To The North - Paintings by Jon Schueler
It is particularly important that this retrospective is taking place in Edinburgh because it is the landscape of Scotland which later captivated him until his death in 1992. Schueler first visited Mallaig and the Western Isles in 1957 having been inspired by the idyllically romantic setting of the film, I Know Where I'm Going, [ 1945] starring Wendy Hiller and directed by Michael Powell. It was filmed on the Isle of Mull and west coast of Scotland. That first visit over the winter months resulted in 45 landscape paintings:
He continued to return here each year, becoming more and more drawn to the wild, unspoilt coastline and finally settled at Glasnacardoch, near Mallaig in 1970 where he established a studio. This was his base for the next five years.
To the North offers a mesmerising and moving tribute to his life and work, beginning with an early San Francisco canvas, Memory of Love, moving on to vibrant and bold images depicting the energy of New York City, such as Red on Red. Then a contrasting shift in light and mood, with the series of Mallaig and Skye landscapes including The Sound of Rhum, Winter Storm and a later work, Sleat, Veil 1. The 51 canvases illustrate his careful, painterly development over the decades, the landscapes of the Scottish sky becoming more delicate, poetic images to denote a perfect vision of light, tone and atmosphere.
Winifred Nicholson in Scotland
Winfred Nicholson (1893 -1981) was born in Oxford and studied in London but it was the Highlands of Scotland and Western Isles which was the subject of many of her finest landscapes. She concentrated on painting wild flowers, stormy seascapes and ancient stone circles. During the 1940s and 50s, she made regular visits, often accompanied by her friend, the poet Kathleen Raine. Her earliest work on show is Flodigarry Island, Skye and other trips took her to the islands of Eigg, Canna and South Uist in the Outer Hebrides. The writer Gavin Maxwell, author of Ring of Bright Water was a close friend and Winifred and Kathleen spent many a holiday at his home at Sandaig, Ross-shire. This was a remote place which inspired some charming paintings depicting the tranquility and unspoilt beauty.
Kathleen would compose poetry as Winifred painted, both creatively stimulated by the perfect sandy beaches and the waves pounding on the wild rocky coastline:
By the travelling wind,
Kathleen Raine There are 17 of Nicholson's Scottish landscapes in this exhibition as well as a selection of her paintbrushes, letters, documentary photographs and a selection of Raine's poems to commemorate their travels around Scotland.
The Scottish Sale at Bonhams, George Street
Early 20th century Scottish art is becoming widely sought after, particularly the Scottish Colourists. On view for auction is a fine painting by J. D. Fergusson - Nude & Cliff (1926), painted in the south of France and regarded as a masterpiece. It is a portrait of Fergusson's long-term partner and is being shown in public for the first time in 40 years. Also on view are Still Life of Fruit, Comport and Pink Rose, (c. 1918), by Samuel John Peploe both estimated at between £50,000 and £80,000. Since his first sell out show in Edinburgh in the early nineties, the demand for his work has been phenomenal, with many celebrity clients including Jack Nicholson, Tim Rice and Terence Conran. Prints of his work such as The Singing Butler, showing a couple waltzing on the beach outsell famous posters by Van Gogh and Monet. Vettriano's painting The Bathing Party II (1991) is featured in the Scottish Sale, estimated at £18,000 - £25,000.
Other paintings include work by Charles Rennie Mackintosh, Sir William MacTaggart, Sir David Wilkie and Sam Bough. Moving on to sculpture, there are some interesting bronze figures of Robert Burns and Robert the Bruce. In the Jewellery collection on offer is a late Victorian pebble necklace, with a starting price of £1,500.
The Scottish Sale has achieved some world-record prices and attracts 300 new buyers each year. With the extended view in August, it is now listed as a Festival Fringe event.
Stenton Gallery - Scottish Art Today
Scotland Art Today is a cross section of contemporary paintings by well established and younger artists - all at affordable prices. Artists include Tom Watt, Pam Carter, Joan Gillespie, Charles MacQueen and Perpetua Pope.
John Huston
John Houston, now in his early 70s, is regarded as one of Scotland's most original and expressive painters. His subject matter is the landscape and coastline of Fife, East Lothian and Arisaig on the West Coast as well as the canals of Venice.
A new biography of the artist by William Packer has just been published as well as a full colour catalogue of this Festival exhibition.
Glasgow Society of Women Artists
Adrian Wiszniewski - Netherlandische
Wiszniewski has achieved wide international acclaim, with work in 33 major collections. In 1999 he was presented with the Lord Provost Medal from the City of Glasgow.
The Adrian Wiszniewski exhibition is being staged at the Edinburgh Gallery, Dundas Street, from 2 - 16 August. Dazzle
Dazzle has become so popular there is now also an annual show in Glasgow each Spring.
