Gallery 13 - McBey: Artist Adventurer

James McBey: Artist Adventurer

James McBey (1883 – 1959) was a self-taught etcher, draughtsman and painter. His life revolved around art, adventure and an undying love for Morocco.

Born in the village of Newburgh near Aberdeen, McBey discovered his artistic skills at a young age. He kept following his interest and eventually left behind his mundane job and the painful memory of his mother’s suicide.

He became exceptionally well-travelled, serving as a War Artist in the Middle East. After touring and living in Europe and America, McBey finally settled in Morocco, which his art portrayed again and again in all its vivacity.

Thanks to his wife Marguerite’s generosity, Aberdeen Art Gallery and Museums holds the world’s largest archive of artworks by James McBey.

Print Maker

McBey learnt about art from library books and on his travels. He gained recognition as a popular society artist and star of the 1920s etching boom.

A clerk for the North of Scotland Bank in Aberdeen by day, McBey learn about art history at night. The turning point came in the summer of 1902, when he borrowed Maxime Lalanne’s Treatise on Etching from Aberdeen Public Library and taught himself how to print. Without a printing press readily available, he printed his first etching using the mangle in his grandparents’ basement.

‘Everything happened according to Lalanne, whose treatise I had handy, open at the page.’ The Early Life of James McBey. An Autobiography 1883-1911

Eventually he mustered the courage to pursue his dream of becoming an artist. He left his job in July 1910 and immediately set off for the Netherlands. By 1911 he had moved to London where a remarkably successful first exhibition of his prints established him in the art world.

Printmaker II

These works trace McBey’s early efforts as a printmaker, from a very formulaic approach with a dense network of lines, to freely drawn marks made with confidence. Like his role model, James McNeill Whistler, he printed his works on blank antique paper, which he collected for its soft, velvety quality. The etching boom fizzled out during the Great Depression but McBey continued producing prints in this way into the 1940s.

American Travels

McBey’s work was popular with American collectors and he travelled to the United States repeatedly.

In 1929 McBey embarked on his first journey to the United States. During this visit he met advertising executive HH Kynett who would become one of his most enthusiastic collectors. At a dinner party in Philadelphia in 1930, McBey was introduced to Marguerite Loeb. They married the following year.

At the outbreak of the Second World War the McBey’s were visiting Marguerite’s parents in the United States. Marguerite’s passport was confiscated by the immigration authorities and they could not travel on to Morocco as planned. Forced to spend the Second World War there, McBey eventually took American citizenship in 1942.

Although the couple spent much of their time travelling across America and McBey was kept busy with commissions, he yearned for Morocco where they finally returned in May 1946.

Moroccan Travels

In 1912 James McBey visited Morocco for the first time. He was captivated by what he saw: the architecture, the colourful dress, the busy markets. They all found their way into his artworks.

Twenty years later he returned with Marguerite, who shared his love of the country. They owned several house in Morocco, notably Jalobey (a combination of their names), which they bought in 1933. In 1948, the McBeys also purchased El Foolk, the house where James had stayed on his first visit to Tangier.

‘Since we arrived we have done nothing but stand with mouths agape and codfish eyes, whilst the Arabian Nights have been unrolled before us.’ James McBey, ‘An Artist’s Wanderings’, The Graphic, 14 January 1922

It was in Morocco that McBey truly felt at peace. He died there on 1 December 1959 and was buried near Jalobey.

On his gravestone, below his name and dates, is a single sentence in Arabic: ‘I love Morocco’.

War Artist

McBey was appointed as an Official War Artist is May 1917. By June, he had arrived in Cairo to join the British Empire’s Egyptian Expeditionary Force.

In 1916 the British War Propaganda Bureau established a scheme to select artists to document the First World War. This initiative and its successors have since generated key artworks by some of the best British artists of their day.

McBey became a first-hand witness to major events such as the British capture of Jerusalem, and he met personalities like TE Lawrence, known as Lawrence of Arabia. His photographs, sketches and watercolours document these experiences.

A five-day expedition in the Sinai desert with the Australian Imperial Camel Corps in July 1917 led to his most famous series of wartime etchings.

War Artist II

During 1917 and 1918, McBey produced hundreds of preparatory sketches and photographs. He sent over 200 works, mostly watercolours, home to the War Office.

McBey developed a lifelong habit of recording every detail of his experiences in words, images and keepsakes.

His wartime diaries show that he was constantly sketching, taking in the wealth of landscapes, people and events he encountered. At the same time his diaries also document the realities of warfare, his personal discomfort, struggles with obtaining transport and casual comments on the local sights.

After the war McBey returned to London. On his own initiative, he produced etchings based on his drawings of Egypt and Palestine. These secured his international reputation as an etcher.

Lovers and Muses

Handsome and highly charismatic, McBey had numerous affairs throughout his life. Many of his lovers inspired him and became models for his work.

Marguerite was an accomplished photographer and bookbinder. Although 22 years younger than McBey, she shared his sense of humour and his love of art. Despite the fact that they had an ‘open marriage’, Marguerite remained dedicated to her husband and his legacy long after his death.

McBey’s turbulent relationships played a vital role in his art. He was a popular portrait painter for those who could afford it, but when he had the freedom to choose his own subject, he automatically gravitated towards women. Though not all his sitters were his lovers, these works suggest an exoticism and sensuality rooted in his appreciation of female beauty.