George Whitton Johnstone was an Edinburgh landscape painter. Born in Glamis, Forfarshire, he was a student at the Royal Scottish Academy’s Life School, who began by painting genre scenes and portraits. His first exhibition at the RSA was in 1872 and he continued to exhibit regularly from that point forward. He became ARSA in 1883, and a full member of the RSA in 1895. He also exhibited at the British Royal Academy from 1885 – 1892. He painted mainly in Eskdale and Annandale, though he also painted in France’s Fontainebleu forest. He was influenced by the famous artist Jean-Baptisteo-Camille Corot.
Johnstone was admired so much at the Royal Scottish Academy that he was featured as one of the primary figures in the 1882 painting “Friendly Critiques”by fellow Scottish artist Charles Martin Hardie. In it, Hardie is showing one of his paintings to a group of his most respected artists to gain their opinion. George WhittonJohnstone I featured as the gentleman peering over Hardie’s shoulder. The painting is in the collection of the National Gallery of Scotland, and achieved much acclaim when it was exhibited, giving the public a glimpse into the life of the artists they so admired.