Dino Birds - Feathered Fossils from China
Monet Exhibition
The Edinburgh International Festival is the largest art festival in the world. It covers a plethora of entertainment of all kinds from opera to jazz, Military Tattoo to books, theatre, films and comedy. And that doesn't even take in to account the huge "Fringe" Festival. Art in the form of painting, sculpture, ceramics, pottery and much, much more. Here is a selection of the wide variety of art on offer in Edinburgh galleries during the Festival in 2003. The article was written by feature writer Vivien Devlin, who makes the most of being a resident in Edinburgh every August!
This exhibition, at the City Arts Centre, Market Street until 27 September 2003, is presented by Edinburgh's Ingleby Gallery, is the first ever British retrospective of the American painter Jon Schueler. Born in Wisconsin in 1916 he studied art in San Francisco where under his mentor Clyfford Still, he developed his own distinct style of abstract landscape paintings. Moving to New York in 1951 he was introduced to a circle of artists including Mark Rothko and Barnett Newman, the celebrated leaders in American Abstract Expressionism.
During this period there were several Scottish exhibitions notably one at the Richard Demarco gallery and a major show during the 1973 Edinburgh Festival. In 1981, the Talbot Rice Gallery at Edinburgh University was turned into an active studio where visitors could see Schueler at work.
This exhibition is at the Dean Gallery (illustrated here), one of the National Galleries of Scotland, at Belford Road until 7 September 2003.
"This is the place after my heart" she wrote to her son, Andrew in 1950, " Not a tree, not a bush but grey boulders, grey rocks, grey stones, grey mountains. The sea is fully of grey mysterious islands and rocks, seals and seabirds."
By the restless clouds
By the space of the sky
By the foam of the surf,
By the curve of the wave
By the flowing of the tide
By the way of the sun
By the dazzle of the light
By the path across the sea,
Bring my lover
This is the fourth annual Scottish Sale to take place during the Edinburgh Festival at Bonhams, the world's oldest and largest British-owned auctioneers of fine art and antiques. The Scottish Sale presents an eclectic range of 1225 lots covering paintings, furniture, silver, jewellery, ceramics, books, manuscripts and maps, arms and armour. Viewing dates are from 8 to 20th August, 2003 and the sale itself from 21 to 23rd August, 2003.
Jack Vettriano is one of the most popular and internationally successful contemporary Scottish artists today. His figurative paintings depicting glamorous women and seductive men are set against a nostalgic film noir backdrop of cocktail bars, elegant city apartments and the seaside.
There is wide range of decorative ceramics including Wemyss pottery from Fife which has many collectors who may be interested in a rare Wemyss cat for around £ 5,000. Amongst the glassware is a pair of Jacobite wine glasses dating from 1750, engraved with rose blooms. Under other fascinating items of Scottish heritage is a Balmoral Highlander kilted uniform one of only 50 commissioned in 1902 (see illustration).
The exhibition is being held at Lloyds TSB Head office, 120 George Street, from 10 to 30 August, 2003.
Stenton Gallery itself is located in the pretty conservation village of Stenton in East Lothian where there are regular exhibitions of contemporary Scottish artists all year round. During the Edinburgh Festival Stenton comes to the city to show a special exhibition which for the past ten years has been sponsored by Lloyds TSB and shown at the bank's head office on George Street. This long association between the gallery and Lloyds TSB has been very fruitful, providing a colourful Festival atmosphere within a sun filled Atrium, an ideal setting to hang the paintings.
This exhibition is being held at the Scottish Gallery, Dundas Street, from 8 August to 3 September.
Over 75 members of the Glasgow Society of Women artists - from Helen Abdy to Lyn Wolfson, from Linda Clark to Elizabeth Sharp - will have the opportunity to show their work in Edinburgh during this year's Festival from 2nd to 30th August at the Torrance Gallery, Dundas Street. Still Lifes, Scottish, French, Italian landscapes, flower paintings and much else besides will fill the walls at the Torrance Gallery.
Wiszniewski made a major impact on the Scottish arts scene as soon as he graduated in 1983 from Glasgow School of Art and along with Stephen Campbell and Peter Howson, became known as one of the new Glasgow Boys. His bold and vibrant figurative work goes beyond reality, often taking a modern interpretation of cultural themes based on dramatic narratives and classical fables.
A literary glittering display of contemporary jewellery under the showcase Dazzle, has come to the Edinburgh Festival for 21 years. This year 50 designers from across the UK and Europe will show 3,000 pieces of jewellery in the Atrium, Traverse Theatre, Cambridge Street from 1 - 25 August.
For more than 140 years scientists argued that modern birds were descended from dinosaurs. This exhibition, at the Royal Museum, Chambers Street, until 7 September 2003, tries to prove that theory with a fascinating collection of fossils from China, never before seen in Europe. These rare Dino-Bird fossils were discovered in China in 1996 having been preserved in perfect detail for 124 million years. The fossils show traces of feathers around the body of a reptile, illustrating that some predatory dinosaurs didn't become extinct but evolved features, took flight and became birds.
There is also a review of the Monet Exhibition at the Royal Scottish Academy in Edinburgh during the Festival (and beyond) in Part 1 of this feature.
