Eye on Millig: What was the steam yacht in Rhu Pier painting?

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LOOKING at a local art mystery seems appropriate the week after the ever-popular Helensburgh Art Show.

But this one is not about the artist, it is about the subject of the painting.

Mary-Jane Selwood of the Anderson Trust Local Collection, which is housed in Helensburgh Library, has — with the assistance of Burgh artist Neil MacLeod — researched the work of watercolourist Tom Campbell (1865-1943) because one of his works is in the collection.

She tells me that Tom was an exponent of 'gouache', who painted views of the west coast and islands, using a sharp, highly coloured style.

He was a most prolific painter, whose subjects included landscapes with sheep, children playing on sandy beaches, and marine scenes.

He sold many of his works through the Glasgow department store Daly’s.

Mary-Jane said: “The work we have, ‘Steam Yacht, Rhu Pier’, is a view which conjures up a bygone era of great affluence.

“To anyone familiar with the topographical features of the Gareloch nowadays, the artist’s view is not immediately recognisable.

“He appears to have used a fair amount of artistic licence to arrive at an interesting pictorial composition.

“Quite apart from that, however, this coastline has been developed in modern times to accommodate the Rhu yacht marina.

“The old stone pier at Rhu, the end of which appears in the painting, was closed in 1920 and eventually incorporated into the structure of the marina.”

The mystery is over the steam yacht in the painting, which has been identified as ‘The Nahlin’ by some authorities in the Scottish art world.

This was the 300-foot steam yacht built for and owned by Lady Yuill, and launched in 1930.

On-board guests, on some occasions, included Wallis Simpson, accompanied by Edward, Duke of Windsor. It was on this vessel that their liaison first caught the attention of the news media.

There have been several owners including King Carol II of Romania, and she is currently owned and registered in Glasgow by industrial entrepreneur Sir James Dyson.

Her maximum speed since being recommissioned in 2010 is just over 17 knots

The name Nahlin is taken from a Native American word meaning “fleet of foot” and the yacht has a figurehead depicting a Native American wearing a feathered headdress which is beneath the bowsprit.

“The yacht is remarkably similar in appearance to the one in the Campbell painting,” Mary-Jane said.

“A cautionary note should, however, be sounded regarding that particular attribution, because several people, who lived in the locality at the time when this yacht was around, recalled ‘The Nahlin’ as a larger vessel than that depicted in the artist’s painting.

“It would be more romantic to believe that the un-named yacht in Tom Campbell’s painting was indeed ‘The Nahlin’, with a measure of artistic licence making such an attribution more than an outside probability.”

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SOME information about Miss Ottman’s School in Helensburgh has come to light from a former pupil.

Recently, Eye on Millig included a request from Edinburgh man Robert Whitton for assistance in his research into the school.

He had already discovered that Miss Ottman — Phyllis Elizabeth Ottmann — was the second youngest of five children born to Hugo Ottmann, who was born in Germany in 1846 and died in 1906.

Phyllis was born in Glasgow on March 23 1896 and died in Helensburgh in 1975.

The family seems to have had homes at Annachmore, Rosneath, from 1891, in Glasgow in 1901 at 5 Windsor Quadrant in Govan, and at Arisaig, Craigendoran, in 1911.

In 1912 Miss Ottmann was at Hermitage School where she gained her School Leaving Certificate, then in 1929 she was at the Royal Victoria Patriotic School, Wandsworth Common, London, where presumably she was a teacher.

It is likely that, as World War Two approached, she dropped an ‘n’ from her name so that it seemed more British.

The Helensburgh Directory for 1939 lists Miss Ottman’s School as in the Victoria Hall in Sinclair Street, with her home at 38 West Princes Street.

Pre-World War Two, the school was probably in her home, but when war broke out a lot of activities were moved to the Victoria Hall.

After the war the school returned to her flat, and I have received a fascinating account of it from a former pupil, Sheriff Simon Pender.

He writes...

"I was a pupil at Miss Ottman’s School, from when I was four years old until I was seven, when I went to Larchfield School, as were my two younger brothers, Patrick and Martin.

"At the time I lived in Craigendoran. I would usually be driven to the school, which was in Miss Ottman’s home, a first-floor flat overlooking Colquhoun Square, immediately above what is now Anne of Loudonville’s shop.

"I remember on one occasion getting a ride to school on the back of a bike ridden by the boy who lived next door to us, Alastair Martin, who was a few years older, and cycled to the school he attended.

"We did not get far, since someone threw a snowball at us, causing the bike to skid, as a result of which we both fell off.

"Miss Ottman’s school had a maximum of twelve pupils, the schoolroom being the front room of her flat. I remember rows of old-fashioned desks.

"My best friend at the school was a boy called Colin Kinnear, who lived in what is now the Rosslea Hall Hotel in Rhu.

"I recall that the room had an opaque glass light bowl hanging from the middle of the ceiling, into which, when being mischievous, we would throw such things as banana skins when not being watched, which must have been very irritating for our teacher.

"My brother Martin’s best pal had the dubious distinction of being, we think, the only pupil to be expelled from the school. He has gone on to forge a successful career in the City of London.

"Martin and I both remember Miss Ottman as an extremely nice and kindly person, who was an outstanding teacher.

"I recall learning, under her tuition, to read and write, and to do arithmetic, very quickly indeed, and thoroughly enjoying doing so.

"I am sure she gave us the best start in our education we could possibly have had.

"I remember her being very keen on the Royal Family — she would always keep us up to date with what was going on with the Royals, particularly Prince Charles and Princess Anne, who were only slightly older than we were.

"A highlight of each year was being allowed to crowd round the window overlooking Colquhoun Square in December to watch the Christmas tree being erected, decorated and lit up in the corner of the square beside the church. Happy days!"

email: milligeye@btinternet.com