The 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 collection.
City Art Centre, Edinburgh (c) Perth & Kinross Council
I was spoilt for choice, but after much consideration selected the Scottish Colourist J. D. Fergusson’s The Blue Lamp of 1912. It is a tremendous example of twentieth-century Scottish art which inspires me every time I see it.
Fergusson painted it whilst living in Paris, in the midst of the birth of modern art. It shows not only an early awareness of the latest developments in the work of avant-garde artists from Henri Matisse (1869-1954) to Auguste Chabaud (1882-1955), but also Fergusson’s unique interpretation of them. See what I said about it here as well as the paintings and sculptures chosen by my fellow contributors.
If you’d like to know more about Fergusson, you can read my blog ‘The Great Escape‘ and my feature ‘Loved Ones in the Fleming Collection‘.
It is hoped that the City Art Centre will re-open soon.
