David Dougall WilliamsFRSA was a Cheshire-born artist and art teacher who lived and worked in Dundee.
Early years
David Dougall Williams was born in 1888 in Liscard, in Cheshire, the third son of four to Barbara Balmain Dougall and her husband, writer and geographer John Francon Williams. He was baptized on 22 July 1888 at St Mary’s Church, Liscard. He had one sister Margaret Mary Ann and three brothers, John B., Aeneas Francon Williams and George Stanley. He grew up in an artistic and literary household: his father John Francon Williams was a writer, geographer, cartographer and inventor, and his brother Aeneas Francon Williams was also an artist and a writer. By 1901, the family had moved to the South of England and was living at Queens Grove Road in the affluent area of Chingford in Essex. Williams trained at Edinburgh College of Art and the University of Edinburgh and Moray House Training College, and was awarded a DA. His first professional job was as a designer. At this point in his life, he was married to Minnie Johnston. In 1916, during the World War, Williams joined the King's Own Scottish Borderers3rd Battalion, an infantry regiment of the Scottish Division of the British Army. He was stationed in Scotland.
Career
After the end of the war Williams remained in Scotland and lived and worked for a short period in Oban in Argyll where he was principal art teacher at Oban High School. In October 1922, Williams moved to Dundee to take up the post of assistant art master at Morgan Academy, a post he held until 1929. In Dundee, Williams lived with his wife and two children at 35 Blackness Avenue. In 1929, Williams became the principal art master at Logie Central School in Dundee where he remained teaching for 15 years until his death in 1944.
Twentieth century Scottish art
Williams was a respected figure amongst Dundee art circles and art world. He was a contemporary of such artists as John MacLaughlan Milne and James McIntosh Patrick. During the inter-war years a classical tradition in Scottish painting had emerged that experimented with Surrealism that was also influenced by the meticulous technique of Italian Renaissance painting. Williams was appointed a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, and was also for many years a member of the Dundee Arts Society. An artist of repute, David D. Williams had numerous paintings exhibited, including ‘God Be With You ‘Till We Meet Again’ and the seascape ‘Outward Bound’ that were exhibited in 1937 at the Royal Cambrian Academy in Cardiff. His seascape ‘Outward Bound’ was also exhibited at the Imperial Gallery in Kensington, London. Williams was an active member of the Dundee Art Society and the treasurer of Dundee’s, Elim Foursquare Church. Williams exhibited numerous works in the 1938 Dundee Art Society's 32nd Fine Art Exhibition held at the Victoria Art Galleries, Dundee, from 4 March–15 April, and at the 1942 Dundee Art Society's 33rd Fine Art Exhibition at the Victoria Art Galleries, Dundee, from 12 September–11 October. David used two spellings of his middle name ‘Dougall’, dropping one of the L’s, preferring to use ‘Dougal’ on many occasions with regards to his art and paintings. David Dougal Williams died on 27 September 1944 after a brief illness from appendicitis–gangrenous and cardiovascular degeneration, and is buried in Western Cemetery, Dundee. An obituary printed in the 1944 Dundee Art Society Report reads: ‘David Dougall Williams was a member of the Society for many years. He contributed to its exhibitions distinguished pictures of the great vessels that sail the seas. His last picture, in the 1944 Exhibition, was a fine example of his work. Mr. Williams was the popular and enthusiastic Art Master of Logie Central School, where his influence was strong and helpful to his many students.’
Family
William’s son, Arthur Alexander Francon Williams, was also an artist and trained at Dundee College of Art, Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art and Design. His wife Minnie died in Dundee in 1978 aged 86. Their son Arthur Alexander died in Montrose in 2001 aged 83. David Dougal Williams is the brother of the writer, poet and missionary Aeneas Francon Williams.
