PRIVATE COLLECTIONS

From Allan Ramsay to Stephen Conroy: 250 Years of Scottish Art

9 September 2025

Alice Strang

We are delighted to present ‘A Glasgow Legacy : Selected Paintings from the John Shaw Collection' this October - a wonderful collection of works representing over 250 years of Scottish Art from Allan Ramsay to Stephen Conroy.

Dr John McCallum Marshall Shaw (1949 -2022) was a son of Glasgow, a graduate of the University of Glasgow, an international businessman, a philanthropist and a proud Scotsman. A love of Scottish art inspired him to become a collector as well, resulting in acquisitions which span some 250 years of Scottish art history, from Allan Ramsay in the eighteenth century to Stephen Conroy, one of Scotland’s leading contemporary artists. Shaw’s collection provided a link to his homeland wherever he was in the world and he devoted decades to its formation. Following significant gifts to the holdings of The Hunterian Museum and Art Gallery and Paisley Museum by his widow, Dr Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw in 2025, selected works are being sold to benefit Shaw’s alma mater, The University of Glasgow.

A Glasgow Legacy : Selected Paintings from the John Shaw Collection

Explore the Wednesday 01 October auction.

Portraiture: The Heart of the Collection

The John Shaw Collection is crowned by portraits by Sir Henry Raeburn (1756-1823), Allan Ramsay (1713-84) and Sir Thomas Lawrence (1768-1830), three of the leading British proponents of the genre. Raeburn’s Double Portrait of Mrs Graham Young and her Child captures a delightful moment of motherhood with the subtlety of technique and palette, as well as sensitivity, for which the artist is renowned. In contrast, Ramsay’s portrayal of Alexander Leslie, 5th Earl of Leven (1695-1754) is a dignified celebration of a pillar of Scottish society; Lord Leven served as a Lord of Session, a Grand Master of the Scottish Freemasons, Lord High Commissioner to the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, a Representative Peer for Scotland and a Lord of Police. Lawrence’s portrayal of Sir William Forbes, 6th Baronet of Pitsligo (1739-1806), shows one of Scotland’s most important bankers and philanthropists of the eighteenth century as venerable yet benevolent, realised through Lawrence’s exceptional painterliness and deft handling of light.

Shaw’s passion for portraiture is clear throughout his collection, with Sir John Lavery’s charming Portrait of a Girl in White kept company by his fellow Glasgow Boy Edward Arthur Walton’s Portrait of an Elderly Lady. The Apprentice by William McTaggart (1835-1910) may have reminded Shaw of the start of his career, when he joined Coats Paton Ltd of Paisley as a Management Trainee. Images of fellow businessmen Sir Ernest Lever (1893-1964) and the Scottish Colourist F. C. B Cadell’s homage to his great patron, the Glasgow ship-owner George W. Service (1864-1940), also had a connection to Shaw’s professional success. This saw him become Chairman and Managing Director of the company’s Indian subsidiary, Madura Coats, in the 1990s. Paintings by John Cunningham (1926-98) and Stephen Conroy (b.1964) brought the representation of the genre to the present day, in images characterised by expressive brushwork and the use of colour highlights by the former and by a psychologically-penetrating realism by the latter. Indeed, Shaw believed in the importance of supporting Scottish contemporary art and would purchase works directly from artists, often during studio visits.

Shaw’s career took him to countries including Amsterdam, India, Italy, Mexico, Spain, South Africa, Thailand and Venezuela. Throughout, he cherished his Scottish origins and many of the works he hung in his homes and offices gloried in Scotland’s outstanding natural beauty, whilst also demonstrating Shaw’s interest in marine subjects and the pleasure he found in the nineteenth-century Romanticism of rural life.

