Art Sunday D J Fergusson

Yesterday I spend an hour or so wandering around the Fergusson Gallery in Perth. The first pleasant surprise was the gallery itself. It’s a grade A listed structure originally built as Perths first Waterworks. It was designed by Dr Adam Anderson ( engineer and then rector of Perth Academy) and completed in 1832. It’s one of Scotlands best cast iron industrial monuments.
It’s also the earliest known example of cast iron building in Scotland. Perth used to use the river Tay as its main source of water but as early as 1750 the Town council recommended looking for alternative sources of fresh water due to contamination of the river. By 1820 no solution had been found and Anderson was appointed by the council to find a suitable supply.

It wasn’t until about ten years later that Anderson, unable to come up with a viable supply of fresh water put forward his extraordinary and very radical plan to build an infiltration system. His scheme was probably only accepted because the town recognized his previous success at providing the town with its first gas supply.  Anderson acted as architect, planner, chemist, geologist, physicist and engineer. An Act of Parliament was needed (granted 1829) to authorize the construction of Perths first waterworks. The waterworks was designed as a massive sandstone drum, sandstone being the local stone, surmounted by a cast iron water tank and covered by an iron dome.

This wonderful building has been threatened with demolition several times but it was finally saved from the threat of demolition and restored to its original condition by public concern and the Perth Civic trust in the 1960’s. It was initially used as the tourist information centre, when they were re-housed it was used as a general gallery by Perth council and now, after extensive refurbishment, it is the permanent home of the Fergusson collection and the National Centre for the study and appreciation of his work. The Fergusson gallery was opened 0n Fergusson’s birthday 9th march 1992.

http://www.pkc.gov.uk/Education+and+learning/Museums+and+galleries/Fergusson+Gallery/

Fergusson was born in Leith near Edinburgh March 9th 1874. His parents both came from Pitlochry and Fergusson always considered Perthshire and the highlansda his spiritual home. As a young man he enrolled at Edinburgh to train as a painter but after only a few months he left to study on his own. He set himself a rigid timetable of painting and drawing from life mostly in the open air. His inspiration came from the Glasgow boys, a group of painters based around the Glasgow School of Art and the French naturalist painters.

He visited and studied in France regularly learning to make small quick studies which could later be worked from in a studio. One of the biggest influences during this time was Whistler, especially the work exhibited in Paris at the Memorial exhibition 1905.

He continued to live and work in different parts of France, and in 1913, in Paris, he met his lifelong partner Margaret Morris, a young dancer and painter who was visiting Paris with her own dance company.
During the war years Fergusson and Margaret returned to Britain, she stayed in London and he divided his time between her in London and his family in Edinburgh. Toward the end of the war he was commissioned to make a series of paintings in the naval dockyard Portsmouth.

 At the end of the war Margaret began establishing her various dance schools and Fergusson developed his reputation as one of Scotland’s greatest painters. He died in 1961 and it was Margaret Morris who inherited most of his work. She realized its importance and it was her who, in 1963, established the J D Fergusson Art Foundation to administer the collection.

The collection had, at that time, no permanent home but was loaned out regularly to various other international galleries. Now the collection of over 150 oil paintings, hundreds of watercolours and drawings, 23 sculptures, and around 60 and sketch books are all housed and stored under one roof. The archives, consisting of around 3000 letters, 500 photographs and Fergussons personal library are also part of the permanent collection. I have to say………..what a grand day out that was 

For more information see
http://www.exploreart.co.uk/artistic_styles_details.asp?ArtistID=27&ArtisticStyleID=4

Also, quite a long time ago I did another post on Fergusson, here

http://forgetmenot525.multiply.com/journal/item/62/J._D._Fergusson_Scottish_Colourist
The red sail is one of the paintings Fergusson was commissioned to paint of Portsmouth Dockyard.
John Duncan Fergusson
Oil Painting
Fine Art
In this late painting, Fergusson shows how his association with the Fauvists, affected his work. Fergusson settled in Paris in 1907 and soon after his work underwent radical chqnge. He began to paint using bold colours and simple, flattened shapes. Even in this late work, probably painted after Fergusson settled in Glasgow, the lasting influence of Fauvists can be seen
He is primarily remembered a one of the Scottish Colourists, they were four Scottish artists who worked independently of one another but believed in the same approach to painting. These men were Samuel John Peploe, John Duncan Fergusson, George Leslie Hunter and Francis Boileau Cadell. The group all trained in France and the French influence can be seen in their work. Fergusson, more than the others was influenced in his later work by the Fauvist movement. 

