Tina Gray

the Glasgow School of Art

Tina Gray was born in Helensburgh, one of the seven children of Norah Neilson and George Gray, a ship owner in Glasgow.[1] During Gray's childhood the family enjoyed some affluence however, the shipping industry suffered badly following World War I and the family's wealth declined as a result.[2] Gray was homeschooled, and went on to study drawing and painting at the Glasgow School of Art from 1901–1903.[2] Her sister, the 'Glasgow Girl' Norah Neilson Gray, also studied at the Glasgow School of Art and was international recognised until her death in 1931.[2]

A painting of a military hospital by Gray's sister, Norah Neilson Gray

Gray, like her sister, volunteered during World War I. While Gray's sister volunteered with the suffragist-affiliated Scottish Women's Hospitals, Gray volunteered as a nurse with the British Red Cross.[3] She was based at the 25th stationary hospital in Rouen, a British military hospital for infectious diseases,[4] where she was awarded of one scarlet stripe.[5]

In 1925, Gray graduated from the University of Glasgow aged 41 with a medical degree and eventually became the assistant surgeon at the Glasgow Royal Infirmary.[6] She was one of only two female senior surgeons in Scotland at that time.[7]

During World War II, Gray was appointed as a surgeon at Dunfermline and Stonehouse hospitals.[6] Gray retired from Glasgow Royal Infirmary in 1946, and remained at Stonehouse until late 1947.[8]

Gray was a member of the Glasgow and West of Scotland Lady Artists' Society (elected 1939). She died aged 100 in 1985.[4]