Willie Main, local artist

By Dawn Black on 23/11/2020

Willie Main was the second son of Jane Scott and James Main, Shoemaker and was born in Stonehaven on the 31st January 1884. He was one of three sons and six sisters of whom one, Robert passed away at 4 years of age in 1901. Of the remaining siblings, now eight in total, four were to leave Scotlands shores for fairer pastures, ending up in New Zealand and Australia.

The family home, No1 Old pier, still stands.  His nephew in New Zealand, Allan Main has been searching for Willie's art, finding lost relatives and far flung family to put as many of his works as possible in the one place and under one roof.  Willie was a very prolific painter and there must be dozens, if not hundreds of his works all over the world.  Allan is aware of art in the USA, Scotland, Wales, New Zealand and Australia.  There will be many more hidden in attics or hanging on walls without any knowledge of the artist at all.

?The objective of Allan's quest is to create a register of as many of Willie's works as possible so they do not become yet another victim of decay and destruction after being left in some attic or shoebox dying a slow and undignified death from neglect. Allan's website is a cornucopia of historical delights for anyone who is interest in the Auld Toon of Stonehaven in the late 19th and early 20th centuries with more than 70 paintings to view, all with captions explaining the views.