Scottish artist John Duncan Fergusson (1874-1961) is best known as a member of the informal grouping known as the Scottish Colourists. Along with Peploe, Cadell and Hunter, Fergusson absorbed the lessons of the Fauvist and Impressionist painters in France within his own colourful work.

Living Paint is a touring exhibition of up to 40 of his paintings (less in the smaller galleries – the Iona has 23 on show) on loan from the Fergusson Gallery in Perth while restoration work is carried on there. It will visit Highland Council galleries in Kingussie, Inverness, Wick and Thurso this autumn and winter.

The exhibition includes a selection of landscape, portrait, still life and nude paintings from throughout his career. Early portraits like the imposing ‘White Dress’ (1904) are reminiscent of the fashionable style of John Singer Sergent, but his use of colour, texture and line quickly became increasingly experimental.

Fergusson’s Highland ancestry and all things Celtic remained important to him, and he did much to encourage and promote Scottish art. His own style drew heavily on early contact with avant-garde artists in Paris, however, and this vibrant and enjoyable exhibition highlights his links with France, where he spent many summers painting with his long-term partner (and occasional subject), dancer Margaret Morris.

Cezanne is an obvious influence in a painting like ‘Christmas Time in the South of France’ (1922), a link made all the more explicit by the French landscape. His landscape paintings include a slightly fanciful study of ‘Cairngorm’ (1929), while a couple of later canvases depict views in Glasgow’s Botanical Gardens.

His portraits and studies of women are the most striking works on view, including an attractive study of a mother and child (rare in his output), as well as the sensuous studies like ‘Summer 1914’ or ‘Golden Nude’ (1937).

Living Paint can be seen at the following galleries:
Iona Gallery, Highland Folk Museum, Kingussie, 10-31 October 2003
Swanson Gallery, Thurso Library, Thurso, 7-22 November 2003
Inverness Museum & Art Gallery, 29 November 2003-3 January 2004
St Fergus Gallery, Wick Library, Wick, 10-31 January 2004
The Fergusson Gallery in Perth will re-open to the public in Spring 2005.

© Kenny Mathieson, 2003