Beautiful paintings by the Scottish Colourists, which are rarely seen in public, are to be exhibited together for the first time at Perth Art Gallery this Spring. I am delighted to be helping with loan negotiations, research, interpretation and the promotion of The Scottish Colourists Revealed, which opens on 3 April 2026.
oil on canvas, 60 x 50cm
National Trust for Scotland
The Celebrated Quartet
The Scottish Colourists as we now know them are Scotland’s most celebrated artists of the twentieth-century. F. C. B. Cadell, J. D. Fergusson, G. L. Hunter and S. J. Peploe shared an interest in progressive French art, the masterly use of brilliant colour and a love of painting outdoors. They were also connected through their friendships with Peploe and exhibited together on three occasions – in London and Paris – whilst they were all alive. Their innovative and joyful paintings, sculpture and works on paper have delighted art lovers since they were created and continue to do so to this day.
oil on panel, 33 x 38cm
Hugo Burge Foundation Collection
The Lenders
The paintings in The Scottish Colourists Revealed are being lent by sources including AVIVA, the Hugo Burge Foundation, the National Trust for Scotland, the Royal Scottish Academy (RSA) and the universities of Dundee and Edinburgh. The works usually hang on the walls of castles, offices, places of learning and creative spaces and it will be a real treat to see them on display together. The RSA are lending The Poet of 1912 by Cadell, which was presented to their Diploma Collection following his election to the rank of full Academician in 1936. The loan is part of the RSA’s nationwide Celebrating Together project, which celebrates the bicentenary of the establishment of the Academy in Edinburgh in 1826.
oil on board, 26 x 36cm
Collection and (c) Culture Perth and Kinross
The Scottish Colourists and Perth
The loans will be accompanied by a selection of Scottish Colourist paintings in the collection of Culture Perth and Kinross (CPK). As the recipient of a major gift of works by Fergusson and related archival material by the J. D. Fergusson Art Foundation in 1991, CPK is the centre of excellence for research into his international career. Bathing Boxes and Tents at St Palais will be included in The Scottish Colourists Revealed and visitors to the exhibition will also be able to see the permanent collection display Fergus and Meg: A Creative Partnership, which explores the artistic legacy of Fergusson and his wife, the dance pioneer Margaret Morris.
oil on canvas, 60 x 50cm
National Trust for Scotland
Revealing the Scottish Colourists
I am looking forward to being ‘in conversation’ with Rhona Corbett, Head of Museums and Collections at CPK on 18 June 2026, when we will be discussing the Colourists’ legacy and how a loan exhibition of their work progresses from idea to opening day. I shall also be talking about my forthcoming book about the quartet, commissioned by the National Galleries of Scotland, which is due to be ‘hot off the press’ shortly before the exhibition ends on 26 October 2026. Details of the full programme of related events will be available on the CPK website in due course. In the meantime, tickets for the exhibition can be booked here.
For more about Perth Art Gallery, please read this feature. You are spolit for choice about the Scottish Colourists on this website, but this article discusses their relationship with the RSA. Finally, for exciting news about the Hugo Burge Foundation, please click on this link.
