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From National Portrait Gallery website - James Gunn attended drawing lessons from the age of five. He studied at the Glasgow School of Art, the Edinburgh College of Art and the Académie Julian in Paris. From 1929, Gunn devoted himself to portrait painting. He received commissions from many leading figures of the day including prime ministers, field marshals, judges, dons, bankers and actors. One of Gunn’s notable portraits was Conversation Piece at Royal Lodge, Windsor, a portrait of George VI and his family commissioned for the National Portrait Gallery in 1950. His portrait of Elizabeth II, painted for the Royal Artillery regiment, was voted painting of the year at the Royal Academy in 1953.