Anne Redpath, Scottish Artist

Anne Redpath; Scottish Painter
1895 - 1965

Art Sunday; Anne Redpath, Scottish artist.

Anne Redpath; Scottish Painter
1895 - 1965
Her paintings are here

http://forgetmenot525.multiply.com/photos/album/224/Anne_Redpath_Scottish_ArtistAnne

Redpath was  Born in Galashiels in 1895, she was the daughter of a textile designer. The Redpaths moved from Galashiels to Hawick when Anne was about six. After Hawick High School, she went to Edinburgh College of Art in 1913. Her father was a traditional Scottish tweed designer in the Scottish Borders. She saw a connection between his use of colour and her own. She is reported to have said "I do with a spot of red or yellow in a harmony of grey, what my father did in his tweed’’. 


She attended Edinburgh College of Art and graduated in 1918. Post-graduate study led to a scholarship which allowed her to travel on the Continent in 1919, she visited Bruges, Paris, Florence and Siena. She travelled extensively throughout Europe which is later reflected time and time again in her work. The following year, 1920, she married James Michie, an architect, and they went to live in Pas-de-Calais, France where her first two sons were born; the eldest of whom is the painter and sculptor Alastair Michie. In 1924 they moved to the South of France, and in 1928 their third son was born, now David Michie the artist. Returning to Scotland, Redpath began to paint seriously in both oil and water-colour. Initially her work was mostly still-life, but in  later years she chose Mediterranean subjects, which she painted using intense colours. This was very much in keeping with contemporary influences prevalent throughout France and Europe at that time.

In 1934 she returned to Hawick and soon began exhibiting in Edinburgh. She was made president of the Scottish Society of Women Artists from 1944 to 1947. The Royal Scottish Academy admitted her as an associate in 1947, and in 1952 she became the first woman Academician. In 1955 she honoured with an OBE for her work as "Artist" and "Member of the Board of Management of the Edinburgh College of Art".
Once her children were grown-up, she developed an ever more active involvement in the Edinburgh art circles. She moved to live in town at the end of the 1940s and in the 1950s and early 1960s she started to travel again, painting in Spain, the Canary Islands, Corsica, Brittany, Venice and elsewhere.

She is probably best-known for her still-lifes where familiar household objects - a chair, a cup - are made into a "two-dimensional" design. She used textiles - a printed tablecloth, a spotted scarf - to add pattern within the pattern. The Indian Rug, also known as Red Shoes, is a good example of this group of paintings.

Matisse's influence is clear in these bold, flat-surfaced interior arrangements. During her travels throughout Europe she discovered the richness of Catholic imagery which was unfamiliar to a young woman brought up as a strict Scottish Protestant. The rich imagery of Catholicism is a theme explored many timers in her work.


 
Together with a group of contemporaries her work was sometimes referred to as ‘’The Edinburgh School’’. And they are seen by some as the natural successors to the Scottish Colourists:

Redpath's ‘’The Orange Chair’’, for example, suggests the Colourist heritage, even the name is reminiscent of ‘’The orange Blind’’, (unfortunately I can only find a tiny image of her ‘’Orange Chair’’).

Art Sunday; Edward Atkinson Hornel

Edward Atkinson Hornel (1864-1933) was a Scottish painter of landscapes, flowers, and foliage, with children.
He was actually born in Australia, but of Scottish parents and considered himself to be Scottish. He was brought up in Scotland, at Kirkcudbright, and for most of his life lived and worked in Scotland. He studied for three years at Edinburgh Art School, followed by two years at Antwerp under Professor Verlat. He Returned to Scotland from Antwerp in 1885 and almost immediately met George Henry, a fellow Scottish painter. They both associated themselves with the Glasgow based Art movement and are usually considered to be of The Glasgow School.

William McTaggart 1835 - 1910, seascapes

For me it is his seascapes that are so wonderful. I live next to the North East cost of Scotland. I walk these beaches almost every day. I know the light here, that soft hazy light of a summer day. I know the long summer days where it barley get dark. I know how the Hare (Scottish word for sea mist) swirls in from no where and then swirl away again, changing the light as it goes. I recognise the dark green/grey crashing seas and I hear the screeching gulls echoing above the howling winds and stormy seas. When I look at this mans seascapes I know they can’t be any where in the world except here. That is why he is maybe my favourite Scottish Painter of all time, because his portrayal is so accurate. I just wish I could have found better and bigger pictures of his work to show you.

J. D. Fergusson, Scottish Colourist

I have already posted information about some of the Colourists, Cadell and Hunter, and since there are only four of them I thought it would be nice to do a bit on the others too, just to complete the set.  So first up is Fergusson who I suppose could be called the main inspiration behind this style. Some time over the next couple of days I shall post something about Peploe, the fourth and final painter from this particular little set. I have to admit this biography is not my own work, I was looking around the internet and came across this, it seems to be as good if not better than any thing I could do so I thought I may as well post it as it is, and it does include a source list at the bottom which is very useful. So here he is then……………………..Fergusson.

Biography: John Duncan Fergusson

JD Fergusson was perhaps the most versatile and experimental of the Scottish Colourists his love of vibrant colour and depiction of the human form leaving a lasting impression on the viewer. He was an excellent draughtsman who was able to adapt the various new influences, which came over from Paris, making them into something personal and unique.

 Born in Edinburgh in 1874 he was the eldest of four children. His family, successful wine merchants originally came from near Pitlochry, Perthshire. His passion for art began in the mid 1880s and although he had been accepted by the Trustees Academy, (the forerunner to Edinburgh College of Art), he gave up his formal training as he found it too rigid and limiting. The classes involved studying from the vast array of classical plaster casts but Fergusson was keen to learn directly from life and showing characteristic independence of mind, he taught himself.

 From early in his career, travel was to play an important part of his artistic development, he went to Spain and Morrocco but it was France, and his experience of French art, which was most influential. His first trip to Paris took place around 1897 where he drew inspiration from French artists such as Edouard Manet and Claude Monet, and later the post impressionist artists known as the Fauves, but he was also a great admirer of the work of the American artist James Abbot McNeil Whistler. He met Samuel Peploe around 1900 and with their shared love of French painting they became immediate friends. The two made regular trips to the coastal resorts of Normandy and Brittany in North West France and following a successful London exhibition in 1905 Fergusson made plans to move to Paris permanently, and did so two years later. Unlike his fellow Colourists, Fergusson’s interest in depicting nude forms did not diminish over the course of his career and in 1913 he meet the woman who became so influential in his future work, dancer Margaret Morris. Her dynamic personality and sensuous physicality captivated Fergusson. Despite her undoubted importance as Fergusson’s model, this was secondary to the benefit of a mutually beneficial creative partnership.

Later that same year Fergusson set off for a sunnier climate than Paris and found it in the South of France, spending the summer with Peploe in Cassis. Although Margaret Morris was based with her dance school in London, she was to make regular visits to the South of France. At the outbreak of the Second World War their idyllic life was shattered and Fergusson returned to the UK, to base himself near Margaret in London. The 1920s were successful for Fergusson; he held his first one-man show in Scotland followed by the first of only three shows during their lifetimes with fellow Colourists Peploe, Hunter and Cadell in London in 1923. He returned to Paris in 1925 and settled there until the outbreak of the Second World War. On his return to Scotland he became actively involved with the younger Scottish artists forming the New Scottish Art Group in 1942 and he completed his book, Modern Scottish Painting in 1943.  

 

 He outlived his fellow colourists by some years and lived modestly, with Margaret Morris, in Glasgow until his death in 1961.

Perth Art - JD Fergusson Scottish Colourist, Central Scotland

The Fergusson Gallery is the definitive site to see the largest collection of work by Scottish Colourist John Duncan Fergusson under one roof. Housed in the fine circular gallery setting of Perth's old waterworks which dates from 1832, the Fergusson Gallery opened in 1992

Text source: The Dictionary of Scottish Painters (Haslby & Harris) and Living Paint, a catalogue and biography published by the Fergusson Gallery (Kirsten Simist)

 

Alink to the pictures

 

http://forgetmenot525.multiply.com/photos/album/72/J._D._Fergusson_Scottish_Colouris_the_perth_collection.t

J. D. Fergusson, Scottish Colouris, the perth collection.t

THE FERGUSSON GALLERY, PERTH, SCOTLAND
The J.D. Fergusson Memorial Collection was presented to the University by Margaret Morris Fergusson, the widow of the artist, and the J.D. Fergusson Art Foundation on Thursday 26th September 1968. This was the first and only bequest of a group of his work to be made by the Foundation before the setting up of the Fergusson Gallery in Perth.
In the late sixties the Foundation and Margaret Morris were looking for somewhere 'safe' to house the collection and Universities were a popular choice for seeking a secure home for art at that time. Universities encouraged innovation and attracted new money whereas the museum and gallery world at that time was anything but well funded and secure. Fergusson had also been very attached to Perthshire and had expressed a wish that a gallery could be sited there so the new University at Stirling with its energetic young Principal, Tom Cottrell, and a location not so distant from the County, seemed a natural choice.
The collection of fourteen of his paintings was chosen to represent all periods of his life from his very early Bazaar in Tangiers, c.1897 to A Bridge on the Kelvin, 1942. Our collection includes some of his finest work and includes the seminal painting Rhythm, 1911.
The University has published an illustrated catalogue of the collection with an introductory essay by Guy Peploe, the grandson of Fergusson's friend and contemporary, S.J. Peploe.
This catalogue, posters of Portsmouth Docks and Voiles Indiennes and postcards of the entire collection are available either at the Gallery or on request by mail or email to the curator.

Leslie Hunter, Scottish Colourist, Scottish Artist

Paintings by Leslie Hunter one of the four painters collectivly known as 'the Colourists'

ART SUNDAY; Drinking (no2)

 

 

LESLIE HUNTER;  SCOTTISH COLOURIST

Every one seemed to like Cadell and not many people seem to have heard of him so I thought maybe I should briefly introduce another of the scottish Colourists, Leslie Hunter. This painting is called;

'THE PINK TABLECLOTH'

George Leslie Hunter (7 August 1879 - 6 December 1931), known as Leslie Hunter, was a Scottish painter and one of the artists of the Scottish Colourists school of painting.

He was often considered the most natural of the Scottish Colourists, he was primarily a self-taught artist, renowned for this bohemian appearance, eccentric behaviour his unwavering, almost obsessive devotion to art.

Hunter was born in Rothesay on the Isle of Bute but his family emigrated to California when he was 13. He was the son of a dispensing chemist and attended Rothesay Academy untill 1892 when his father decided to emigrate to California. Here Hunter remained until 1906. During this time he worked as in illustrator for Californian newspapers and magazines. Here he developed his skill as a draughtsman which become the  cornerstone of his talent.

Hunter’s first one man exhibition was due to open in San Francisco in 1906, but all the works intended for this show were destroyed by the San Francisco earthquake. He was utterly devastated by this disaster and didn’t fully recover from the trauma, he returned to Scotland and settled in Glasgow. Here he became acquainted with Alexander Reid, in whose  gallery he did eventually hold his first one man exhibition in 1916.

During the 1920s, Hunter came to prominence with Fergusson, Cadell, and Peploe as one of the four artists collectively known as the Scottish Colourists. They were all influenced, to varying degrees, by the purity, bright colour and brushwork technique of the French Impressionsists, Post-Impressionists and Fauvists.

In 1922 Hunter visited Paris, Venice, Florence and the Riviera Coast, often joined by his friend and colleague John Duncan Fergusson. Following their return, he settled in Fife and painted still lifes and landscapes, many of which were inspired by the house-boats at Loch Lomond.

Hunter spent much time during subsequent years in the South of France, painting at Saint Paul de Vence, Cassis and St Tropez between 1927-1929. His visits abroad proved highly productive and he exhibited much of his recent work at the Feragil Galleries, New York in 1929, an exhibition that won him considerable critical acclaim.

 Hunter's health however was  poor and that same year he suffered a serious breakdown. Dispite his failing health he continued to paint and produced some of his finest works during his later years.

Hunter is best known for scenes painted in Fife and in the South of France. He died in Glasgow in 1931 following unsuccessful treatment and surgery for his medical condition.

