The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Masterful treat of art creations
Witness a unique summer exhibition featuring some of Scotland’s finest artists. Visit Art In Trust — Highlights From The Paintings Collection at St Andrews Museum until September 22
Scottish fine art’s world-renowned legacy is being showcased in a unique summer exhibition.
Since it was established in 1991, St Andrews Museum has made its mark by bringing to public attention its everexpanding collection of historical objects of significance to its corner of north-east Fife.
The municipal landmark’s downstairs gallery display has received acclaim for telling the coastal town’s story through standout objects and images from its impressive collections — and its curators have again turned to those priceless resources for their latest visitor attraction.
While the sprawling St Andrews A-Z offering takes in artefacts from throughout recorded history, Art In Trust is more focused in its sweep, covering the early 19th Century up to the present day.
Highlighting the breadth and calibre of the fine art that Fife Cultural Trust looks after, all four Scottish Colourists – Samuel Peploe, Francis Cadell, John Duncan Fergusson and Leslie Hunter – are present, along with Dundee greats James McIntosh Patrick and John Duncan.
The Glasgow Boys are represented by EA Hornel and John Lavery, with 20th Century artists Joan Eardley, William Gear, Robin Philipson and LS Lowry nestling alongside Walter Sickert and Spencer Frederick Gore, both pivotal in the Camden Town Group.
A piece by contemporary painter Alison Watt – who served in 2008 as the youngest artist in residence at London’s National Gallery – brings the selection up to the present day.
Exhibition curator Lesley Lettice says
most of the 22 works included are seldom seen in public.
“A lot of our big artists are regularly on display in Kirkcaldy Galleries, but we have a lot of other fantastic paintings that are in storage most of the time,” she explains.
“Apart from highlighting the fabulous collection that we have, we wanted to get out some of the paintings that maybe haven’t been used all that recently. Like most museums we only have a small collection on display at any one time.
“For example, we had JD Fergusson’s painting Berneval, The Cliff conserved a few years back for an exhibition in Edinburgh and this is the first time it’s been out since it came back to us.
“The Lowry painting is called An Old Street and it’s not normally on display so I was really keen to include it. It’s different from a lot of his paintings.
“We’ve also got the biggest collection of works by William McTaggart in the UK, so we’ve included his Corn in the Ear.”
Lesley says the collection’s ‘backbone’ is 116 works that were purchased in 1964 by Kirkcaldy Town Council from the estate of local linen manufacturer and art collector John Blyth. However, works are nowadays more usually acquired via donations or bequests.
“We had a donation about 18 months ago from a lovely gentleman in Kirkcaldy and part of it was four McIntosh Patricks and also paintings by McTaggart and William Gillies,” she adds.
“Like most museums we have a small budget but we’ve got pretty much something for everybody, be it landscape, still life, portrait or abstract works.
“We’ve got 47 Glasgow Boys paintings in the collection and it was important to have them and the Scottish Colourists in. We wanted to get a few women artists in as well because most public galleries are weighted very heavily towards men. “There’s something for everyone.”
Lesley will be leading free tours on August 28 and September 19 for people to turn up on the day and join. The exhibition can be viewed at the Kinburn Park venue from Monday to Saturday, 10.30am to 4pm.
We’ve also got the biggest collection of works by McTaggart in the UK