Charles Heath Wilson by Sir John Watson Gordon (1788-1864).
Charles was the son of Andrew Wilson the landscape painter. He studied art with his father and in 1833 moved to Edinburgh where he worked as an architect and was a teacher of ornament and design in the School of Art. In 1843 Wilson was appointed director of the school of design at Somerset House in London. He resigned in 1848 and soon afterwards became the second Headmaster of the new Glasgow School of Design.
Under Wilson's guidance life classes and a mechanical and architectural drawing class were introduced, while Wilson himself taught various classes. In 1853 Glasgow School of Design became the Glasgow School of Art. Wilson was pensioned off in 1864 but remained in the city working as an architect. He continued to take an interest in the School and was appointed an honorary director after his retirement.
During his time in Glasgow Wilson also supervised the installation of Munich stained glass windows in Glasgow Cathedral. He moved to Italy in 1869 and spent the rest of his life in Florence.
Reference: 1362
Reproduced with the permission of Glasgow City Council, Glasgow Museums
Keywords:
architects, art teachers, artists, Board of Trade, Glasgow Cathedral, Glasgow School of Art, Glasgow School of Design, headmasters, oil paintings, portraits, stained glass windows
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