SIR HENRY RAEBURN R.A. (SCOTTISH 1756-1823

DOUBLE PORTRAIT OF MRS GRAHAM YOUNG AND HER CHILD

Oil on canvas

103.5cm x 96cm (40.75in x 37.75in)

£10,000 - £15,000 + fees

Landscapes: A Celebration of Scotland

With the guidance of his art advisor Iain Clark, with whom he collaborated for almost thirty years, Shaw enjoyed the thrill of bidding at auctions. He sought out landscapes by a roll call of Scotland’s most established practitioners, led by examples by Glasgow Boys James Guthrie, James Paterson and Walton. Many of the artists represented were members – and in some cases Presidents – of the most important Scottish and English art institutions, from the Royal Scottish Academy to the Royal Academy of Arts, Royal Scottish Society of Painters in Watercolour and Royal Society of British Artists.

Shaw put together a cross section of Scottish landscape painting with an emphasis on its nineteenth-century heyday, but continued through to the present day, illustrating scenes up and down the country of his birth. Locations skilfully rendered in paint on canvas include Killin by Thomas Bonar Lyon (1873-1955), Straiton by John Fullarton (b.1946), Loch Fyne by George Houston (1869-1947), Neidpath Castle, Peebles by John McIntosh Patrick (1907-98), Ancrum, Roxburgshire by Charles Martin Hardie (1858-1916), Deeside and Arran by George Melvin Rennie (1874-1953) and Skipness by Robert Weir Allan (1852-1942).

Imagery of boats and ships also appealed to Shaw, whether on the banks of canals, as seen in On the Canal by William Alfred Gibson (1866-1931), at full sail as in On the Thames by James Campbell Noble (1846-1913) and A Brigantine in a Breeze-Off, Firth of Clyde by Patrick Downie (1854-1945) or at anchor, as in Boat in Harbour by William Page Atkinson Wells (1872-1923) and On the Quayside by James Hamilton MacKenzie (1875-1926).

These themes within Shaw’s collection chimed with his love of depictions of rural life and the cycle of the seasons, including imagery of countrymen and women and their animal companions. As a result, paintings such as Harvest Time by Duncan Cameron (1837-1916), Homeward by Joseph Farquharson (1846-1935), Ayrshires in Dappled Sunlight by David Gauld (1865-1936), Harvest Moon by Alexander Mann (1857-1922), Home from the Fields by Harrington Mann (1864-1937), The Fisherman’s Family and The Fisher Girl with Net by Robert McGregor (1847-1922) and Poachers by James Winton Lawgate (1846-1924) were acquired over time.

GEORGE HOUSTON R.S.A., R.S.W., R.I. (SCOTTISH 1869-1947)

SHEEP ON A COUNTRY ROAD

Signed, oil on canvas

71cm x 91cm (28in x 36in)

£2,000 - £3,000 + fees

Genre Painting and Storytelling

An enjoyment of storytelling prompted the collecting of genre paintings, which could be discussed with family, friends and colleagues alike. David Alison’s Contemplation, Agnes Margaret Cowieson’s The Letter, Thomas Faed’s The Water Pitcher, David Fulton’s A Good Read, Robert Hope’s Choosing the Silks, Guy Lipscombe’s Supper Time and John Pettie’s The Rehearsal enriched the collection upon arrival and could capture a viewer’s imagination as well as spark a conversation.

ALEXANDER HOHENLOHE BURR (SCOTTISH 1835-1898)

THE DISPUTED LOTTERY

Oil on panel

28cm x 43cm (11in x 17in)

£2,000 - £3,000 + fees

Still Life: Classical and Modern

Shaw’s deep-seated appreciation of Scottish art also extended to the still life. Of particular note amongst his acquisitions in this field are the serene A Still Life of Peony Roses by Joseph Farquharson (1946-1935) , the realist Still-life of Ham on a Silver Platter by Alexander Goudie (1933-2004) and the ambitiously composed Still Life with Mandolin by Norman Kirkham (1936-2021). David McLeod Martin’s Striped Mug and Mackerel strikes a modern note which contrasts with the classical beauty of Walter Graham Grieve’s Still Life with Daisies. Few Scottish art collections would be considered complete without a still life by James Stuart Park (1862-1933) represented here by Red Roses as well as Red and White Roses, whilst the virtuoso realism of William Oliphant Hutchison (1889-1970) can be argued to have its successor in that of David Ross Warrilow (b.1956).

