I am looking forward to being ‘in conversation’ about The Scottish Colourists: From the Wall to the Page at the University of Aberdeen on 30 September 2026.
The Wall: The Linklater Collection
I shall be talking with the journalist Magnus Linklater and art historian Dr Catriona McAra, about the exhibition Aberdeen Artworlds: The Linklater Collection. This runs in the University’s Sir Duncan Rice Library Gallery until 6 December 2026. It consists of ten Scottish Modernist works donated to the institution by Magnus’s parents, Eric and Marjorie Linklater, fifty years ago. One of the paintings hanging on the wall is Hortensia by the Scottish Colourist John Duncan Fergusson.
oil on canvas, 43 x 38cm
University of Aberdeen: Bequeathed by Eric and Marjorie Linklater 1976
The Page: The Scottish Colourists: Art and Life
Magnus, Catriona and I will also be talking about my new book, The Scottish Colourists: Art and Life. It is to be published by the National Galleries of Scotland on 24 September 2026, just four days before the event. This brings the work of Fergusson, along with F. C. B. Cadell, G. L. Hunter and S. J. Peploe, to the page. Blackwells are kindly organising the sale of copies on the day and the event has been supported by a British Academy / Leverhulme Small Research Grant. It is free, but ticketed via eventbrite. I hope you can join us as we bring the Scottish Colourists from the Wall to the Page.
For more about Hortensia, pleaes read this article. If you can’t make it to Aberdeen, I will be giving talks about the book throughout Scotland and in London and will post information about them in Events. The story about the book begins here.
