Sir Muirhead Bone

British artist

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Oct. 17, 2026 •History

Sir Muirhead Bone (born March 23, 1876, Glasgow, Scotland—died October 21, 1953, Ferry Hinksey, Oxford, England) was a Scottish artist who is best known as an etcher and drypoint engraver of architectural subjects.

Bone first studied architecture and then art at the Glasgow School of Art. Attracted to the picturesque aspect of buildings, he began to depict views of his native town of Glasgow, among them Portfolio (1899), a series of etchings, and Glasgow: Fifty Drawings (1911). He generally worked in drypoint or, as a draftsman, he used pencil, charcoal, and sepia. In 1901 he moved to London, where a 1903 exhibition of his works established his fame. Throughout his career, Bone focused primarily on architectural and landscape subjects, sometimes depicting locations from his foreign travels.

In 1936 Bone published Old Spain, a popular two-volume collection of watercolours and drawings accompanied by a text by his wife. During World Wars I and II he served as official artist with the British forces. He was knighted in 1937.

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