Although Strang was meant to follow in the footsteps of his father as a Clyde Shipbuilder, he was considered to be of 'artistic temperament' and so instead attended the Slade School in London. There, he studied for three months under John Edward Poynter, then six years under Alphonse Legros, whom Strang considered to be 'the greatest teacher that ever lived, because he was the greatest artist who ever taught.' Under Legros, Strang learned: 'disciplined, brilliant draughtsmanship; a strange, sometimes sombre, at other times humorous imagination; a high degree of technical skill and-absolute sincerity.' (Herbert Furst, The Studio, vol LXXXI, 1921)