It was a pleasure to give the paper ‘”Complete Impotent Senility”: The Scottish Colourists and the Royal Scottish Academy’ at the Scottish Society of Art History (SSAH) and Royal Scottish Academy’s conference, Scottish Art and…
View PostPlease join the award-winning writer, broadcaster and journalist Damian Barr and me when we are ‘in conversation’ about his new novel, The Two Roberts, at Edinburgh Central Library on Thursday 19 February 2026. The event…
View PostI am looking forward to giving the paper ‘Complete Impotent Senility: The Scottish Colourists and the Royal Scottish Academy’ at the Scottish Society for Art History and Royal Scottish Academy (RSA) conference ‘Scottish Art and…
View PostI enjoyed Chairing a Panel Discussion to mark the launch of Johnstons of Elgin’s ‘From St Andrews to St Ives’ Pre-Spring Collection, inspired by the work of Wilhelmina Barns-Graham (1912-2004). Wilhelmina Barns-Graham Wilhelmina Barns-Graham needs…
View PostI was pleased to talk about the artist Stanley Cursiter (1887-1976) for BBC Radio Orkney the other day, in an interview with Cameron Stout. Stanley Cursiter Cursiter was born in Kirkwall, Orkney in 1887 and…
View PostI am looking forward to interviewing Katy Hessel about her new book How to Live an Artful Life, at a Topping & Company Booksellers event in St Andrews on Monday 10 November 2025. Katy Hessel…
View PostI am very grateful to be undertaking a Hugo Burge Foundation Writer’s Residency this Autumn. It is giving me precious time to work on a book about the Scottish Colourists for the National Galleries of…
View PostI am delighted to share the news that I have been commissioned to write a book about the Scottish Colourists by the National Galleries of Scotland, for publication in late 2026. The Scottish Colourists The…
View PostI am pleased to say that the recording of my talk ‘A Century of the Scottish Colourists’ for the National Galleries of Scotland can now be viewed on youtube at this link. Marking a Centennial…
View PostI am looking forward to being on the Hugo Burge Foundation’s Creative Individual Awards panel this summer. The Foundation was established by the late internet entrepreneur, collector and philanthropist Hugo Burge in 2022. Hugo was passionate…
View PostPlease join me on tour with the Scottish Colourists, as I give the talk ‘A Century of the Scottish Colourists’ in Edinburgh (in-person and online), Kirkcudbright (in-person) and Glasgow (in-person twice) in 2025 and 2026.…
View PostMy article ‘Home from Home: The Red Jersey by Mabel Nicholson‘, originally written for the Scottish Society for Art History journal, has been published on the Aberdeen Archives, Gallery and Museums website. Mabel Pryde or…
View PostI am looking forward to giving the Scottish Colourists talk ‘A Century of the Scottish Colourists‘ to accompany the Fleming Collection exhibition The Scottish Colourists: Radical Perspectives at Dovecot Studios in Edinburgh on 22 April…
View PostI am excited to have been appointed a founding Trustee of the Lund Humphries Foundation for Visual Arts. It is a Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO) founded by Scolar Fine Art Ltd, the company which owns…
View PostI am delighted to have written a blog called ‘A Century of the Scottish Colourists‘ for the National Galleries of Scotland. The Scottish Colourists The four artists F. C. B. Cadell, J. D. Fergusson, G.…
View PostCelebrate 2025 as a new year of art history by reading texts I have written about Wilhelmina Barns-Graham, Mabel Pryde Nicholson, the Scottish Colourist John Duncan Fergusson and William Gillies. Read on to find out…
View PostSpend November with me and modern Scottish art and architecture! I will be taking part in a Wilhelmina Barns-Graham book launch, giving talks about Mabel Pryde Nicholson and Fountainbridge Library and will be contributing to…
View PostI have contributed an essay to the major forthcoming book, Wilhelmina Barns-Graham: The Glaciers, which will be published by Lund Humphries on 7 October 2024. Grindelwald Glacier Wilhelmina Barns-Graham (1912-2004) is arguably best known for…
