James McBey (1883-1959) rose from adversity to become one of the most celebrated artists of the 20th century.

And in 1929, when his ship docked in New York, the world famous Scottish creative was at the height of his powers. This illegitimate son of a farmer and blacksmith's daughter from Foveran, Aberdeenshire, was now an internationally acclaimed etcher and painter, hailed on both sides of the Atlantic as the heir to Rembrandt.

But McBey had a problem. 

Alongside his frantic timetable of interviews, high-society gatherings and exhibition launches came a fervent curiosity about his early life. A life-story that he had no intention of revealing.

McBey, largely self-taught as an artist, craved his mother’s love but their fraught relationship would compel him to seek the support of his grandmother, whom he came to adore. (McBey’s celebrated portrait of his grandmother today hangs at Aberdeen Art Gallery.) As a teenager he was employed by North of Scotland Bank, but spent his evenings in Aberdeen Central Library honing his craft.

Following in the footsteps of many ambitious Scots, he re-located to London where he joined the Chelsea Arts Club. In November 1911, he held his first exhibition to critical acclaim. This set McBey on the road to stardom. It was in London where he also developed a deep interest in the opposite sex. Affairs and dalliances continued to clutter his life story well into his 40s.

His star continued to rise when the chaos and upheaval of World War I thrust McBey into further artistic adventures in the form of the war-torn Middle East (including the Holy Land) where he embedded himself with British troops and recorded events such as the 1917 Allied capture of Jerusalem and 1918 fall of Damascus. He also met and painted an extraordinary portrait of Lawrence of Arabia.













His etchings and paintings from this period amplified his fame and saw him traverse the globe. But despite sadnesses associated with his boyhood home, he felt compelled to return to Scotland's north-east time and again where he often visited the graveside of his mother and grandmother buried together at Foveran Parish Church.

With such a powerful talent and lively history it seems all the more shocking that McBey, a strident, independent artist and adventurer who was hailed a genius in 1920s London and New York, has slowly slipped into the margins of history down the decades.

In 1929, as he looked excitedly out to the mighty skyline of New York from that ocean liner, McBey could never have guessed that, despite a career teeming with conflict, drama and chaos, he was about to bear witness to an intense world event that would eclipse even a war. 

He stepped off the ship just days before the Wall Street Crash and ensuing Great Depression.

Today, McBey’s work hangs in museums and galleries worldwide, such as Aberdeen Art Gallery, Scotland, the Imperial War Museum, London, the Metropolitan Museum, New York, the Cummer Museum, Florida, and the Tangier American Legation Museum, Tangier, Morocco.