Peter Chisholm
Epithet: Artist (1875-1962)
Record type: Biographies
Biography: Peter Chisholm was born in Selkirk, Scotland, in 1875. The artist exhibited with the Royal Academy in 1897 and attended the Royal College of Art; where he became a contemporary of Augustus John, the Welsh painter, draughtsman, and etcher. Chisholm had several more famous artistic contemporaries, as he was known for socialising at John Holland’s home with the likes of Archibald Knox and E.C. Quayle before Holland’s death in 1920.
For much of his later life, Chisholm served as the Principal Art Master at the Douglas School of Art - where Archibald Knox served as his assistant. A new era started for the School of Art with the appointment of Chisholm, who had moved to the Island from London. The school was placed on firmer footings with its management being transferred from a board of Trustees to the Higher Education Board and so ended its reliance on private subscriptions for funding. The artist remained as Principle for thirty-two years, before resigning during in 1941.
Chisholm was also one of twenty-eight enthusiastic founding members of The Isle of Man Art Society, which was formed in 1953. Other founding members included John H. Nicholson and Harold (‘Dusty’) Miller, and other members included William Hoggart and David Byrne - who joined in 1956 and is still a member today.
The artist died in Douglas, 1962. After his death and for much of his career, many of Chisholm’s paintings were kept within the family, and not displayed to the public until his daughter - Margaret Chisholm - contributed a selection of her father’s paintings to Manx National Heritage.
Occupation / profession: Artist
Gender: Male
Date of birth: 1875
Date of death: 1962
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