Item NMC/1829B - Pencil self portrait of John Murdoch

John Murdoch was born in Glasgow in 1824. He showed an early talent in sketching, and after the family moved to Aberlady, he became an apprentice engraver with W A & K Johnstone the map publishers in Edinburgh and won prizes from the Royal Institution of Edinburgh for designs in china and stoneware. His work caught the attention of the Earl of Weymss who encouraged him to go on to study at the Government School of Design at Somerset House in London and helped secure his release from Johnstones so he could pursue his art training. By 1846, he was sent to Birmingham to take temporary charge of the School of Design there and was then appointed to take charge at Stoke-on-Trent. From there he was asked to beome Head Master in Glasgow, but much to the surprise of the local committee, this appointment was not ratified by the Central Committee of Management at the Board of Trade, who appointed his old Director from Somerset House, C H Wilson instead. The two men knew each other well, and the correspondence shows that they sorted this out amicably between themselves, with Wilson taking the senior position and Murdoch working as his deputey. Murdoch continued in that position, later turning down the opportunity to move to become the Head Master in Belfast. He died suddenly at the age of thirty in 1854 and letters from his colleague C H Wilson and from his students reveal how popular he was with both students and staff.