Elected ARSA: 1931
Elected RSA: 1937
Archibald Russell Watson Allan began his studies at the Glasgow School of Fine Art under the portrait painter John Spiers, then moved to study in Paris at Atelier Colarossi and Académie Julian.
He returned to Scotland and made his home in Stirling. It was there that one of his largest canvases, a painting of three horses titled “The Rebel”, was presented by a donor to the Smith Institute.
“Archie” Allan, as he was known to his friends, found that the outdoor life of the landscape painter appealed to him most, and the West Highlands were an unfailing source of inspiration to him. His love of gardening provided him with motives for his use of pastel, a medium in which he excelled. His studies of animals were a feature of his work and he is remembered latterly by his heroic canvases of horses ploughing or massed against a background of fields and sky.
Allan died on 24th May 1959 at age 81.