ALEXANDER GOUDIE (SCOTTISH 1933-2004)

STILL-LIFE OF HAM ON A SILVER PLATTER

Signed, oil on canvas

81cm x 86cm (31.75in x 33.75in)

£1,500 - £2,000 + fees

Continental Influences

Following in the tradition of Scottish collectors encouraged by the highly influential Glasgow-based dealer Alexander Reid (1854-1928) and as befitting a patron of international outlook, Shaw also hung Continental paintings alongside those of his countrymen. Federico Andreotti’s The Flirtation carried the narrative painting genre to Italy, the choice of still lifes by Willem Johannes Weissenbruch (1864-1941) and Cornelis Johannes de Bruyn (1904-73) introduced the Dutch contribution to the genre, whilst Henri Guillaume Schlesinger’s Gypsy Girl and Maurice Alfred Decamps’ Still Life in a French Vase ensured that French artists were also given their place on Shaw’s walls.

I first met John in 1994 at an exhibition in my gallery, and a lasting friendship began. With his commanding voice, sharp wit and unfailing courtesy, he was impossible to overlook and unforgettable to all who met him … Though his career took him far from Scotland, he returned often to Glasgow, his birthplace and remained deeply attached to his homeland. Together, we followed auctions, selected works and ensured their presentation to the highest standards before they entered John and Kiran’s homes and offices … John’s collecting began modestly but grew into a passionate pursuit … finding in it both respite from the demands of business and a vital link to his heritage.

Clark has recalled his collecting adventures with Shaw

A Landmark Philanthropist

Whilst based in Bangalore, Shaw met Kiran Mazumdar, the founder of India’s largest biopharmaceutical company, Biocon Limited. They married in Scotland in 1998 and became business partners - building Biocon from its beginnings in Kiran's garage to the internationally renowned company we see today, improving the lives of patients around the world by finding new and affordable ways to treat a range of diseases.

This success enabled landmark worldwide philanthropic investments supporting education, research innovation and the arts. Not least amongst these acts of philanthropy was the couple’s support of the Mazumdar-Shaw Advanced Research Centre at The University of Glasgow in 2019, one of the largest gifts ever received by the institution. This enabled the development of cutting-edge facilities and research, as well as supporting a professorial Chair in Molecular Pathology. Both Kiran and John were honoured with DSc Honorary Degrees by the University, in 2008 and 2017 respectively, for their life-time achievements and pioneering work in biotechnology.

Arguably the work of most significance in the John Shaw Collection is the modest The Interior of Kelvingrove Art Gallery by the little-known John Burns Robertson (fl.1920-44). Growing up in Glasgow, Shaw visited the city’s magnificent art gallery from childhood to adulthood. It is possible that within its hallowed walls, adorned with one of the country’s most important civic collections of fine art, the seed of one day becoming a collector himself – and eventual patron of the city’s endeavours - was planted.

Illustrated at top

John Shaw, photographed by Iain Clark on the occasion of John’s 70th birthday
The Gilbert Scott Building, The University of Glasgow. Photo courtesy of The University of Glasgow
John Shaw receiving an Honorary Doctorate from the University of Glasgow in 2017, with Dr Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw. Photo courtesy of The University of Glasgow

JOHN BURNS ROBERTSON (SCOTTISH FL.1920-44)

THE INTERIOR OF KELVINGROVE ART GALLERY

Signed, oil on canvas

61cm x 76cm (24in x 30in)

£800 - £1,200 + fees

Department

Scottish Art

About the Author

Specialist

Alice Strang

Associate Director, Senior Fine Art Specialist | Edinburgh

alice.strang@lyonandturnbull.com

0131 557 8844