Just to clarify: the signature is on the front of the painting, but the paper was evidently trimmed before mounting, which is why it's not complete.
I forgot to mention in my first post that there is a pencilled note on the back of the mounting board - "Miss Greig" (very rushed handwriting, but I think that's what it says) and the figure 2 underneath. Presumably this was something to do with instructions to the framer. Sorry for omitting that, as it's probably enough to exclude Mr Green. I still wouldn't know, though, whether Miss Greig was the artist, or perhaps the artist's daughter or another female relation who was getting it framed.
With Greig being a Scottish name, I had a look in the 1881 census index for Scotland and found an Ann H and an Agnes H Greig (one married, one single and a governess - but I didn't keep the details of the entries). However, none of my Scottish connections involve the name Greig, or any of the ones I found associated with these entries.
As for the painting's provenance, all I know is that it's been in the family for many years, but I've no idea how it got there or when. One possibility is a man who was a bit of a connoisseur and collector, but he had no Scottish kin. Another possibility is someone English who visited Scotland a lot - did he just happen to see this and like it? Or (less likely in view of the route it took through the family) there's a more distant line with roots in Paisley, a much later member of which lived in Oban for a time.
I think with the artist, since there appear to be no records with that name, the best I can hope for is that now I've posted this, one day someone might find it and recognise it as part of their own family.
So what about the location? I suspect the west coast of Scotland, but that's pretty extensive, and I don't know it enough to be sure.
Arthur
