Slave to the rhythm: Scottish Colourists, J. D. Fergusson

The most progressive and cosmopolitan of the Scottish Colourists, J. D. Fergusson expressed his national identity and love of sensual pleasures in dynamic modern paintings that interweave rhythm and colour, says Mary Miers.

John Duncan Fergusson is a central figure in the story of early-20th-century art. Here we take a look at his background. For the full feature, head to our September issue. 

TIMELINE

1874 – born in Leith, Edinburgh on March 9

1898 – exhibits at the RSA and Society of Scottish Artists

1899 and 1901 – visits Morocco and Spain

1903 – elected member of Royal Society of British Artists

1905 – first solo exhibition, held at Baillie Gallery, London

1907 – settles in Paris

1909 – elected a sociétaire of the Salon d’Automne

1911 – launch of the journal Rhythm, with Fergusson as art editor

1913 – meets dancer Margaret Morris (1891-1980)

1914 – returns from France to live in London

1918 – commissioned by Ministry of Information to paint life in the naval dockyards at Portsmouth

1923 – first solo exhibition in Scotland, at Scottish Gallery, Edinburgh

1924 – major show in Paris of the Scottish Colourists, Les Peintres de l’Ecosse Moderne 

1925 – the group exhibit in London, at Leicester Galleries

1926 – first solo show in America, at Whitney Studio, New York

1929 – re-settles in Paris

1931, 1935, 1937 – respective deaths of Hunter, Peploe and Cadell

1939 – moves to Glasgow 

1943 – publication of his book Modern Scottish Painting

1948 – touring retrospective exhibition, McLellan Galleries, Glasgow

1950-60 – annual trips to South of France to teach and paint

1961 – dies in Glasgow on January 30; ashes scattered over Schiehallion

In 1991, the J. D. Fergusson Art Foundation, which Margaret Morris established in 1963, gifted its collection and archive to Perth & Kinross Council (the Margaret Morris Collection joined it in 2010).

The Fergusson Gallery was created in a former water tower on Marshall Place, Perth and ran from 1992 to 2022.

Since then, with the new Perth Museum in the former city hall, the former museum and art gallery on George Street has been transformed into Perth Art Gallery.

Here, a new space devoted to the couple’s work, ‘Ferg & Meg: A Creative Partnership’, was unveiled this year to mark the 150th anniversary of Fergusson’s birth.

The joint collection consists of over 100 oil paintings as well as watercolours, works on paper, photographs, costumes and archival material.

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