Back in Time to the 20s
Cathy Bell looks at a productive period in Scottish art
A POINT IN TIME is a section of a survey of Scottish art from 1800-1945 being exhibited in the National Galleries on the Mound in Edinburgh. This sub-section focuses on art, mainly painting from the 1920's, (with a couple from the 1930's and 40's) During this period visual art was experiencing a move towards modernism. European avant-garde movements such as Cubism, Vorticism, Futurism and Fauvism were attracting the attention of Scottish artists who perhaps travelled to Europe, especially Paris, where they were able to see new art for the first time. This new art was innovative and free from the constraints of the academic teaching they, as young Edwardians, had been exposed to at art school.
Scotland does not have the reputation as a leader in this kind of innovation, however, many Scottish artists were open to the idea of experimentation and, therefore created their own unique brand of modernism. The inter-war years witnessed Scottish artists such as JD Ferguson, Samuel Peploe, James Cowie, Anne Redpath and William McCance, (to name only a few) going boldly towards new styles in painting. Many of the works by these artists are familiar through art books and reproductions, for example, The Yellow Glove by James Cowie (1928) and Still Life # 1 by Samuel Peploe (1913) In this exhibition the viewer can enjoy these paintings, some of them iconic works of early twentieth-century Scottish art.
In the Patio: Margaret Morris JD Fergusson 1925
However, there are also lesser known works by artists such as Agnes Millar Parker and Eric Robertson. Perhaps they are less well known due to the fact that their work does not quite hit the mark and could be said to fall short of a successful transition from traditional towards modernism. For example, The Horse Fair (1928) by Millar Parker is traditional in subject matter, however, she has depicted the many figures as robotic. Metallic farmers with greenish toned faces. This is interesting, whether it works or not is a subject for debate. Similarly, in Cartwheels (1920) by Robertson the artist is obviously trying to capture motion in the image (a woman performing a cartwheel) in the mode of Futurism, a movement originating in Italy. Unfortunately, the dynamism does not come across so it does not make for a satisfactory image as it is neither one thing or another. This is not a criticism but rather an observation that the artist clearly had the desire to follow a new trend in painting.
More successful perhaps in terms of capturing the intended Vorticist style is a painting by William McCance Portrait of Joseph Brewer (1925) McCance has portrayed his sitter in the manner of a machine. It packs a punch even today. The figure is seated reading a book, the book has no text, the pages merely radiating a futuristic metallic surface. As mentioned previously, The Yellow Glove by William Cowie is a well-known painting. It shows the artist's wife seated dressed in the height of fashion with cigarette holder, red lipstick and, of course, the yellow glove. Interestingly this is a quite different image from Cowie's other piece in the exhibition A Portrait Group (1933) which captures the sense of a moment in time with two teenage boys, a teenage girl and an older woman seated outdoors around a table.
The mood and atmosphere of both paintings are quite different. Whereas the portrait of Cowie's wife (although fashion wise firmly in the period) has a sense of immediacy as if belonging to the "now", the sitter might open her mouth and speak. In the group portrait, however, possibly partly due to the muted colours as well as the fashions of the past depicted in detail, the jackets of the boys, the lady's blouse, the blue jacket over her arm even the tablecloth there is a sense of another time. The background is like a dream taking the viewer back to a simpler time, a time tucked between two world wars, a nostalgic vision and because of that, an enchanting picture.
It is apparent in this exhibition how artists were experimenting with different styles of expression. For example, compare JD Ferguson's portrayal of his muse Margaret Morris, In the Patio ; Margaret Morris (1925) with the sculpture head in brass Eastre (Hymn to the Sun) (1924 cast in1971). The former is gentle almost renaissance in feel, but still modernist. Whereas the sculpture has a metallic hardness and brilliance of colour which differs significantly from the painting which is fairly low-key. And the comparisons go on. Anne Redpath has two still lives in the exhibition.
The Indian Rug or Red Slippers (1942) is Fauvist in style while the other which is fairly traditional is a world away from the almost garish (by comparison) red chair and slippers. Compare this again with Still Life # 1 by Samuel Peploe (1913) Peploe seems to have thrown everything but the kitchen sink at it in an attempt to make a cubist image, however, the bold lines and colour are not aesthetically harmonious.
Among the delights of this exhibition, the title piece A Point in Time by William Johnston (1929) is a highlight. This large abstract work reveals that a Scottish artist was at the forefront of the modern art movement. This was early for abstraction, which had only really appeared several years earlier. Wassily Kandinsky was a pioneer in this entirely new way of expression, his first abstract paintings date from only several years before.
A painting by Ben Nicholson, Chelsea (1924) has been cited as the first British abstract painting. Therefore, the evidence suggests that a Scottish artist was at the forefront in the perception changing emergence of abstract art.
