Background
He attended a school in Colinton, and after his father"s death was apprenticed to Oliver & Boyd, booksellers in Edinburgh.
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He attended a school in Colinton, and after his father"s death was apprenticed to Oliver & Boyd, booksellers in Edinburgh.
Edinburgh College of Artist
John was the third of four children. He stayed there for only a few months and then in 1851 enrolled at the Trustees Academy under Robert Scott Lauder and John Ballantyne (1815-1897). He spent long periods sketching and studying nature outdoors.
His first painting to be exhibited at the Royal Scottish Academy at age 14, was "Old Cottage at Braid".
Exploring and painting abroad he visited Italy, Sicily, Switzerland, Austria, Turkey, Norway and the United States.A. - the Alps being a great inspiration. He moved to London in 1867 and on 4 May 1893 was elected a Royal Academician.
MacWhirter specialised in romantic landscapes with a great fondness for trees, spending much time in the hilly countryside of Perthshire. Initially, under the influence of John Everett Millais, he experimented with the detailed images of the Pre-Raphaelites, but later adopted a more sweeping style.
With John Pettie he illustrated Wordsworth"s Poetry for the Young (Strahan, 1863).
With Waller H. Paton and others, MacWhirter illustrated the The Poetical Works of Edgar Allan Poe (Hislop, 1869). Agnes Helen ("Nan") *1873 x Charles Sims
Helen Agnes *1875 x Sydney Malcolm Baird
Ulric George *1878
Alan Gordon *1882 x Doris May Cook
MacWhirter has paintings in several British Collections including Royal Holloway University of London, Cheltenham and Derby Art Gallery.
In 1880, he was made an Honorary Member of the Royal Scottish Academy.
