| Administrative History | The prize originated in a donation by Mrs William Murray of Fountainhall Road, of a collection of 150 engravings and reproductions of famous artworks to the Aberdeen School Board in December 1911 (see Aberdeen Press and Journal, 29 Dec 1911). Mrs Murray was the morther of James Murray, chairman of the Aberdeen Art Gallery Committee.
In 1919 Sir James Murray gifted £1000 to the School Board to be held in trust for providing prizes to school children for essays on art subjects: the Murray Picture Prize. (Source: Aberdeen Press & Journal, 11 Jan 1919). From the evidence of the essays, it seems the children wrote essays on the pictures donated by Sir James' mother. |