More on Sholto Johnstone Douglas 1871 - 1958

Sholto Johnstone-Douglas and his wife and family moved into the Villa Marie in 1926. Their children were Elizabeth Gwendolen Teresa and Robert Arthur Sholto born 1916 and 1914 respectively. Sadly Robert (Robbie) was never able to look after himself and Eliza took over his care after the death of her parents. Sholto had married Miss Bettina Grisewood in 1913.
Sholto was well established as a portrait painter by this time, often being compared with Whistler. He painted the sisters of the painter Millais (see previous post about him) and his own sisters (of which he had eight!).
He  became an official war artist during the First World War, painting British battleships. As a member of The Royal Naval Reserve he was stationed on the Isle of Skye as part of the Coastguard Service. He was also commissioned to paint pictures of the camouflaged ships for the Imperial War Museum.
Living in Provence inspired Sholto to paint landscapes in oil and watercolour. He also did pastel and charcoal sketches of people that he observed, working in the olive groves and fields.
This idyll was brought to an abrupt halt at the start of the Second World War. The family had to return to London and endure the Blitz. After several moves, Sholto ended up living in Suffolk, where he had a stroke which unfortunately affected his eyesight. He carried on painting, however, until his death in 1958, leaving the wonderful bequest of his art to the rest of us.