Elected ARSA: 17 March 1948
Robert Heriot Westwater received his early education at the Royal High School in Edinburgh, moving on to study drawing and painting at the Edinburgh College of Art. After three years teaching in London, he returned to the Edinburgh College of Art where he taught for ten years.
His reputation as a portrait painter was established in 1948 and he was elected an Associate of the Royal Scottish Academy in 1949. For a time, he also became a well-known writer and broadcaster, working as an Art Critic for the Scotsman. Among his most notable portraits are those of the Duke of Montrose; Sir Compton Mackenzie; Lord Boothby and Dr C. M. Grieve (Hugh MacDiarmid) author and poet. Westwater’s works often echoed the influence of Degas and gave unusual consideration to colour orchestration.
