John Duncan Fergusson auction works put on display

A selection of paintings and sculptures by a renowned Scottish Colourist have been put on display ahead of an auction.
Curator James McNaught with a £12k-valued sculpture by artist John Duncan Fergusson titled 'Eastre, Hymn to the Sun'. Picture: PACurator James McNaught with a £12k-valued sculpture by artist John Duncan Fergusson titled 'Eastre, Hymn to the Sun'. Picture: PA
Curator James McNaught with a £12k-valued sculpture by artist John Duncan Fergusson titled 'Eastre, Hymn to the Sun'. Picture: PA

The works by John Duncan Fergusson include paintings from private collections and a selection coming up for sale in May.

Fergusson has been described as the most commercially successful and critically regarded of the Scottish Colourists, and his works are part of an exhibition at Lyon & Turnbull’s gallery in Glasgow.

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He was born in Leith in 1874, and died at the age of 86 after settling in Glasgow. He came to prominence along with George Leslie Hunter, Francis Cadell and Samuel Peploe in the 1920s as part of the Scottish Colourist movement.

"Blond in the South". Picture: Hemedia"Blond in the South". Picture: Hemedia
"Blond in the South". Picture: Hemedia

The paintings At the Dinner Table and Mademoiselle Cassavetes are part of the exhibition and are valued between £20,000 and £50,000.

Two bronze sculptures titled Effulgence and Eastre, Hymn to the Sun are also to be sold after the exhibition and are valued between £7,000 and £18,000.

Curator James McNaught said: “This exhibition coincides with the huge exhibition of Scottish Colourists at the Gallery of Modern Art in Edinburgh.

“We felt it was appropriate because he settled in Glasgow and we wanted to pay homage to his contribution to the city and to the art world.”

The exhibition of 11 paintings and two sculptures will be on show until Friday February 28.

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Lyon & Turnbull painting specialist Charlotte Riordan said: “With Fergusson spending more time in France, he exhibited with greater frequency in Paris and London and his profile was consequently higher.

“The main reason sculpture wasn’t a bigger factor in this career was simply down to money. The plaster of his most famous sculpture Eastre, Hymn to the Sun lived under his bed for three years before he could afford to have it cast.”