An autobiographical account of the early years of James McBey, the self-taught boy from a humble north-east village who became one of Scotland's most successful and celebrated artists.

James McBey (1883-1959) was born near Foveran on the north-east coast of Scotland. McBey's art is represented in the British Museum, the Imperial War Museum, the Victoria and Albert, the Luxembourg Gallery in Paris, and there are major collections of his work in the Boston Public Library, the National Gallery, Washington, and most notably, in the James McBey Room and Library at Aberdeen Art Gallery.