Scottish Colourists

Tolbooth Arts Centre

The Tolbooth Art Centre on Kirkcudbright's High Street is a good starting point for finding out more on the established art scene here. A comprehensive selection of audio-visual shows including 'Kirkcudbright - The Artists' Town', and 'Jessie M King' guide you through famous Scottish painters associated with the town.

There's an impressive selection of artwork on display here including paintings by Scottish Colourist S J Peploe and 'Glasgow Boys' artist David Gauld. Contemporary art exhibitions, displayed on the top floor gallery which was once a debtor's prison, change regularly and there's a cafe and gift shop on-site. Admission to the Tolbooth Art Centre is Free! (see the Kirkcudbright town weblink right for opening times).

The Scottish Colourists, artists such as Samuel Peploe and his close friend J D Fergusson, underwent a revival in the 1980s. A somewhat late revival, as they were producing work in the late 19th/early 20th century. Heavily influenced by French artists like Monet and Matisse (Fergusson was particularly impressed by impressionist painting), the Scottish Colourists are regarded as major influencers of Scottish Contemporary Art. Peploe is noted particularly for his still life paintings. Another renowned group of Scottish Artists emerging in the 1880s and 1890s alongside Mackintosh and the Glasgow School were the Glasgow Boys. Edward Atkinson Hornel (1864-1933) is the one Glasgow Boys artist particularly associated with Kirkcudbright (see Broughton House below). The Glasgow Boys were influenced by impressionist and post-impressionist painting, putting their own slant on it with work focusing particularly on rural scenes around Glasgow.

Tolbooth Art Centre, High Street, Kirkcudbright, DG6 4JL. Tel. 01557 331556. (see Kirkcudbright Tourist Guide website right for opening times).

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E A Hornel & Broughton House & Garden, Kirkcudbright

Broughton House on the High Street in Kirkcudbright is an important site for those interested in the roots of contemporary Scottish Art. One of the main figures within the Glasgow Boys art collective - Edward Hornel, grew up in Kirkcudbright (although he was born in Austrailia) and he returned to Kirkcudbright in 1901 when he purchased Broughton House and Garden and set up an artists colony here.

Hornel was both a 'Glasgow Boy' and renowned Scottish Colourist and you can view some of his work here, as well as the 18th century town house, secret garden and other collections within. When Hornel moved in he added a studio and glass roof. Hornel's art on display here at Broughton is largely from the latter part of his life.

Broughton House is now owned by the National Trust for Scotland (weblink right). It's not cheap to get in, but for the fine examples of Hornel's work including 'Man in a Red Tunic', the cost is justified. The garden is also splendid, with Hornel's many visits to Japan obviously an influence on the both the chosen plants and garden design.

Broughton House and Garden, High Street, Kirkcudbright, Dumbfries and Galloway, DG6 4JX. Tel. 0844 4932246.

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Kirkcudbright Art Galleries and Harbour Cottage Gallery

Kircudbright has a number of art galleries alongside both Broughton House and the Tolbooth Art Centre. Harbour Cottage Gallery on Castlebank sits close to the fishing harbour and MacLellan's Castle. On display here is some fine work by local artists and craft workers. Most of the work is for sale, and spread across two floors. Check the Kirkcudbright weblinks right for opening times and exhibitions.

Also on High Street, the High Street Gallery Kirkcudbright is well worth a look for contemporary Scottish painting, sculpture, ceramics and Scottish fine art. Most work here is by Glasgow School of Art graduates and graduates from Edinburgh College of Art - dating from the 1950s to the present. Exhibitions here have included work by Jessie M. King, E.A. Taylor and David Sassoon. Crafts and Antiques are also on display. See the High Street Gallery's weblink right for details.

Move onto St Mary Street to the Whitehouse Gallery for more innovative contemporary art and crafts all at an affordable price. The Whitehouse Gallery, 47 St Mary Street, Kirkcudbright DG6 4DU. Tel. 01557 330223.

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