James Duncan (art collector)
| James Duncan | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1834 Greenock, Glasgow, Scotland |
| Died | 8 May 1905 (aged 71) |
| Residence | London, England |
| Occupation | Sugar refiner, art collector |
| Years active | 1834–1905 |
James Duncan (1834–1905) was a Scottish sugar refiner and businessman, who then became a philanthropist and art collector. His house and grounds in Glasgow became Benmore Botanic Garden, managed by Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh.
Duncan was born in 1834 in Greenock. He was the son of a second-hand bookseller.
In the early 1850s, James Duncan was studying chemistry at Glasgow. He had a break and took a boat trip from Greenock to the lochs and coastlines of Argyllshire. While on Loch Long, he conceived a unique method of refining sugar. He patented his idea for sugar refining. Then between 1858 and 1861, he became a partner of the Greenock firm of 'Duncan, Bell & Scott'. In 1854, the refinery was producing up to 50,000 tons.
After 1861, he developed a factory in Silvertown, London, at Millbank 21 Mincing Lane, called the 'Clyde Wharf Refinery'. It was the largest and most profitable sugar refinery in London. He was always refining the process and learning different applications to keep his company at the top of the industry. At the peak of the business, they were producing up to 2 thousand tons of sugar a week.
In 1878 he was elected fellow of the Society of Chemical Industry, later becoming its Vice-President. By 1879 he held the prestigious post of 'Chairman of the Sugar Refiners' Committee', and also became Vice-President of the 'Railway and Canal Traders' Union'.
In 1884, cheap German sugar arrived in the UK, which was much cheaper than UK produced sugar.
In August 1885, he published an article in the 'Sugar Cane' journal, titled 'The bounty on exportation of refined sugar from the United States'.
In 1886, the unfair foreign competition meant that he had to close his London works of Clyde Wharf.
He returned to Scotland, to manage the smaller refinery business in Greenock. After he retired, he spent time with his sister 'Mary Moubray' in Strone, and then spent the winter months in Italy.
James Duncan's charitable work was widely known throughout Britain. he gave 20 per cent of his annual £100,000 salary to a range of causes, making him one of the most committed philanthropists of the time.
He also built 2 churches for 2 different congregations.
He was known as a major collector of fine art and was also a lender of pictures to annual exhibitions, including the Royal Glasgow Institute of the Fine Arts. In 1878, he was elected Vice-President of the Royal Glasgow Institute of the Fine Arts. He regularly contributed works to European exhibitions, including the most prestigious at the Paris Salon, and to key international exhibitions of art and industry in France and Germany in the 1870s and 1880s.
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