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:
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He used to live around the
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
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
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