View PostI have enjoyed being part of the process to commission a portrait by Ben Sullivan of Melvyn Roffe, the outgoing Principal of George Watson’s College, Edinburgh. George Watson’s College Watson’s was established in 1741 and…
View PostI was excited to discover a special painting by James McIntosh Patrick (1907-98) recently, in a private Scottish collection. Braemar Castle, Royal Deeside This Spring I was invited to visit the home of a recently…
View PostI shall be giving the talk ‘Mabel Pryde Nicholson: An Artist of Edinburgh’ for Rottingdean Heritage on 10 August 2024. It will accompany the exhibition Prydie: The Life and Art of Mabel Pryde Nicholson at…
View PostI shall be giving my lecture ‘Anne Redpath: Queen of Edinburgh‘ at the City Art Centre, Edinburgh on 16 August 2024. It is part of the talks programme accompanying their exhibition Adam Bruce Thomson: The…
View PostThe Scottish Colourist John Duncan Fergusson was born on this day 150 years ago. To mark this anniversary I have written a ‘Curation‘ for Art UK entitled ‘Beyond the Scottish Colourists: John Duncan Fergusson at…
View PostTo mark the 150th anniversary of the birth of the Scottish Colourist John Duncan Fergusson (1874-1961) I have co-curated a touring display of his work and will be delivering a paper about his legacy for…
View PostI am thrilled to have joined the ranks of Carla van de Puttelaar’s Women in the Art World portrait series, after a sitting in Edinburgh’s New Town last Autumn. Carla van de Puttelaar Carla van…
View PostI am looking forward to giving my talk ‘Queen of Edinburgh: Anne Redpath and her Circle‘ at the City Art Centre in Edinburgh on 16 August 2024. It is part of the education programme accompanying…
View PostI am delighted to be talking about Scottish art in a trio of winter talks this November, twice at the National Galleries of Scotland and once at the New Club, Edinburgh. A Scottish Colourist in…
View PostI am looking forward to giving a talk about the Scottish Colourist F. C. B. Cadell (1883-1937) at Shambellie House in New Abbey, Dumfries on 6 October 2023. Charles ‘Ted’ Stewart Shambellie House was very…
View PostIt was my pleasure to mentor the artist Andrea Geile on the creative journey towards her retrospective exhibition, Fertile Ground, at the Gerhard Marcks Haus, Bremen. Andrea Geile Andrea Geile trained as a print-maker and…
View PostI enjoyed helping to select the Modern Scots collection display which is now open at Perth Art Gallery. It covers 100 years of Scottish creativity, including Scottish artists’ engagement with European modernism. Read on to…
View PostA season of Scottish Women Artists is upon us! From Anne Redpath in Traquair, to a major survey exhibition in Edinburgh, to Joan Eardley in Kirkcudbright and Jessie M. King in Glasgow. Anne Redpath: The…
View PostPlease join me when I give the opening talk at the ‘Anne Redpath and her Circle‘ exhibition at The Granary Gallery, Berwick-upon-Tweed on 19 May 2023. Anne Redpath (1895-1965) Anne Redpath is widely recognised at…
View PostI was delighted to be asked to write about ‘a Cadell for the nation’, to celebrate the gift of an important painting by the Scottish Colourist F. C. B. Cadell (1883-1937) to the National Galleries…
View PostPlease join me when I host a trio of talks about Modern Scottish Art on-line for the Scottish Society for Art History. Sandy Wood on the artist William Wilson The society was founded in 1984…
View PostI am spoilt for choice in helping to select displays for Culture Perth and Kinross’s refreshed Perth Art Gallery. It is a exciting time in the Scottish city with the new Perth Museum opening in…
View PostI am looking forward to giving the talk ‘A Scottish Colourist in our Midst: F. C. B. Cadell‘ on 13 October 2022, as part of the Moray Feu Bicentenary events programme. The event will be…
View PostI am delighted to be giving the lecture ‘Queen of Edinburgh: Anne Redpath and her Circle‘ for EDFAS (Edinburgh Decorative and Fine Arts Society) at the Scottish National Gallery on 21 September 2022, sponsored by…
