Painting by renowned Montrose artist returns for new fine art exhibition
A painting by renowned Montrose-based artist James Morrison has come home to Angus after being donated recently to the town’s museum.
The painting, ‘Old Montrose’, has been acquired by ANGUSalive after spending years in a private collection, and it was donated to Montrose Museum by Jeri Bapasola, with the help of the Art Fund.
It is now on display to the public as part of the museum’s latest exhibition – ‘Fine Art in Focus: Highlights from the Angus Fine Art Collection’.
In a career spanning seven decades, James Morrison, who died in 2020, had a tireless passion to capture the raw, wild, natural beauty of the landscape around him.
It was moving to Montrose, and the vast glens around Angus which inspired him to concentrate on realism. Always working in the open air, he depicted atmospheric skies within a panoramic scene.
Emma Gilliland, museums & galleries collections lead, said: “We are incredibly grateful to Jeri for this generous donation. Morrison was one of the most significant artists of the twentieth century and it is a privilege to care for and display this artwork in his much-loved Montrose.”
The Angus Fine Art Collection brings together artworks once held by the seven historic burgh towns of Angus. In 1975 these collections were brought together to form a single, rich and diverse public collection, now cared for by ANGUSalive on behalf of the people of Angus.
With more than 4000 works across a range of media, the collection celebrates Angus and the wider northeast of Scotland. Local artists such as William Lamb, David Waterson and James Watterston Herald appear alongside nationally renowned figures as Joyce W. Cairns, James McIntosh Patrick and Robert Gibb.
This exhibition was inspired by the book ‘Highlights from the Angus Fine Art Collection’, which showcases the stories behind some of the collection’s most remarkable artworks. For the first time, many of these highlights are brought together in one space.
Also on display is a sketch by George Paul Chalmers (1833-1878) which has returned home from conservation at The Scottish Conservation Studio. Chalmers was born in Duncan’s Close, Montrose, the son of a ship’s captain, and was recognised as an artist of note, gaining membership of the Royal Scottish Academy in 1871.
He was nicknamed ‘The Angus Rembrandt’ but was very critical of his own work, constantly re-working subjects until he was satisfied.
This work is the original preparatory sketch for ‘The Legend’, which is on display at the National Galleries of Scotland, and depicts a scene from Sir Walter Scott’s ‘The Pirate’. The old seer Ulla Troil (Norna) addresses a group of children, including the young Minna and Brenda, who later become central characters in the novel. Ambitious in scale and vision, the final painting took Chalmers 14 years to complete and is regarded as one of his greatest achievements.
Copies of the book can be purchased from museum gift shops. The exhibition can be viewed from Friday to Monday, 10.30am-4pm until Sunday, July 5.