The Rugged Origins of a Landscape Painter The landscape of Northumberland defines the early perception of John Moir. Born around 1776 in Peterhead, Scotland, he was the son of a local minister and the nephew of the antiquarian James Byres. His formative years were shaped by the stark, unyielding topography of the North, a connection that would later dictate the direction of his brush. He moved from the scholarly atmosphere of his upbri…