Original Scottish Oil Painting
Anna Dixon RSW (1873 to 1959) - Oil on Board
“Nocturne”
An atmospheric small oil painting by Scottish artist Anna Dixon RSW, showing a moonlit street scene with terraced buildings, figures, a lit shopfront window and distant hills beyond.
Key Details
Artist: Anna Dixon RSW (1873 to 1959)
Title: Nocturne
Medium: Oil on board
Signature: Signed lower right
Artwork Size: 19 × 25 cm (7.5 × 9.8 in)
Framed Size: 31 × 37 cm (12.2 × 14.6 in)
Frame: Decorative gilt frame
Condition: Overall good condition, a few tiny specks of paint loss; frame with light handling wear
Provenance: From a private collection. Signed lower right.
Description
The painting is a compact but evocative nocturne. Dixon uses a dark, restrained palette to create the feeling of a quiet street after dusk, with the warm yellow light of the shopfront acting as the main point of focus.
The figures in the road, the silhouetted buildings and the cool blue light in the sky give the scene a strong sense of mood and place.
Although modest in scale, the work has a quiet intensity. The subject sits well within Dixon’s known interest in landscape, street scenes and figure subjects, while the nocturne format gives it a more unusual and atmospheric character.
About the Artist
Anna Dixon RSW was a Scottish landscape and figure painter, born in Edinburgh in 1873. She studied at the Royal Scottish Academy Schools under Charles Mackie and E. A. Walton.
Dixon lived in Edinburgh throughout her career and exhibited widely. She was elected to the Royal Scottish Society of Painters in Watercolour in 1917 and served as President of the Scottish Society of Women Artists from 1930 to 1942.
Her exhibition record was extensive, including 94 works at the Royal Scottish Academy, 98 with the RSW, 62 at the Royal Glasgow Institute of the Fine Arts, two at the Royal Academy, and further works at Liverpool and Manchester.
Dixon’s work is associated with Scottish landscape, town and figure subjects. This small nocturne is an appealing example of her ability to create atmosphere through restrained colour, evening light and compact composition.
Provenance and Notes
From a private collection. Signed lower right.
