Richard Burdon Haldane as an alchemist using bellows, representing his eloquence, to distil a new military unit from three older units Wall Art

The story of Alexander Stuart Boyd began in Glasgow, Scotland. His father, Alexander Boyd, was a muslin manufacturer who had married a woman named Janet Mathieson. Shortly after Alexander Stuart was born, his parents had him baptized in Glasgow. He was the second child of four children and they lived together as a family in Glasgow. When he was still a child, he fell ill and one of his aunts gave him pencils and paper to paint. After the first pictures, he got the interest in art to painting. He was motivated in his painting by his neighbor to become an artist. His neighbor's name was James Cowan, an amateur artist who by chance became his brother-in-law. Boyd was taught to draw at his local day school. During his school years, his father, Alexander Boyd, was buried. He lived with his mother and three siblings until he graduated from high school.