the Forth Naturalist Historian - Forth Naturalist and Historian ...

98 Maria Devaney
His first painting, entitled ‘His Own Catch of Trout’ (figure 2) is now part of the
Stirling Smith’s large collection of works by Harvey. At the end of his
apprenticeship, Harvey did not enter the bookselling trade, but instead
attended the Trustees Academy in Edinburgh for a further two years where he
studied fine art under Sir William Allan. Allan was one of the pioneers of
Scottish history painting, and had himself studied under David Wilkie at the
Trustees Academy. The popular success of Scott’s Waverley novels encouraged
Scottish artists to look to the history of their own country for source material,
instead of classical subjects. Harvey in his turn continued to build on this trend,
by choosing to paint scenes from the lives of the Covenanters, contemporary
Scottish life and latterly Scottish landscape.
Many of Harvey’s early paintings must have been inspired by the
geography and people of Stirling. It is said he often used family and friends as
his models. ‘Disputing the Billet’, exhibited at the Scottish Academy in 1827
shows a householder and her son trying to oust the militia foisted on them for
the drill period. The young soldier’s assurance is pitted against the refusal for
admittance by the woman (figures 3 and 4). Harvey must have been aware of
such incidents in Stirling, the garrison town. The Castle was the military base
for the Highland Borderers Militia (now the Argyll and Sutherland
Highlanders) and recruits regularly underwent drill periods and were
allocated billets in the area, when accommodation was in short supply.
‘The Small Debt Court’, exhibited the same year describes several incidents
which Harvey has captured in such well observed detail. Scots Law allowed
creditors to recover debt up to the amount of twelve pounds through the
Sheriff’s Small Debt Court. The finished painting is now lost, but several
sketches survive in the Smith collection, which suggest the scope of the
painting. ‘Family at the Law Court’ (figure 5) is a sketch showing a country
family come to town to have a grievance heard. The husband, suffering from
poor eyesight peers to read a legal letter, while his young son holds his hat.
The Sheriff Court in Stirling, in Harvey’s day, as now, served a large scattered
rural population, as well as the town itself.
Harvey may have treated these incidents from contemporary life with some
affection and amusement, but later he did tackle more serious subjects.
‘Quitting the Manse’ (figure 6), exhibited at the Royal Academy, London in
1847 and the Royal Scottish Academy in 1848, deals with the repercussions of
the Disruption of 1843 when nearly 500 ministers left their charges for the sake
of conscience and established the Free Church of Scotland. The painting shows
a minister and his family shutting the door of their home for the last time to
face homelessness. The entire village watches their departure with sorrow and
regret. Harvey used Tullibody Church as his model for the background of the
painting. The finished work is now in the collections of the National Gallery of
Scotland, but has sadly deteriorated due to Harvey’s over use of bitumen.
Many of his paintings have been lost in this way, and their images survive only
through his sketches and engravings.