David Prophet Ramsay was born on the 6th July, 1888 in Perth. He was the sixth and youngest son of Alexander Ramsay and his wife Jean Ann (nee Prophet). His father was a china merchant and David studied at Perth Academy. He later attended Glasgow School of Art in 1909, where he studied under Greiffenhagen and Artot and was awarded the prize for top student in 1913. This prize was the Haldane Travel Scholarship and he used it to go to France, Belgium, Holland and Italy, where he produced a series of oils of Venice.
In 1916, after his return from Europe, he joined the Black Watch as a Private. During his time on the Western Front, he produced a series of drawings of the fellow officers, using the pseudonym 'Sam Ray'. He was seriously wounded and left for dead at the battle of Pilcken Ridge a few months after being promoted to Lieutenant on 31st July, 1917. His life was saved by a Canadian doctor, but his wounds probably hastened his death on 11th January 1944. He is buried at Lagganalachie by Trochy near Dunkeld which is near his last home.
In 1930, he was commissioned to paint the then Princess Elizabeth, now Queen Elizabeth II, at Glamis Castle. He specialised in painting portraits, nudes and some landscapes. There are 20 of his oils and 10 drawings in Perth Museum and Art Gallery mostly from a bequest by his widow in 1959. There were two memorial exhibitions of his work, some borrowed from public and private collections, at the Perth Museum in 1944 and a centennial of his birth in 1988.
In 1916, after his return from Europe, he joined the Black Watch as a Private. During his time on the Western Front, he produced a series of drawings of the fellow officers, using the pseudonym 'Sam Ray'. He was seriously wounded and left for dead at the battle of Pilcken Ridge a few months after being promoted to Lieutenant on 31st July, 1917. His life was saved by a Canadian doctor, but his wounds probably hastened his death on 11th January 1944. He is buried at Lagganalachie by Trochy near Dunkeld which is near his last home.
In 1930, he was commissioned to paint the then Princess Elizabeth, now Queen Elizabeth II, at Glamis Castle. He specialised in painting portraits, nudes and some landscapes. There are 20 of his oils and 10 drawings in Perth Museum and Art Gallery mostly from a bequest by his widow in 1959. There were two memorial exhibitions of his work, some borrowed from public and private collections, at the Perth Museum in 1944 and a centennial of his birth in 1988.
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