Original Watercolour
Tom Johnstone - Watercolour
“The Black Cat, Laird Street, Greenock”
A direct, observational Inverclyde street scene painted from life
Key Details
Artist: Tom Johnstone
Title: “The Black Cat, Laird Street, Greenock”
Medium: Watercolour on paper
Support: Paper
Signature: Signed and dated 1991, lower right
Dimensions: Image: 24 × 18.5 cm (9.4 × 7.3 in) •
Framed: 32.5 × 27 cm (12.8 × 10.6 in)
Condition: Excellent overall; frame with light age-related wear
Provenance: Private UK collection
Description
An original Scottish watercolour depicting The Black Cat public house on Laird Street, Greenock, with the neighbouring barber shop frontage clearly marked “Men Only”. The pub name is painted directly onto the fascia, and period Tennent’s signage is visible, firmly placing the scene in late 20th-century Inverclyde. This is a direct, observational street scene rather than an imagined view. The handling is confident and economical, with loose figures and controlled washes used to describe familiar working-town architecture. The work reads clearly as a record of a real place, painted by someone with first-hand knowledge of the area.
About the Artist
Tom Johnstone (born Greenock, 1935) was a Scottish artist and long-time cartoonist with the
Greenock Telegraph. Brought up in Greenock in the 1940s and 50s, he is best known for recording Inverclyde’s everyday street life, shops, pubs, and social history. Largely self-taught, he later attended classes at the Glasgow School of Art while working as a postman, and was an active member and later president of Greenock Art Club. His work is valued locally for its honest, observational approach rooted in lived experience.
Estimated Date
1991
Provenance & Notes
Private UK collection. A clearly identifiable Greenock street scene by a local artist, offering both decorative appeal and genuine local historical interest.
