Labour of love’

Owner of iconic house opens doors to the Tele

Now, the Tele has been given access to the house where some of James McIntosh Patrick’s best works were created — as the property continues to go through a stunning renovation.

Elaine Kuwahara, current owner of McIntosh Patrick’s former stately home in Magdalen Yard Road — in Dundee’s West End — has spent the last 17 years, and hundreds of thousands of pounds, keeping the B-listed property preserved for generations to come.

The artist — a collection of whose work recently sold at auction for almost £40,000 — lived in the house for nearly 60 years until his death in 1998.

Elaine considers herself to be the “guardian” of the house, protecting it for the city.

She opened the doors to the Tele and showed us round her home, offering a rare glimpse of the place where some of Scotland’s best-known artworks were put down on canvas.

The most striking part of the house is McIntosh Patrick’s former studio, where he spent countless hours creating the works of art for which he became famous.

The studio has two windows, one looking out to the bridges crossing the Tay.

Elaine said: “McIntosh Patrick created many of his works in this studio with its views over the Tay.

“Just recently, members of his family gave me his original easel to have in the room.

“It’s lovely to have it in its original location. I consider myself to be babysitting the house, which I believe to be really special. It’s an ongoing labour of love.”

Elaine grew up in Dundee and went to Harris Academy.

She moved to London at a young age and became very successful in the antiques trade.

She met her husband in the capital before moving to live in Japan, his home country, for about 10 years before returning to London.

At the turn of the century, Elaine decided to move back to her home city to look after family members.

She added: “I needed a fairly large house and this one was on the market.

“I liked where it was and it suited my needs. Initially it wasn’t that important to me who the house had belonged to. It was only later that I began to realise its significance.”

Elaine picked up the keys to the property in November 1999.

She added: “I knew it was going to be a major regeneration and renovation project.

“The house had lain empty for about a year and had several major problems to be dealt with.

“It had wet rot, dry rot and rising damp.

“Replastering had to be carried out and rewiring done.

“The roof had to be renewed, plumbing carried out and I removed about 50 trees from the garden which were making the house really dark.”

Elaine also completely gutted and renewed the kitchen and added a conservatory at the back of the house.

She added: “The more I got to know the house, the more I began to love it.

“I researched its history and began to fully appreciate the important place it holds in the city of Dundee because it once belonged to McIntosh Patrick.

“To date, I have spent hundreds of thousands of pounds on the house but I have loved every minute of it.”

HIS paintings are renowned the world over and have left a legacy that Dundee can be proud of.