Charles James McCall (1907-1989) was a painter of street scenes and interiors. Born and educated in Edinburgh, McCall initially worked for a law firm, studying at Edinburgh College of Art in the evenings.

Aged 23, McCall won a scholarship to the College, where he studied under Samuel Peploe, David Sutherland and David Foggie, obtaining his diploma in two years instead of the usual four.

Further scholarships in the mid-1930s took McCall around Europe, and for much of 1937, he studied in Paris under Othon Friesz at Atelier Colarossi. After serving in WWII in the Camouflage Unit, McCall lived in London.

The artist’s work has a strong sense of colour and painterliness: the loose application of paint resulting in visible brushstrokes within the finished painting.

McCall’s paintings were exhibited at the Royal Academy, New English Art Club and the London Group. In Britain, he held solo shows at the Leicester Galleries and Belgrave Gallery and others in New York and Dublin. In 1995, Christie’s had a retrospective show in London.

McCall was elected a member of the Royal Institute of Oil Painters in 1950 and the New English Art Club in 1957. His work is represented in several public collections, including the Government Art Collection, the City of Edinburgh, Paisley Art Gallery, York Museum and the City of London Corporation.