William McTaggart was born in Avos, near Cambeltown, Argylleshire. His parents were crofters and members of the reformed church.
They were reluctant for their son to become a painter and he was first apprenticed to an apothecary in Cambeltown before his artistic talent was acknowledged and he attended the Trustees Academy in Edinburgh between 1852-1859.
He studied under Scott Lauder, developing a precise style which he was later to abandon in favour of a bolder, more impressionist style. This style he developed independently, visiting Paris twice, in 1867 and 1882.
