A 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.
Private Collection (c) Artist’s Estate, courtesy Royal Scottish Academy of Art & Architecture, Edinburgh
Anne Redpath: The Borders and Beyond
I was delighted to negotiate loans from private collections to the display Anne Redpath: The Borders and Beyond, which runs at Traquair House in the Scottish Borders until 5 September 2023. Redpath was born in Galashiels and grew up in Hawick, both in the Borders. As result, this historic house is a particularly apt venue for showing her work. I will be giving the talk ‘Queen of Edinburgh: Anne Redpath and her Circle‘ as part of Traquair’s Beyond Borders International Festival on Saturday 26 April 2023.
The Fleming Collection (c) Artist’s Estate
Scottish Women Artists: 250 Years of Challenging Perception
The major exhibition Scottish Women Artists: 250 Years of Challenging Perception runs at Dovecot until 6 Jnauary 2024. Mounted in partnership with the Fleming Collection, it showcases the achievements of women practitioners from Catherine Read (1723-78) to Sekai Machache (b.1989). Textile-based works created by Dovecot to designs by some of the artists, including Wilhelmina Barns-Graham and Rachel Maclean, are a highlight. I will be giving the talk ‘An (Almost) A to Z of Modern Scottish Women Artists‘ to accompany the exhibition on 6 September 2023. It will include Agnes Miller Parker’s fiercely feminist An Uncivilised Cat of 1930.
On loan to Gracefield Arts Centre from the Walker Family
© Estate of Joan Eardley. All Rights Reserved, DACS 2023
Eardley Explored: The Art of Joan Eardley with Photography by Audrey Walker
The season of Scottish Women Artists continues with Eardley Explored: The Art of Joan Eardley with Photography by Audrey Walker at Kirkcudbright Galleries until 1 October 2023. It is a collaboration with Gracefield Arts Centre, the Royal Scottish Academy and the Walker family. The exhibition combines Eardley’s works with photographs by her friend Lady Audrey Walker. The women met in 1952 and Walker often documented Eardley’s creative process, including in the painter’s Glasgow studio and in the north-east fishing village of Catterline. Walker’s insightful and intimate images allow for a deeper understanding of Eardley’s significance and character.
The Enchanted World of Jessie M. King
The final item in our season of Scottish Women Artists is the display The Enchanted World of Jessie M. King, to be held in Lyon & Turnbull’s Glasgow gallery from 4 to 15 September 2023. It will showcase the talents of this leading ‘Glasgow Girl’, from watercolours to jewellery. Indeed, King was equally talented as a visual and applied artist and designer. Having run a studio-gallery in Paris before World War One, she became a central figure in the Kirkcudbright art world of the inter-war years. I am happy to say that I arranged four private loans to the display.
I hope that you will enjoy this season of Scottish Women Artists as much as I am. If you would like to read more about Anne Redpath, pioneering Scottish women artists and Joan Eardley please click on the links provided.
