About

George Gibson was born in Edinburgh, Scotland, on October 16, 1904.  He spent his youth in the village of Fochabers, near Elgin at the mouth of the River Spey on the Moray Firth.  He was exposed to theatre at a very young age, appearing in school productions and becoming involved in scene painting and other behind-the-scenes tasks.  It was here that his tremendous artistic talent was first recognized, and his parents were encouraged to provide artistic training for their son.  He returned to Edinburgh to study art at the Edinburgh College of Art, and also studied at the Glasgow Technical School.  In 1930, Gibson emigrated to the United States, eager to pursue a career in scene painting for the theatre.  He eventually landed in Hollywood, taking temporary jobs with various studios as the opportunities arose.  In 1935, he was hired permanently by MGM Studios as the head of their new Scenic Art Department.  He remained there for thirty-five years, creating realistic backdrops for many iconic films, such as "The Wizard of Oz", "An American in Paris", "Brigadoon", and "Shoes of the Fisherman".  On the weekends he could be found outside, creating fine watercolor paintings en plein air.  He and many of his painting friends became known as the California Scene Painters, an innovative group of artists who were the first to create realistic landscape paintings on location using watercolor.  He received much recognition as a painter, and was honored by becoming a member (and later President) of the California Watercolor Society (later the National Watercolor Society) in 1947, and an associate of the National Academy of Design in 1957.  Upon his retirement in 1969, Gibson turned full time to his love of creating beautiful watercolors, both on location and in his studio.  He painted prolifically until his death at the age of 96 on March 28, 2001.