West End Village, Tory Island
James Dixon (1887-1970)
The Irish artist and primitive landscape painter James Dixon was born on Tory Island, County Donegal, and aside from the occasional visit to the mainland, remained on the island all his life. He devoted himself to fishing and small farming. He only started painting at the age of 72, after seeing a British painter - Derek Hill - at work on a landscape painting. Hill encouraged Dixon and provided him with oils and other art materials, although Dixon made his own paintbrushes from donkey's hair. In due course it was Hill who introduced Dixon's artworks to the art world, thus helping Dixon to become an important figure in the history of twentieth-century Irish painting.