View PostI can’t wait to be ‘in conversation’ with Lachlan Goudie about his terrific book, The Story of Scottish Art, at the Bookmark Book Festival on Saturday 8 October 2022, sponsored by Lyon & Turnbull. Lachlan…
View PostIt was exciting to announce that Margaret Morris’s portrait of her pupil and assistant Flossie Jolley has been acquired by The Fleming Collection, in an article I have written for the Scottish Women and the…
View PostJoin me ‘At Home with the Scottish Colourists‘ at Marchmont House in the Scottish Borders, for a very special weekend sponsored by Lyon & Turnbull this September. Marchmont House Marchmont House near Greenlaw in the…
View PostI enjoyed choosing a work for inclusion in the ‘30 Years of The Fergusson Gallery‘ display which runs at the gallery until 31 October 2022. The J. D. Fergusson Art Foundation John Duncan Fergusson (1874-1961)…
View PostThe recording of my talk ‘Collecting Joan Eardley’ for the Hunterian Art Gallery can now be viewed on their YouTube channel. Celebrating Joan Eardley The talk is about the acquisition of Joan Eardley’s work for…
View PostEnter the world of the art class, alongside teachers and students, as they work at easels, contemplate still life objects and inspire each other’s creativity. David Macbeth Sutherland David Macbeth Sutherland (1883-1973) was born in…
View PostMy paper ‘Form and Colour: Friendship, Patronage and Collaboration between Barbara Hepworth, Leslie Martin and Sadie Speight‘ for the Hepworth Research Network has gone live on their website. Hepworth Research Network The Hepworth Research Network…
View PostI am looking forward to giving the free on-line talk ‘Collecting Joan Eardley‘ for the Hunterian Art Gallery on 11 March 2022. Joan Eardley Centenary Joan Eardley (1921-63) is one of Britain’s leading twentieth-century artists.…
View PostI am looking forward to giving the Closing Remarks at the forthcoming Scotland and Japan conference, being held on-line via zoom and in-person at the National Museums Scotland on 10 & 11 February 2022. The…
View PostThe latest edition of the Scottish Society for Art History’s journal has just been published and I am delighted to have contributed to it. It is based on the proceedings of the Society’s Art, Landscape…
View PostWant to know which are the best exhibitions of work by 20th-century British women artists in 2022? Look no further than this ‘She Made It’ article! I have chosen my favourites, which take us from…
View PostI was delighted to be one of 90 industry experts invited to choose a building or public space, built within the past 90 years, to celebrate the opening of the Building Centre in 1931. It…
View PostI am delighted to have joined the Harry and Margery Boswell Collection committee at the museums of the University of St Andrews. Harry and Margery Boswell The collection was inaugurated by Margery Boswell in 1995,…
View PostI was delighted to be asked to choose my favourite interior for Homes & Interiors Scotland magazine. For the ‘I LOVE THIS’ feature in the current issue I chose the Mansfield Traquair Centre in Edinburgh.…
View PostI thoroughly enjoyed writing about Barbara Hepworth and Wilhelmina Barns-Graham’s friendship for the Wilhelmina Barns-Graham Trust. Wilhelmina Barns-Graham’s Diaries The article is based on Wilhelmina Barns-Graham’s diaries of 1940 and 1941 which have recently been…
View PostI am delighted to be chairing the on-line talk A ‘Magician of the Brush’: Robin Philipson, to be given by Elizabeth Cumming for members of the Scottish Society for Art History, at 6.30pm on Tuesday…
View PostThe death of Elizabeth Blackadder (1931-2021) earlier this month is a sad and significant loss to the British art world. As a student and teacher Blackadder was a link between generations of leading modern Scottish…
View PostI look forward to talking about Scottish women artists when I give my lecture ‘The First Women of the Royal Scottish Academy‘ to members of GAFAS, the Glasgow Antiques and Fine Arts Society, on 15…
