thumb|Two Strings to her Bow, by John Pettie, 1887
John Pettie (17 March 1839 – 21 February 1893) was a Scottish painter from Edinburgh who spent most of his career in London. He became an associate member of the Royal Academy in 1866 and a full academician in 1874.
As an enthusiastic amateur musician, he helped the career of the young composer Hamish MacCunn by organising concerts for him in his own studio. MacCunn, who would marry Pettie's daughter Alison in 1889, also served as a model for many of his paintings and sketches in various distinctive occasions.
Biography
thumb|left|John Pettie by [[George Anderson Lawson]]
John Pettie was born in Edinburgh, the son of Alexander and Alison Pettie. In 1852 the family moved to East Linton, Haddingtonshire.
When he was sixteen he entered the Trustees Academy in Edinburgh, working under Robert Scott Lauder with William Quiller Orchardson, J. MacWhirter, William McTaggart, Peter Graham (1836–1921), Tom Graham (1840–1906) and George Paul Chalmers. In 1894 a selection of his work was included in the Winter Exhibition of the Royal Academy. His self-portrait is in the Tate Gallery.
The National Portrait Gallery has four of his works in its collection.
Works
With William McTaggart and others, he illustrated The Postman's Bag (Strahan, 1862), and with John MacWhirter he illustrated Wordsworth's Poetry for the Young (Strahan, 1863). His principal paintings, in addition to those already mentioned, are: