Scottish Colourists
Encyclopedia
The Scottish Colourists were a group of painters from Scotland
whose work was not very highly regarded when it was first exhibited in the 1920s and 1930s, but which in the late 20th Century came to have a formative influence on contemporary Scottish art
.
Impressionists
and Fauvists
, such as Monet, Matisse and Cézanne, with the painting traditions of Scotland. A forerunner of this movement was William McTaggart
(1835 – 1910), a Scottish
landscape
painter
who was influenced by Post-Impressionism
. He is regarded as one of the great interpreters of the Scottish landscape and is often labelled the "Scottish Impressionist".
The leading figure of the fully developed Scottish Colourist movement was John Duncan Fergusson
, who visited Paris
regularly from the 1890s on and then lived there from 1907 until 1914. Other Scottish Colourists were Francis Cadell
, Samuel Peploe
and Leslie Hunter. They "absorbed and reworked the strong and vibrant colours of contemporary French painting into a distinctive Scottish idiom during the 1920s and 1930s".
The Scottish Colourists continued the work of their predecessors, the Glasgow Boys. Although their style was confident and vibrant, their subject matter was rather timid compared to their French counterparts as it merely consisted of island landscapes, Edinburgh
interiors and fashionable models. The Scottish colourists were internationally known during their lifetimes but their work fell out of favor by World War II, until they were rediscovered in the 1980s and subsequently seen to have played an influential role on the development of Scottish art.
Their work is featured in the Aberdeen Art Gallery
in Aberdeen, Scotland; the J. D. Fergusson Gallery in Perth, Scotland
; the University of Stirling and the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art
in Edinburgh
. Some of Leslie Hunters paintings can be seen in Kelvingrove art Gallery. The Kirkcaldy Museum and Art Gallery
is said to house the largest collection of works by Peploe and McTaggart.
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
whose work was not very highly regarded when it was first exhibited in the 1920s and 1930s, but which in the late 20th Century came to have a formative influence on contemporary Scottish art
Scottish art
The history of Scottish art which we can take to mean the visual art produced within the modern political boundary of Scotland since the earliest times, forms a distinctive tradition within British and European art...
.
History
The Scottish Colourists combined their training in France and the work of FrenchFrance
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
Impressionists
Impressionism
Impressionism was a 19th-century art movement that originated with a group of Paris-based artists whose independent exhibitions brought them to prominence during the 1870s and 1880s...
and Fauvists
Fauvism
Fauvism is the style of les Fauves , a short-lived and loose group of early twentieth-century Modern artists whose works emphasized painterly qualities and strong colour over the representational or realistic values retained by Impressionism...
, such as Monet, Matisse and Cézanne, with the painting traditions of Scotland. A forerunner of this movement was William McTaggart
William McTaggart
William McTaggart was a Scottish landscape painter who was influenced by Impressionism.-Life and work:...
(1835 – 1910), a Scottish
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
landscape
Landscape art
Landscape art is a term that covers the depiction of natural scenery such as mountains, valleys, trees, rivers, and forests, and especially art where the main subject is a wide view, with its elements arranged into a coherent composition. In other works landscape backgrounds for figures can still...
painter
Painting
Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a surface . The application of the medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush but other objects can be used. In art, the term painting describes both the act and the result of the action. However, painting is...
who was influenced by Post-Impressionism
Post-Impressionism
Post-Impressionism is the term coined by the British artist and art critic Roger Fry in 1910 to describe the development of French art since Manet. Fry used the term when he organized the 1910 exhibition Manet and Post-Impressionism...
. He is regarded as one of the great interpreters of the Scottish landscape and is often labelled the "Scottish Impressionist".
The leading figure of the fully developed Scottish Colourist movement was John Duncan Fergusson
John Duncan Fergusson
John Duncan Fergusson was a Scottish artist, regarded as one of the major artists of the Scottish Colourists school of painting.- Early life :...
, who visited Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
regularly from the 1890s on and then lived there from 1907 until 1914. Other Scottish Colourists were Francis Cadell
Francis Cadell (artist)
Francis Campbell Boileau Cadell RSA was a Scottish Colourist painter, renowned for his depictions of the elegant New Town interiors of his native Edinburgh, and for his work on Iona....
, Samuel Peploe
Samuel Peploe
Samuel John Peploe was a Scottish Post-Impressionist painter, noted for his still life works and for being one of the group of four painters that became known as the Scottish Colourists...
and Leslie Hunter. They "absorbed and reworked the strong and vibrant colours of contemporary French painting into a distinctive Scottish idiom during the 1920s and 1930s".
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
interiors and fashionable models. The Scottish colourists were internationally known during their lifetimes but their work fell out of favor by World War II, until they were rediscovered in the 1980s and subsequently seen to have played an influential role on the development of Scottish art.
Their work is featured in the Aberdeen Art Gallery
Aberdeen Art Gallery
Aberdeen Art Gallery is the main visual arts exhibition space in the city of Aberdeen in Scotland. It opened in 1885, in a building designed by Alexander Marshall Mackenzie....
in Aberdeen, Scotland; the J. D. Fergusson Gallery in Perth, Scotland
Perth, Scotland
Perth is a town and former city and royal burgh in central Scotland. Located on the banks of the River Tay, it is the administrative centre of Perth and Kinross council area and the historic county town of Perthshire...
; the University of Stirling and the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art
Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art
The Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art in Edinburgh, holds the national collection of modern art. When opened in 1960, the collection was held in Inverleith House, at the Royal Botanic Gardens...
in Edinburgh
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
. Some of Leslie Hunters paintings can be seen in Kelvingrove art Gallery. The Kirkcaldy Museum and Art Gallery
Kirkcaldy Museum and Art Gallery
Kirkcaldy Museum and Art Gallery is the main museum and exhibition space in Kirkcaldy in Fife, Scotland.The land for the town's museum and art gallery was donated by John Nairn on the former site of Balsusney House, the home of John Maxton...
is said to house the largest collection of works by Peploe and McTaggart.
External links
- National Galleries of Scotland: Cadell
- National Galleries of Scotland: Fergusson
- National Galleries of Scotland: Hunter
- National Galleries of Scotland: Peploe
- Portland Gallery Portland Gallery in London specialise in the work of the Scottish Colourists
- http://www.portlandgallery.co.uk/pages/exhibitions/241.html Major Cadell exhibition at Portland Gallery in September 2010 to coincide with the re-publication of the book on Cadell by Tom Hewlett