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A Bit About The Artist
Stuart Herd was a Scottish artist renowned for his rugby and landscape paintings. A passionate supporter of Scottish Rugby, his artwork captured the energy, emotion, and character of the sport, alongside atmospheric depictions of Scotland’s landscapes, weather, and changing seasons.
Continue scrolling to discover more about Stuart’s story, the evolution of his career, and the legacy of the business that continues to share his work today
Stuart with his Westie, 'Sketch'.
Inspired by Rugby
Stuart played rugby from an early age. Playing the game finished when, just 17, he broke his leg in a car crash. His love of the game, however, continued as a spectator at many 'Five & Six Nations' games spent in a blue shirt surrounded by a sea of white shirts in pubs 'down south'.
Following in dad's footsteps Stuart's son, Robbie, started playing junior rugby and was taken to games with his parents. In 2017 Robbie was lucky enough to be a mascot at the Six Nations Ireland Game at Murrayfield, running on to the pitch with Richie Gray. It was during this time Stuart enjoyed sketching and painting small images to be used for prints.
After the Calcutta Cup victory in 2021 he decided to go BIG and produced larger originals which lead to the limited edition prints which are available to purchase on our website.
Stuart was also a generous supporter of many Rugby Charities and would donate various Rugby prints to the cause.
Early Beginnings
Born in Scotland in 1971, Stuart grew up in England and briefly attended Amersham College of Art. He started a career in photography in the South East whilst regularly travelling north to Scotland to explore and capture the landscapes.
His photographic career was varied, from Studio and Commercial photography to Press and Lab work around the United Kingdom. During this time his love of travel was born and he combined this by working as a photographer onboard cruise ships, "that was fun" he said. He also embarked on ’character making’ independent solo trips worldwide
His career in Photography strengthened his work with the ability to always find the perfect angle for his paintings.
In the mid 90s he returned to Scotland, living in Edinburgh he started developing his distinctive style. A thirst for adventure prompted more travel a move to Jamaica with a stint working as an art auctioneer in all-inclusive resort. He stayed on Island for two years, earning a living picture framing, painting and drawing.
In 2002 he returned to Scotland, determined that his painting would take precedence. Supplementing his income by working as a picture framer he started exhibiting in Argyll galleries. Within a few years his reputation had grown and he was working full time on his paintings.
In 2007 he opened The Art Studio in Tarbert to the public.
Tragedy struck in 2011. Stuart had a major accident, ultimately resulting in him losing an eye. However, he was straight back in the studio. He was adamant that having a fake eye made him more 'focused' (pun intended), producing more detailed work.
A Gallery is Born
During his many hospital stays, he realized he needed a plan B. So he set his mind to opening a Gallery in the picturesque fishing village of Tarbert, on the shores of Loch Fyne. A village where he and his young family now lived. The Harbour Gallery opened in March 2012 and quickly developed a reputation for selling a wide range of art. In 2015 he opened his second Gallery - The Harbour Gallery in Ullapool. He discovered the location on a family weekend away in February and had the doors open by April. Just six years later he opened another gallery in Inveraray.
With an expanding business Stuart was fighting for space between framing and painting, ultimately deciding to open up a separate framing shop in Tarbert. and in 2022, Stuart opened The Picture Framer Tarbert which his son Robbie runs. The shop is next door to The Harbour Gallery in Tarbert.
Rugby World Cup 2023
A candid photo of Stuart, taken while in France 2023.
Stuart had been planning his trip to France for two years since it had been announced and then was delay due to Covid-19. He set up a blog dedicated to showing himself gearing up for the travel to France as well as showing his new limited edition print series out of 223 prints (to reflect the year the world cup took place) with a different print of all 20 countries that took part in the competition, with all of the dates and information assigned to each team by their poll’s in French. Stuart was inspired by an old French travel poster and this was very much supposed to be a teaser of the artwork that was to come once he returned, but sadly on the 2nd October 2023 Stuart Herd passed away whilst over in France.
While The Harbour Gallery Inveraray closed in December 2025 and The Harbour Gallery Ullapool closed in April 2026, The Harbour Gallery Tarbert remains open and is continuing to welcome customers. Our framing shop, The Picture Framer Tarbert, is also open and located right next door.
We would like to thank all of our customers that have shown us support the last few years since Stuarts passing, we really do appreciate it.
Best wishes
Angela and Robbie Herd.
" I'll sit and sketch if I have the time but the majority of my work is done from photographs in the studio, but for me that's part of the process. You look for an angle, and you work from that. You use the camera to capture that angle."
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