 

There is an album of his paintings in my pictures, again, the images are very small which is a shame but it does give you some idea of his work

http://forgetmenot525.multiply.com/photos/album/66/Leslie_Hunter_Scottish_Colourist_Scottish_Artist

 

http://www.flickr.com/photos/forget-me-not5275/sets/72157605916168064/

 

 

 

 

Cadell, Scottish Painter

Francis Cadell was one of the four main artists who made up what was known as 'The Scottish Colourists'

Art Sunday, Drinking

 

Art Sunday (29.06.08), Drinking

The Orange Blind

by Francis Campbell Boileau Cadell (1883–1937)

THE PAINTING

The painting I have chosen for the theme ‘Drinking’ is ‘The Orange Blind’, by Francis Cadell. This shows a well dressed fashionable lady sat drinking tea in an Edinburgh interior.

 

The whole scene typifies fashionable Edinburgh of early 20^th Century. The tea service is silver, the black and gold screens have a Japanese, exotic look to them, there is a sedate and discreet piano player and the furniture exudes quality and style (probably French). It is interesting to note that while Cadell was heavily influenced by the work of contemporary French artists; Cadells subject drinks tea from a silver tea set but the subjects of French paintings were much more likely to be depicted with a glass of wine. This is possibly a reflection of the influence of the ‘Kirk’ (church) in Scottish society of the time. The painting gets its name from the huge bright orange blind covering the high window in this interior. This blind sets the tone of the painting. If you can imagine this painting without that blind, or with the blind toned down, dulled or diluted you can see the importance of colour in this painting. Without this block of solid orange the painting loses every thing. It  becomes a rather ordinary record of middle class Edinburgh society, but WITH the blind; it’s a vibrant piece of art. Which is another reason for choosing this particular painting, it does demonstrate exactly why this small group of painters were known collectively as the Scottish Colourists.

THE ARTIST

Cadell was born in Edinburgh but from the age of 16, he studied in Paris at the Académie Julian. While there he was in close contact with the French avant-garde painters of the day and his exposure to work by the early Fauvists, and in particular Matisse, became his most important influence. Once returned to Scotland, he exhibited in Edinburgh, Glasgow, and London on a regular basis. He painted landscapes, interiors, still life and figures in both oil and watercolour. He is most noted for his use vibrant waves and solid blocks of colour. He enjoyed the landscape of Iona (Scottish Island) enormously, which he first visited in 1912 and features prominently in his work. During the 1920s he spent several summers with Samuel Peploe, another Scottish Colourist, on painting trips to Iona.

THE SCOTTISH COLOURISTS

At the turn of the centaury a small group of Scottish painters collectively known as ‘The Colourists’  were among the first to introduce the intense colour of the French Fauve movement into Britain. This Group of four Scottish artists, Francis Cadell, Leslie Hunter, Samuel Peploe and the leading figure John Duncan Fergusson were greatly influenced by work of contemporary French artists.Their work was not highly regarded when it was first exhibited in the early years of the twentieth Century, but by the late 20th Century it had become popular both at home and abroad. Their distinctive style had a formative influence on contemporary Scottish art. The Colourists visited and trained in France, the influence of the French Impressionists such as Monet, Matisse, and Cezanne is easily seen in their work.  This French influence is mixed with elements of traditional Scottish painting to give the unique style that The Colourists became renowned for. They worked with the vivid colours of French painting to produce a distinctive Scottish style. The Scottish Colourists continued the work of their predecessors, the Glasgow Boys. There seems to be a direct link between the art of the ‘Glasgow Boys’ and the art of the ‘Scottish Colourists’. The Glasgow Boys were revolutionary in their approach to art in late 19^th century/ early 20^th century and the Colourists took the movement forward into the middle/late 20^th century.

I have searched for a decent sized photograph of this painting but unfortunately I could only find this rather small reproduction of it. This is such a shame because I have seen this painting in the Kelvingrove Gallery, Glasgow and it really is a wonderful piece of art when seen hanging in the gallery. I have found some pictures of other pieces of his work but unfortunately none of these pictures is very big. You will just have to use your imagination and think big.

 

 

http://forgetmenot525.multiply.com/photos/album/65/Cadell_Scottish_Painter

 

 

http://www.flickr.com/photos/forget-me-not5275/sets/72157605906157708/