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Nita Begg
Born	Agnes Bethia Begg (1920-11-13)November 13, 1920 Mount Vernon Glasgow
Died	August 21, 2011(2011-08-21) (aged 90)
Education	The Glasgow School of Art
Occupation	Artist
Known for	Reputation as a painter
Family	James Livingstone Begg (father)
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Nita Begg 1920—2011 was a Scottish artist. Her paintings of still lifes and landscapes brought critical acclaim in her lifetime.

Early Life

Nita Begg studied at The Glasgow School of Art from 1937, was taught latterly by Hugh Adam Crawford and awarded a Diploma in Drawing & Painting in 1943. For several months in 1939 she studied in France with her sister at the St Joseph de Cluny Convent in Paris but returned to Glasgow due to the outbreak of World War II. She participated in overnight fire-watching duties at the art school during the German blitz. On finishing her studies Begg trained as a wartime nurse volunteering for three years with the British Red Cross. She was selected to attend Hospitalfield House, Arbroath in 1947. This post graduate residential art centre was supervised by the painter James Cowie, who reported that Begg and fellow students Joan Eardley and William Gallacher showed remarkably individual styles of painting, each showing significant potential for development. Peggy Beardmore in her comprehensive publication "Students of Hospitalfield: Education and Inspiration in 20th-Century Scottish Art" observed "Cowie's assertion seems prophetic, as all three made significant contributions to Scottish art." During the Hospitalfield art course Begg first met Scottish painter and warworn ex-serviceman Angus Neil.

Exhibitions

Nita Begg exhibited regularly from 1954 at the Royal Scottish Academy **DictArtists and the Royal Glasgow Institute of the Fine Arts. She was a member of the Scottish Society of Women Artists [SSWA]. Her first published appreciation was in 1955 for a portrait of her nephew Tom Begg noted for its 'brighter hues'. She was elected as an artist member to the Glasgow Society of Lady Artists in 1962 later winning the Lauder Award jointly with sculptor Wendy Ross in 1968. Begg exhibited at the Blythswood Gallery Glasgow in 1967 in a joint show with her husband, portraitist and art teacher, William Gallacher. Emilio Coia wrote of her work in The Scotsman: "The eye can linger with pleasure so sure and sensitive is some of the paint handling and so convincing the tonal quality." A still life by Begg was one of several paintings bought by Queen Elizabeth and the Duke of Edinburgh during their visit to the 1968 Royal Scottish Academy annual exhibition. In the same year, International Year of Human Rights, she finished painting 'Mother and Child, Korea' begun many years earlier during the Korean War. In 1969 she exhibited solo at the English Speaking Union Gallery Edinburgh. Her paintings were considered by the Glasgow Herald critic for their "variety and vitality", the use of colour, composition, choice of subject and the interpretation of meaning quotation implied in the works which ranged in stylistically from representational through impressionist to abstract. Having already admired Begg's boldness in 1970 Edward Gage artist and art critic wrote in The Scotsman "Nita Begg's painting simplifies still life in a way that is rewarding and fresh." In 1970 she exhibited in a group show of contemporary painting at Links House, Cyril Gerber's art warehouse in Glasgow alongside her former teacher Hugh Adam Crawford and fellow artists Willie Littlejohn, Jack Knox and Bet Low. Links House obit. During the SSWA exhibition in Edinburgh 1971 Emilio Coia commented in Scottish Field magazine "Nita Begg characteristically wields paint with authority." The Crowsteps Gallery exhibitions at Blairlogie Perthshire organised by Lys Hansen included work by Begg which featured in a list of personal favourites by the Glasgow Herald's art critic. Clare Henry referred to the quality of Begg's work in the Glasgow society of women Artists exhibition held at Main Fine Art Glasgow in 1985. Begg headed up a group of painters exhibiting at the English Speaking Union gallery in 1986. The Torrance Gallery Edinburgh promoted Begg's last large scale exhibition in 1988. In a mixed show at Leith's Shore gallery Clare Henry stated that "Begg's small paintings should not be overlooked". Begg was awarded the Glasgow Society of Women Artists special award prize for painting in 2004 for her work 'Arrangement in Green and Blue' exhibited at the Lillie Art Gallery Milngavie.

Posthumously Begg's paintings were shown at "Studio58: Women Artists in Glasgow since World War II", a wide ranging exhibition and discourse about female artists and designers working in Glasgow from historical and contemporary viewpoints curated by Sarah Lowndes. This brought significant further critical appreciation and exposure. Begg's work in the exhibition was described as 'gorgeous', 'beautiful still lifes delicate in their sense of balance and sensitivity to light'. Her work later appeared in "Fall Scenes", a 2013 exhibition forming part of the Glasgow School of Art's Master of Fine Art course. Begg also exhibited at Paisley Art Institute, the Pitlochry Festival Theatre Gallery and many commercial galleries in Scotland. Her paintings sold privately and also to Kelvingrove Art Gallery, the Royal Collection and the renowned feminist Andrea Dworkin and the distinguished Glasgow war veteran and art collector William Bowie. She was a regular contributor of paintings for charitable causes including Christian Action Housing Association, MacMillan Support, Friends of St Columba's Hospice Edinburgh, Cancer Research and the High Blood Pressure Foundation.

Family

Nita Begg was born in Mount Vernon, Glasgow in 1920. The artist's father James Begg also studied at the Glasgow School of Art in the 1890s when it was located in the McLellan Galleries. Her brother, Tom Begg (1919–1941), a Gunner in the Royal Artillery, was killed in action 16 June 1941 during the Siege of Tobruk in the North African campaign of World War II. In 1949 Begg married Glasgow portrait painter and teacher of art William Gallacher. The artist's nephew, Tom Begg, is a Councillor with Renfrewshire local authority.