View PostI’m delighted to see my article ‘Unexpected Eardley’ in the latest issue of The Fleming Collection’s Scottish Art News magazine. It discusses unusual places where you can find paintings by the leading Scottish artist Joan…
View PostI am delighted to have written the blog ‘A Private Family Portrait: Ben Nicholson and his Artist Relatives‘ for Pallant House Gallery, Chichester. Ben Nicholson: From the Studio Exhibition It was written to accompany Pallant…
View PostPlease join me at the Beyond Borders Festival ‘Against All Odds: Scottish Women Can Paint’ event on Saturday 28 August 2021. I shall be part of a panel discussion chaired by award-winning broadcaster Edi Stark,…
View PostI am delighted to have edited an Art UK curation, ‘From the Highlands to Hampshire: Collecting Joan Eardley‘ as part of the Joan Eardley Centenary celebrations. Art UK Art UK is an amazing research resource.…
View PostI am delighted to have become a member of two groups researching women artists. The first is the Hepworth Research Network. This is a partnership between the Hepworth Wakefield, Department of History of Art at…
View PostAs part of the Joan Eardley (1921-63) centenary celebrations, I am delighted to be giving a keynote presentation ‘From the Highlands to Hampshire: The Collecting of Joan Eardley’ at the Joan Eardley New Perspectives on-line…
View PostPlease join me at a quartet of events in Spring 2021, looking at ‘Inspiring Women Artists‘, ‘Arran in the National Collection‘, ‘Women Artists at the Royal Scottish Academy in the 1920s‘ and ‘Paula Rego: Obedience…
View PostCan’t go away for a Spring break because of you know what? Let’s go on a Scottish Colourist staycation instead! The four painters, F. C. B. Cadell (1883-1937), J. D. Fergusson (1874-1961), G. L. Hunter…
View PostYellow is the colour of Spring and with daffodils at their peak, let’s look at how modern Scottish artists have introduced the joy of yellow into their work. Dorothy Johnstone (1892-1980) In Black and Yellow…
View PostI am delighted that my paper proposal ‘From Arran to the National Collection: Early Twentieth-Century Responses to the Island’s Landscape’ has been selected for inclusion in the Arran Arts Heritage Trail on-line symposium ‘The Isle…
View PostTo celebrate International Women’s Day on 8 March 2021, I have created an Art UK Curation and am giving a talk celebrating the achievements of Modern Scottish Women Artists. A Dozen Modern Scottish Women Painters…
View PostAs the winter of Covid-19 drags on, be cheered by the signs of Spring which are beginning to appear. Four modern Scottish artists draw our attention to the start of this lovely season. The Shoots…
View PostIt was great to be a Chair and Speaker at the Scottish Society for Art History’s recent ‘Art, Landscape and Space‘ on-line Study Day. I chaired the second session, ‘The Stimulus of Rural, Urban and…
View PostI’m delighted to be Chairing the on-line event ‘A Prelude to Inspiring Women Artists at Marchmont‘ on 24 April 2021. The speakers are Professor Elizabeth Cumming of the University of Edinburgh, Dr Sally Anne Huxtable…
View PostPlease join me when I give the free on-line talk ‘An (Almost) A to Z of Modern Scottish Women Artists for Museums & Galleries Edinburgh to mark International Women’s Day on Monday 8 March 2021.…
View PostAs a former Trustee of the Wilhelmina Barns-Graham Trust I was delighted to contribute to a series of films they are making about each decade of her important, long and prolific career. I was invited…
View PostDuring a lull in this summer’s lockdown, I was lucky enough to observe the photographer David Eustace at work on a new portfolio of portraits. The series is now complete and has been named ‘Thirty…
View PostHogmanay traditionally involves ‘first footing’, or the arrival of the first guest after midnight on New Year’s Eve. Whilst this hasn’t been possible this year, let’s visit some modern Scottish artists in their studios instead.…
View PostAs 2020 draws to a close, let’s take a look at some of its most memorable moments, from home schooling to working from home, via modern Scottish art.
