John Duncan was born in the Scottish city of Dundee. There were no artists in his family, but the boy was artistically gifted and at the age of 11 his parents sent him to study at a local art school. During the three years of study, his talent developed so much that at the age of 14 he left school and got a job in the local newspaper The Wizard of the North, first as an illustrator, and after some time he received a position as an assistant in the news section from the art world.

In 1888, Duncan decided to leave for the continent, where he studied for a year at the Antwerp Royal Academy of Fine Arts and the Dusseldorf Academy of Fine Arts, and then traveled extensively in Europe, visiting Paris, Rome, Florence and Venice. In Italy, he was greatly impressed by the canvases of the Quattrocento masters, primarily Botticelli and Fra Angelico. Returning to Scotland, Duncan decided to devote himself entirely to art and soon became known as one of the leading artists of the “Celtic Renaissance”, whose representatives explored the legendary past of Britain and created a new cultural identity.

In addition to art, Duncan devoted himself to teaching. He first taught art and graphic design at the educational institutions of his native Dundee, then from 1900-1902 he held a professorship at the Chicago Institute. In 1902, he returned from America back and got a job as a teacher at the Edinburgh College of Art, in recent years he worked there as a librarian.

Duncan’s work is associated with many trends in European art. The Pre-Raphaelites and the Arts and Crafts movement played a significant role in the formation of his author’s style, and in addition, the artist was influenced by European symbolism and modernity, in particular, the works of its leading English representative, Charles Rennie Mackintosh.

But the main inspiration for Duncan was the British aesthetic movement “Celtic Renaissance”, which arose in the 18th century and became especially popular at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries. Many figures of art and literature at that time turned to the Celtic traditions, folklore and mythology, contributing to the revival of interest in the medieval history and culture of their country. Specialists conducted archaeological and historical research aimed at studying the local heritage. Composers attempted to revive national music, and Celtic ornaments came into fashion, which were actively used in painting, graphics, architecture, and decorative and applied arts.