A changing programme of exhibitions can be found at Dunfermline Carnegie Galleries. The current offering is Brushstrokes - a selection of paintings from the Fife archive. The local authority has around 2000 artworks in its care. Many of the pieces on display are "staff picks" from museums across the Kingdom. The event aims to include something for everyone to appreciate and I went along for a look during my Easter holidays.
The first painting I encountered was View through the Cylinder - depicting the driving wheels of a locomotive. The moody watercolour was created by local artist Marshall Dickson. He has lived his whole life in my original home town of Lochgelly (where he ran art classes at the community centre). Dickson's work is themed around heavy industry, particularly steam railways and coal mining. It was a good start to the exhibition for me personally, a fellow train buff and Lochgelly lad. Fife of course was at one time a hotbed of industrial activity but this has largely disappeared. Dickson has little interest in picture-postcard images, pristine illustrations, and even transport museums with their polished cabs and glistening brass. He loves the nuts and bolts and is happy to portray the often grimy nature of steam engines and industrial operations. Moving along, Calves was an oil painting by David Gauld (1865 - 1936), the youngest member of the collective known as the Glasgow Boys. He became known for his Scottish rural scenes, often involving cattle. Arguably the most famous Glasgow Boy was Edward Atkinson Hornel. His Burmese Girls (1908) was the next painting on the wall. Influenced by a trip to Asia, the flowery image featured local lassies dressed in sarongs, with a temple-like building in the distance. It was then back to Fife output with View of Inchcolm from Aberdour Golf Course (pictured above) by Tom Gourdie, a native of Cowdenbeath. An accomplished watercolour painter, Gourdie (1913 - 2005) was also an internationally recognised calligrapher. He taught at Kirkcaldy High School and also served as an official artist during WW2. Best known for painting Fife street scenes, landmarks and local industries, Gourdie's evocation of Inchcolm was one with which I could readily identify, having personally stood on the golf course looking towards the island just a few years previously. But why haven't I made the crossing yet? I was glad to see an example from the Joan Eardley catalogue on display. Hailing from Sussex, she studied in Glasgow and was soon recognised as an exceptional talent, capturing the harsh realities of life in the city's slum areas. In 1951 she visited the Kincardineshire fishing village of Catterline and became enchanted by the place, later working and residing there. Eardley explored her endless fascination with the sea and as I gazed at Breaking Waves, I sensed the untamed power of the storm, effortlessly tossing human possessions aside. Sadly, Eardley passed away aged just 42 due to breast cancer.
Another seascape on view was Passing St Kilda, by Frances Walker (born 1930). Regarded as one of our finest artists working in this field, Walker presents wild and desolate landscapes. The remote archipelago of St Kilda was abandoned by the permanent residents in 1930 and is now owned wholly by the National Trust. It is classed as a World Heritage Site and hosts the largest colony of seabirds in Europe, in addition to unique populations of sheep, field mice and wrens. Scotland's 11000 miles of coastline (including islands) have provided the Kirkcaldy-born Walker with no end of inspiration. She now divides her time between Aberdeen and Tiree. Rarely adding human figures to her work, Walker is motivated purely by the landscape and the feeling of being a tiny speck in a vast empty space. Another of our World Heritage locations is the nearby Forth Bridge and I studied a lithograph of the iconic structure entitled Span. It was drawn by Kate Downie (born 1958), who has also produced images of the road crossings over the Forth Estuary (holding the title of artist in residence). Her work centres on Scotland's industrial landscapes and coastal edges. She is a great admirer of Joan Eardley. Finally, my eye was drawn to the chaotic scene of Emigrants leaving the Hebrides (pictured above), by William McTaggart. Born to Gaelic-speaking parents in Argyll, McTaggart delivered several paintings about the Highland Clearances and the aftermath. Crofting families were forcibly removed to make way for sheep and homes were often burned to ensure no return. This led to huge levels of emigration and 70,000 Highland Scots are estimated to have left these shores back then. The artwork shows sheepdogs guarding possessions, couples embracing and children huddled together. Overall, I enjoyed the exhibition and found quite a few pieces that grabbed my attention. Well worth a visit.
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