John Falconer Slater

John Falconer Slater (1857 – 1937) born into a family of Newcastle millers. His family lived in Elswick and then at Bulman village in Gosforth. After a spell in South Africa, he considered Canada, but his mother and sister Edith suggested he stay on Tyneside and become a professional artist.

Slater exhibited in London, Scotland and other provinces as well as the Laing Art Gallery. Not only did Slater paint but he also wrote about art, in both the press and his own publication. He was known to have exhibited at the Walker Gallery – Liverpool (5), Manchester City Art Gallery (1) and at the Royal Academy (22).

Whatever the weather, oilskin-clad Tyneside artist John Falconer Slater could be found on the coastline painting the seascapes he loved. A newspaper article of 1898 was headlined The Weatherproof Artist – and the nickname stuck.