View PostI wish you a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year through modern British paintings! Christmas will be muted for most of us this year and few will be sorry to see 2020 come to an…
View PostI was delighted to be asked by the Public Statues and Sculpture Association to choose my favourite statue or sculpture within the public realm. I chose Phyllis Mary Bone’s camel roundel in the Scottish National War Memorial.
View PostWhat began as a joke about the mispronunciation of our surnames (his is like ‘Macbeth’, mine is not ‘Strange’) turned into admiration for a beautiful body of work created during lockdown. ‘Perdendosi’ is the title…
View PostI’ve just spent an enjoyable morning filming at the Wilhelmina Barns-Graham Trust. They are producing a series of films, one to mark each decade of her long and prolific career. I was given the pick…
View PostNow that December has begun, it’s fair to say that Christmas is coming! Celebrations this year will be unlike any other, but modern Scottish artists can help you to enjoy the season nonetheless. A White…
View PostI’m delighted that my paper about the sculpture in the grounds of the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art has been selected for inclusion in the Scottish Society for Art History‘s ‘Art, Landscape and Space‘…
View PostJoyce W. Cairns (b.1947) was elected the first female President of the Royal Scottish Academy of Art and Architecture on 28 November 2018. To mark the second anniversary of this historic occasion, I look at…
View PostI am delighted that my essay, ‘The First Women of the Royal Scottish Academy’ has been published on the Academy’s website today. It looks at the eight ‘first women’ of the Academy, from Christina Robertson…
View PostThere’s a great feature in today’s Sunday National newspaper marking the second anniversary of the artist Joyce W. Cairns becoming the first female president of the Royal Scottish Academy of Art and Architecture. My essay…
View PostWhilst many of us are spending more time than usual at home, let’s try to find beauty in our everyday surroundings. Modern Scottish artists have been inspired in a variety of ways by that common…
View PostTulips have provided inspiration to many artists, despite the fact that they continue to grow after being cut. This means that as models they do not ‘sit still’ and need to be observed, sketched and…
View PostWith leaves falling from the trees, days shortening and temperatures dropping, it’s time to bid welcome to Winter through modern Scottish paintings. Winter Fashion One of the first signs of Winter’s approach is the need…
View PostI am delighted that my feature for Leicester Museum & Galleries about the modern Scottish art in their collection has gone live on their newly launched website. It discusses works by John Bellany (1942-2013), Duncan…
View PostHalloween is different this year given COVID-19 restrictions, but fear not, it can still be enjoyed via modern Scottish paintings. Halloween Frolics With door to door guising (trick or treating) considered unsafe by the Scottish…
View PostWith the furlough leave scheme coming to an end, more people than ever are working from home. Let’s take a look at the ‘new normal’ of work away from the open plan office, via paintings…
View PostLet’s celebrate the working lives of modern Scottish women artists, in images they painted of their professional and personal worlds. Dorothy Carleton Smyth: The Artist In Self-portrait of 1921 by Dorothy Carleton Smyth (1880-1931), the…
View PostI am delighted to be a co-organiser and speaker at the Scottish Society for Art History and Creative Informatics webinar ‘Lockdown Legacy: The Digital Future of the Art and Digital Cultural Heritage World.’ It will…
View PostWith most of us now wearing masks on a daily basis, join modern Scottish artists in revelling in the human face. John Duncan Fergusson: Full-frontal Hortensia of 1907 by the Scottish Colourist John Duncan Fergusson…
View PostI am delighted that my feature about Fountainbridge Library (1937-40), Dundee Street, Edinburgh has just been published as October’s Twentieth-Century Society Building of the Month. Doors Open Days 2020 The feature discusses this rare and…
