A E Borthwick (1871-1955), a son of William H Borthwick of Crookston, studied art in Edinburgh and Paris from 1890 to 1896, after which he enlisted in the ranks and helped to raise the Scottish Sharpshooters, 70th company of the XVIII Battalion of the Imperial Yeomanry. He served in the Boer and First World Wars, retiring from the army in 1919 as honorary Staff Captain. As a member of the Royal Academy he specialised in portraits and subjects of a religious genre, his best-known work being 'The presence' which was widely reproduced abroad. He was connected with a number of societies and committees promoting art-appreciation, and was president of the Royal Scottish Society of Painters in Water-Colours from 1931 to 1949.
