Native trio plans show at Aberdeen Art Gallery

WORKS by three local artists are visiting Aberdeen Art Gallery to wow crowds in their home city.

Lennox Dunbar, Ian Howard, and Arthur Watson all attended Aberdeen Grammar School, where art teacher Charles Hemingway introduced them to the collection at Aberdeen Art Gallery.

Howard went on to teach at Aberdeen and Dundee colleges of art and later became head of Edinburgh College of Art, while Dunbar is emeritus professor of fine art at Gray’s School of Art in Aberdeen, and Arthur Watson was senior lecturer in fine art at Dundee College of Art and is a past president of the Royal Scottish Academy.

Their recent work will be displayed alongside their earlier pieces, which form part of the collection at Aberdeen Art Gallery.

The trio’s exhibition opens on 14 October and runs until 28 January, 2024.

Aberdeenshire-born artist and adventurer James McBey will also feature in an exhibition this spring, entitled “Shadows & Light”, which runs from 11 February to 28 May.

Councillor Martin Greig, Aberdeen City Council’s culture spokesman, said: “The art gallery has planned an exciting programme of exhibitions for 2023, showcasing a wide range of artists, subjects, and media.

“It will be especially good to see the work of Aberdeen-born contemporaries Lennox Dunbar, Ian Howard, and Arthur Watson, all of whom were greatly influenced by the art they experienced at Aberdeen Art Gallery.

“Local artist James McBey is a favourite of many and the new display which marks the publication of the first ever biography of the artist will be eagerly welcomed.”

Other exhibitions at Aberdeen Art Gallery this year include “Where Ideas Are Born – an exhibition by Magnum Photos” (1 April to 11 June) – featuring photographs of artists including Andy Warhol, George O’Keefe, Ai Weiwei, and Yayoi Kusama in their studios – and “Quentin Blake – Illustrating Verse and Book Covers” (8 July to 17 September), featuring images by the illustrator most closely associated with author Roald Dahl.

This year’s schedule also features “The Testament of Alexander Jaffray” – marking the 350th anniversary of the death of Jaffray, twice provost of Aberdeen and representative of the burgh in the Scottish Parliament – and “Making a Splash! A Century of Women’s Beachwear”.

Greig added: “Quentin Blake’s illustrations and also photographs from the Magnum Agency are also important highlights of the year.

“The Provost Jaffray manuscript will tell us of his links to the local Quaker community.

“The beachwear exhibition will demonstrate the expressive potential of clothing.

“The forthcoming exhibitions programme promises to inspire and inform us, as well as providing a great deal of pleasure for local people and visitors to the city.”

Read more news and reviews on Scottish Field’s culture pages.

Plus, don’t miss crime fiction author Craig Robertson’s credo in the January issue of Scottish Field magazine.