When we moved into our house on 100 Prince Street in the summer of 2000, the Reid family, from whom we’d purchased it, left a sketch for us on the mantle.
We didn’t know anything about the sketch or the artist until this fall: I noticed that it was signed by what looked to be “John MacGillivray,” and, on a visit to Brìgh Music & Tea a few weeks ago, I happened to ask personable co-owner Mary MacGillivray whether she might be any relation.
“That’s my Uncle Johnny!” exclaimed Mary.
John MacGillivray, it seems, is, among other things, a prolific sketcher of houses, ours among them.
Mystery solved.
Here’s a thumbnail history of the house–minus us, of course, as it was written well before we moved in–that’s taped to the back of the frame:
Comments
He used to live around the corner from our hosue and sketched 308 Euston for my parents many years ago. It was coloured with watercolours and I was always impressed that he got the yellow colour of the front door. I know it was done before I was10 or 12 years old becuase the sketch had a small bush in the front yard that was cut down while I was still quite young.
Hello a friend of mine bought a house with a piece of artwork signed by john macgillvray. It is a sketch of a house, but not the house he bought. Wondering if his artwork is worth anything