Recent Acquisition: North Street, St Andrews by John N. Bonthron

North Street, St Andrews by John N. Bonthron

We recently received a vibrant, detailed painting of North Street. It was originally painted by John N. Bonthron, a renowned local artist of his time. This painting was kindly donated to the museum collection by Louise McGregor.

While the streets of St Andrews have changed in many ways over time, a lot has remained the same. Saint Salvator’s Chapel still stands as a prestigious landmark in North Street, and Bonthron captured its late gothic architecture as a centrepiece of the painting. Originally established as part of Bishop James Kennedy’s College of the Holy Saviour in 1450, it is still a part of the St Andrews University today.

The exact date that this painting was created is uncertain. It shows an old, unmarked road with Victorian-era street lamps at the kerb. In our collection, we have a very similar painting from Bonthron. It depicts North Street, was painted in 1922 and donated to us in 2003. The view in this painting is from further along North Street, where its junction meets Castle Street. St Salvator’s Chapel is still in view, albeit partially obscured due to the perspective of the painting.

A similar painting from John N. Bonthron depicting North Street in 1922.

Bonthron was known for creating art pieces that were alike in regards to the location and focus, incorporating different details for commissioners at their request, such as a specific person or pet in the foreground. Both of these paintings, possibly made years apart, depict the same street in the town at sunset, with a distant red hue meeting a darker, cloudy blue sky.

John N. Bonthron was born in South Street in 1855, the son of a draper. He was one of the best selling painters of his time in St Andrews, though he is now considered a forgotten artist. Bonthron began developing his proficiency for art by sketching his granny’s grandfather clock. He supposedly painted over 10,000 miniature pictures of St Andrews as a pastime. He was able to paint fifty to a hundred miniatures on a single sheet of paper measuring not more than 15″ by 12″.

Bonthron sold a lot of his art for very little, often a couple of shillings per piece, which led to many households in the town possessing some of his works. Though he painted to instruction, he also repeated many of the same painting. One such painting is that of Joan Clark (the last fishwife), who was seen by many as a symbolic figure of St Andrews.

A John N. Bonthron painting of Joan Clark, the last fishwife.