Poppy Fields, Flanders, by PW Adam, pastel, c1920
This work was commissioned from Patrick Adam by Mrs Isabella Lyon of Tantallon Lodge, North Berwick to commemorate the deaths of three sons during World War One. It shows a flower and poppy covered meadow. Another memorial to the bothers was erected by a surviving sibling, Rev. William Lyon, at his church, Christ Church, Lanark.
This painting was executed on paper, the artist building the image from short strokes of pastel colours to give a naturalistic impression of a meadow, monument and sheltering tree.
Patrick William Adam (1854-1929) was born in Edinburgh but settled at North Berwick. He travelled abroad extensively, working in Italy and Russia. Of his varied output interiors painted at his North Berwick studio are amongst his best works, although he also produced East Lothian landscapes in a variety of media.
Museum id no. 11141
Note: This record was updated on 22 October 2007, thanks to additional information from Dan Lyon. Mrs Lyon had six sons in all. One died before his first birthday, one at fifteen, three (not four as our original information said) were killed in action and one (William) survived.