James Morrison was born in Glasgow in 1932 and studied at Glasgow School of Art from 1950-54. He was visiting artist at Hospitalfield House in Arbroath1963-64 and lived in Catterline before moving to Montrose in 1965. Morrison joined the staff of Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art Dundee the same year and was senior lecturer there from 1979-87 when he left the college to paint full time. His first solo exhibition with the Scottish Gallery was in 1959.

He painted widely abroad following the award of a travelling scholarship to Greece. Further painting trips took him to France, Canada, the High Arctic and Botswana, but for a long time his two major sources of inspiration were the landscapes around his home in Montrose and Assynt in West Sutherland. Morrison was an Academician of the Royal Scottish Academy and a member of the Royal Scottish Society of Painters in Watercolour.

James Morrison’s work is to be found in numerous institutional, corporate and private collections throughout the world, including the Royal Collection.