Scottish Art

William McTaggart's Mist Rising off the Arran Hills

9 November 2026

Charlotte Cockburn

William McTaggart (1835–1910) was one of the most important Scottish landscape painters of the nineteenth century. His painting Mist Rising off the Arran Hills, dated 1883, comes from an important period in his artistic development, bringing together two subjects that featured throughout his work: the lives of Scottish fishing communities and the surrounding coastal landscape.

William McTaggart and the Scottish Coast

Born in 1835 at Aros, Kintyre, into a crofting family, McTaggart developed a strong attachment to the Scottish landscape, particularly the west coast where he grew up.

Initially concentrating on portraiture and figure painting, McTaggart increasingly turned towards landscape and coastal subjects from the 1870s. Scottish fishing communities and rural life became important themes in his work and he regularly travelled along both the east and west coasts, visiting places including Arran, Tarbert and Iona.

He was particularly interested in the relationship between people and their surroundings, often depicting everyday working life as part of the wider landscape.

His attachment to Scotland also extended to his attitude towards exhibiting. As the foreword to William McTaggart 1835–1910 observes:

“He was independent to a fault and the integrity of his vision of Scotland led him to the introspective conclusion that he did not want his paintings to be exhibited outside Scotland.”

William McTaggart 1835–1910, p. 7

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Mist Rising off the Arran Hills, 1883

In the foreground of Mist Rising off the Arran Hills, a fisherman steers his boat with his family gathered around him. The day's catch can be seen at the bottom of the boat, whilst the children sit back in relaxed positions, with the youngest clinging closely to their father. The catch suggests they are returning from a day's fishing.

Two further sailing boats can be seen in the distance, their small forms emphasising the expanse of water and the distance between the boats. The distinctive profile of Arran, perhaps the granite peaks around Goat Fell, emerges through the mist.

The painting reflects McTaggart's interest in the relationship between people and their surroundings, presenting the fishing family as part of the wider coastal landscape.

Capturing the Light and Atmosphere of Arran

By the 1880s, McTaggart's painting had become increasingly expressive, with less emphasis on fine detail and a greater interest in the effects of light and weather. He often worked outdoors and his freer handling and loose brushwork allowed him to capture the movement and atmosphere of the landscape.

McTaggart uses a restrained palette of blues, greys and whites throughout the composition. The blue and white of the figures' clothing is echoed in the sea and sky, visually connecting the fishermen with their surroundings. Although McTaggart uses much the same colours throughout, subtle changes in tone and brushwork distinguish the different elements of the composition. The loose handling of the distant hills conveys the mist hanging over them.

A Painting in McTaggart's Studio

The present painting can be identified in a photograph reproduced on page 95 of Lindsay Errington's William McTaggart 1835–1910, published in 1989 to accompany the Royal Scottish Academy exhibition of that title. It shows McTaggart standing to the left in his studio, with his second wife, Marjorie Henderson, seated beside him, and Sir James L. Caw, his future biographer, standing nearby. The present work can be identified hanging at the upper right.

The photograph also provides an interesting record of the frames McTaggart chose for his paintings, which were characteristic of his taste.

William McTaggart's Scottish Landscapes

Mist Rising off the Arran Hills brings together the subjects and techniques that defined McTaggart's mature work. His interest in Scotland's fishing communities, the relationship between figures and landscape, and the changing effects of light and weather are all evident in this composition.

The painting also illustrates the increasingly expressive approach that distinguished his work during the 1880s, as he moved away from detailed representation towards a freer treatment of colour and atmosphere.

Artists

William McTaggart

Scottish 1835 - 1910

Department

Scottish Art

Our Team

Charlotte Cockburn

Sale Coordinator, Fine Art