View PostAs October begins and Autumn matures, we reach harvest time once again. Artists have celebrated this climax of the agricultural calendar in various ways. A Cornfield in Catterline In The Cornfield of c.1960, Joan Eardley…
View PostWhilst scrolling through the colour and noise of Instagram, a low-toned Mother and Son portrait slowed my finger to a stop. Taken by the photographer David Eustace it showed Elizabeth and Guy Peploe, daughter-in-law and…
View PostFountainbridge Library, Dundee Street, Edinburgh is a rare example of modern Scottish architecture. Designed by John A. W. Grant (1886/7–1959) it was built between 1937 and 1940. It opened as a state-of-the-art library during the…
View PostMy ten-minute talk ‘From Student to Professional: Modern Scottish Women Artists’ is now available on YouTube. I talk about Wilhelmina Barns-Graham, Pat Douthwaite, Joan Eardley and Anne Redpath, who have all contributed to modern Scottish…
View PostI am delighted to have been invited by the artist Andrea Geile to mentor her as she embarks on a significant, long-term project. As it explains on her website: “[Geile is…] a visual artist based…
View PostWhat would artists do without that stalwart still life prop, the humble jug? More informal and utilitarian than a vase and used in a myriad of ways, once you become aware of its self-effacing role…
View PostMy local library, Foutainbridge Library on Dundee Street, Edinburgh, is a rare and important example of modern Scottish architecture. Designed by John A. W. Grant (1886/7-1959), it was built between 1937 and 1940. It opened…
View PostAs September proceeds, there is a definite feel of Autumn in the air. Bessie MacNicol (1869-1904) captures the season’s warm sunshine and the turning of leaves from green to copper in Autumn of about 1898.…
View PostI will be giving a free lecture to accompany the exhibition Bright Shadows: Scottish Art in the 1920s at the City Art Centre, Edinburgh. It is called ‘Proposed and Seconded: The Royal Scottish Academy Nomination…
View PostThe City Art Centre, part of Museums & Galleries Edinburgh, opened in 1980. To mark its 40th birthday, I was asked to contribute to an Art UK curation by choosing my favourite painting from their…
View PostI was delighted to be asked to respond to Edinburgh College of Art’s 2020 Graduate Show. Due to the COVID-19 lockdown, it is taking place on-line this year. The students and their teachers have made…
View PostOne of my favourite galleries is McLean Museum and Art Gallery, which is part of the Watt Institution in Greenock. They have a splendid collection of Modern Scottish art and during lockdown I had the…
View PostDid you know that the Walker Art Gallery, part of the National Museums Liverpool, has some super Modern Scottish art? I didn’t until I took at look at their collection on the terrific Art UK…
View PostPlease join me when I give a free, 10-minute zoom talk at 11am on Saturday 22 August 2020, called ‘From Student to Professional: Modern Scottish Women Artists‘. It accompanies the Modern Masters Women exhibition at…
View PostManchester Art Gallery suggested that I write about modern Scottish art in their collection on the subject of ‘work’. I accepted the challenge! We decided on the following themes: How does work relate to time?…
View PostI’m half-Geordie, so I particularly enjoyed writing about modern Scottish art in the collection of the Laing Art Gallery in Newcastle. I wrote about paintings by the Glasgow Boy E. A. Hornel, Glasgow School of…
View PostTravel with Wilhelmina Barns-Graham to St Ives, Yorkshire and Switzerland via works in the collection of Pallant House Gallery, Chichester.
View PostEscape the four walls of your lockdown home and go on holiday with four modern Scottish artists, to Italy, Spain and France, via paintings in UK public collections.
View PostCelebrate the end of the school year and the start of the summer holiday via paintings in UK public collections by James Cowie, Norman Clark, Joan Eardley and Henry Stringer in this curatorial blog.
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