James Cromar Watt

James Cromar Watt (14 July 1862 – 19 November 1940) was a Scottish artist, architect and jeweller.

Biography

Watt was born in Aberdeen, Scotland on 14 July 1862. He was taught at Aberdeen Grammar School in 1875 until he was articled in October 1879 to the city architect William Smith and his son John, who had formed a partnership as W & J Smith. Whilst there he embarked on measured drawings and rubbings at Dunblane Cathedral and King's College Chapel. These earned him an award which enabled him to embark on a study tour of Belgium and Germany in May–June 1886. Winning the Tite Prize in January 1890 enabled him to set off again on an extended study tour in April 1890. He then spent fourteen months in Italy and Sicily. On his return he rejoined his previous job as an assistant. Passing the qualifying exam in March 1892 was admitted to the Royal Institute of British Architects on 13 June that year.

In 1893 Watt went on a study tour of Athens and other Greek cities, being published as Examples of Greek and Pompeian Decorative Work in 1897. During his travels he started dealing in works of art, taking interest in ancient precious metalwork, which had started in his early experience in his grandfather's workshop. In 1896 he resigned his associateship in order to concentrate on work in precious metals. He developed particular skills in the ancient techniques of gold granulation and translucent foiled enamelling. His work was exhibited at Turin in 1902 and was also illustrated in the Art Journal that year. Some of his pieces are strongly influenced by the metalwork of Phoebe Traquair, some of it was designed in association with the painter and stained glass artist Douglas Strachan.

He was engaged in secret government work during World War I, but what he did was never disclosed. After the war he did not return to making jewelry, apparently because of failing eyesight, devoting his energies to finishing the tomb of William Elphinstone for King's College Chapel by Harry Wilson, with whom he had been friends since 1905. The University of Aberdeen conferred on him the degree of LLD in 1931. He lived alone in Dee Street, Aberdeen, never a rich man, throughout his adult life an important collector of ancient ceramics and precious metal artefacts, mainly from China and the Far East. He died in an accident on 19 November 1940, his collections where divided between Aberdeen Art Gallery and the Royal Scottish Museum.