Born today in Aberdeen was 19th century Scottish painter William Dyce (September 19, 1806 - 1864). Dyce studied at the Royal Academy and then in Rome for nine months, and he would become highly influential in arts education later in his career. Many of his works involve religious subject matter and Pre-Raphaelite inclinations, but his scenes of daily life are also quite distinctive. Said to be
"as keen in speech as in visage," Dyce died while in the midst of an exhaustive project of frescoes at Westminster Palace. The series involved the Legend of King Arthur and was never finished.
Pictured: The Garden of Gethsemane -- William Dyce, 1860 (National Museums Liverpool) and Welsh Landscape with Two Women Knitting -- William Dyce, 1864 (National Museum Cardiff)
