Broughton House & Garden

Edward Atkinson Hornel was born in Bacchus Marsh, Victoria, Australia, to Scottish parents, but he spent most of his life in Scotland after his family relocated to Kirkcudbright in 1866. 

In 1880, after finishing his education at Kirkcudbright Academy, 16-year-old Hornel started his art studies at the School of Art in Edinburgh, accompanied by his schoolmate William S MacGeorge. During this period, he resided with his older sister, Elizabeth, who worked as a teacher in the city. In 1882, he created his first painting, accepted by the Royal Scottish Academy, titled A Glimpse of Kirkcudbright. Hornel continued his education in Antwerp from 1883 to 1885, where he was mentored by the Belgian artist Charles Verlat, whom Hornel regarded as ‘the finest teacher that ever lived’. 

After finishing his studies in 1885, Hornel moved back to Kirkcudbright. He settled into the family home and set up a studio at 21 High Street. That same year, he met George Henry and became involved with the Glasgow Boys.

Hornel and Henry worked together on The Druids Bringing in the Mistletoe (1890), depicting a procession of druidic priests carrying sacred mistletoe adorned with vibrant colours and gold. They worked closely to create a beautiful array of colours, with Hornel expertly applying different texture techniques like loading, scraping, roughening, smoothing, and staining. From 1893 to 1894, with support from William Burrell through their friend and art dealer Alexander Reid, the two artists spent a year and a half in Japan. There, Hornel learned a lot about decorative design and composition.

Alexander Reid organised an exhibition in April 1895 showcasing Henry and Hornel’s Japanese works. The exhibition was quite successful, particularly with Sir John Maxwell Stirling-Maxwell (a founding member of the National Trust for Scotland) as a buyer.