Sir James Lewis Caw (1864–1950) was a Scottish art historian, critic, curator, and gallery director who played a major role in shaping the understanding and appreciation of Scottish art. He argued for the existence of an independent and distinct Scottish school of painting, emerging in the latter half of the nineteenth century.
Caw was educated at Ayr Academy before training as an apprentice engineer at the West of Scotland Technical College in Ayr. From 1887, he worked as an engineering draughtsman, initially in Glasgow. His entry into the Scottish art world came in the early 1880s through James Guthrie, leading to close associations with artists including members of the Glasgow Boys. With Guthrie, he was instrumental in the Order and transfer, which gave the RSA its home on the Mound in 1910.
In 1885, Caw began working at the Scottish National Portrait Gallery and, in 1907, became the first director of the National Galleries of Scotland. Caw remained in this role until his retirement in 1939 at the age of 75. Through his work as a curator and his seventeen years as art critic for The Scotsman, Caw significantly influenced artistic taste in Scotland. His book Scottish Painting, Past and Present, 1620–1908 became a standard reference on the subject for much of the twentieth century.
Caw was also connected to the artistic community through his marriage to the eldest daughter of the painter William McTaggart, and was himself a practising artist. A member of the Scottish Arts Club, he was knighted in 1931. He died at his home in Lasswade on 5 December 1950 and was buried in Newington Cemetery in south Edinburgh.
Caw was made an Honorary member of the Royal Scottish Academy in 1939.
