A major touring exhibition of the art of Sylvia Wishart continues it’s progression around Scotland this month calling at Gray’s School of Art in Aberdeen. Sylvia Wishart was born in Stromness in 1936 and studied at Gray’s in the 1950s and taught there for a number of years. Her work was the subject of a retrospective exhibition at the Pier Arts Centre last year which attracted record audiences.

From one of her earliest drawings to the later large-scale paintings, the exhibition allows Sylvia Wishart’s work to be seen in a context that charts her artistic achievement over more than fifty years, and establishes her place as an important and influential Scottish artist. The range of her work is reflected through some 40 major pieces.

Jane Kidd, Collections Curator at Robert Gordon’s University, said: “This long-awaited show at last honours this modest yet much-loved artist, so firmly rooted in her remote island home, but whose significance and reputation is on a national and international scale. Sylvia Wishart taught for many years at Gray’s School of Art where she was an adored teacher, friend and inspiration to many students in the 1970s and 80s. Retiring to her beloved Orkney in 1987, she continued to paint dramatic landscapes and seascapes, exploring the subtle changes in the seasons, the nuances of light and the textures of the land.”

The exhibition, curated by the Pier Arts Centre, was shown at the Royal Scottish Academy in Edinburgh earlier in the year and will move onto Inverness Museum and Art Gallery as well as venues in Thurso, Wick and Kingussie following the exhibition at Gray’s.

Supported with funding from Scotland’s Islands the exhibition and tour has formed a key element of the year long cultural celebrations which come to an end this March. Further funding was awarded from the Orkney Islands Council Culture Fund and the Royal Scottish Academy in Edinburgh, and the exhibition has been generously sponsored by J&W Tait Ltd, Orkney.

The Year of Scotland’s Islands initiative aims to raise the profile of the islands across the UK and internationally, attract more visitors, bolster economic development and strengthen links between the islands and mainland cultural organisations. The programme, which includes over 100 events across 42 islands, will showcase the music, arts, food, sport and history of the islands, as well as highlight their unique beauty as visitor destinations.

The Scotland’s Islands initiative has been developed through a partnership of the six local authorities with island communities – Argyll and Bute, Highland, North Ayrshire, Orkney, Shetland and Comhairle nan Eilean Siar. Other supporters who have contributed to the funding the programme include Highlands & Islands Enterprise, EventScotland, European Regional Development Fund, VisitScotland and Awards for All.

Andrew Parkinson, Curator of the Pier Arts Centre added, “We are delighted that Sylvia’s work will be seen by the current generation of students in Aberdeen, as well as by the general public there. Sylvia was a very generous teacher and it is most appropriate that her work should be displayed in an institution that meant so much to her. She is certainly very fondly remembered as a friend and influential teacher at Gray’s and her work continues to provide inspiration for those who knew her as well as a growing audience of admirers who are new to the work.”

The exhibition, The lamp in the seaward window – the art of Sylvia Wishartruns from 26 March to 20 April at Gray’s School of Art and the Georgina Scott Sutherland Library at Robert Gordon University’s Garthdee campus in Aberdeen.

For further information on the Scotland’s Islands initiative visit: www.scotlandsislands.com

Source: Pier Arts Centre