig-Christie:
An Artist in 19th-Century Chile
Robert John Craig-Christie
(b. Edinburgh, 30th November 1845 – d. Valparaiso, 29th December 1910)
Son of John Craig-Christie, merchant (Edinburgh), and Eliza Thomson, who married 6th June 1842 and had four other sons (Alexander, b. 22nd May 1843; Edward James, b. 2nd April 1852; David Thomson, who died during infancy) and two daughters (Helen, twin with David, and Janette Bain, b. 22nd September 1847, married 26th November 1873 to Isaac Mossop, a physician from Bradford).
Robert John married Harriet Mary Cutts (b. 23rd January 1846 – d. 3rd July 1912, of Scottish descent), in Valparaíso, where they raised a family and where he became a well-known artist in the British community, designing theatre backgrounds and painting watercolors. He also designed the Queen Victoria Memorial Organ that still plays at Saint Paul´s Anglican Church in Valparaíso.
This collection of watercolors captures the light and colors of the local scenery perfectly, also offering a tender insight into daily life at that time. We imagine that Robert John inherited his love of painting from his father John Craig-Christie. The collection includes one painting by John Craig-Christie, dedicated to his son, and two by his wife Harriet Mary Craig-Christie nee Cutts.
