Latest news with #DovecotStudios
Scotsman
27-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Scotsman
Scotland First Minister John Swinney visits record-breaking exhibition at Dovecot Studios
Last week First Minister John Swinney enjoyed a visit to the record-breaking exhibition The Scottish Colourists: Radical Perspectives at Dovecot Studios Edinburgh. Sign up to our daily newsletter Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to Edinburgh News, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... The exhibition marks a century since the four Scottish Colourists, FCB Cadell, JD Fergusson, SJ Peploe, GL Hunter, widely recognised as Scotland's most pioneering artists of the early 20th century, exhibited together as a quartet for the first time in London. Dovecot's exhibition to mark this centenary shows the Colourists enduring appeal. With building visitors pegged at over 90,000 in the past 12 months, Dovecot has increased its annual pre-pandemic footfall by over 50%*. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Celia Joicey, Director of Dovecot Studios says: "We are absolutely thrilled by the phenomenal response to The Scottish Colourists: Radical Perspectives exhibition — expert curation from the Fleming Collection, has attracted new audiences and supported deeper public engagement with the Colourists' work. FM John Swinney at Dovecot Studios "Creating an exhibition programme with wide appeal, which includes forthcoming exhibitions on IKEA design and 20th century fashion, is crucial to our survival as a 21st century arts organisation and we are grateful to our visitors for its success." Dovecot's increased footfall is distinctive. It has been recently reported that UK galleries are suffering from a decline in visitor numbers due to Brexit, the aftermath of Covid-19 and the cost-of-living crisis (I Paper, 2025; Art Plugged, 2025). By contrast, Dovecot's landmark show on The Scottish Colourists is now the most attended in the organisation's history, surpassing the highly successful Grayson Perry show in 2019. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Bucking a slow start to the year for many museums and galleries, with a sector report citing visitors are still 10% down on pre- pandemic numbers (Association of Cultural Enterprise and Museum & Galleries Edinburgh, 2025), the exhibition has resonated with new and local visitors. 35% of those surveyed said they were first time visitors to the gallery. FM John Swinney at Dovecot Studios Dovecot cites the quality of its public programme and curating as a factor in this success. The exhibition places the Scottish Colourists alongside their European and UK contemporaries for the first time, challenging conventions around who should be considered the leading radical painters from 1905 to the outbreak of war in 1914. The exhibition is also supported by talks, events and workshops. James Knox, Exhibition Curator and a Director of the Fleming-Wyfold Art Foundation, says: "The critical reassessment we've undertaken in this exhibition has allowed us to show these artists in a new light, demonstrating how their work remains deeply relevant today. It's inspiring to see these iconic Scottish artists being celebrated 100 years on since their first exhibition and how this international generation of radical painters forged a new language of colour in the early 20th Century." Knox believes the appeal of the exhibition highlights the vital importance of championing Scottish art through fresh critical reassessment. For example, for the first time the exhibition sees the Colourists work shown alongside Fauve painters Henri Matisse and André Derain. Major institutional loans include Derain's renowned Fauvist work, Pool of London, lent by Tate, key works by Bloomsbury Group innovators Vanessa Bell and Duncan Grant, as well as major examples from Walter Sickert's more nuanced Camden Town Group. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad It also shows many works held in private collections not seen by the public before. Thanks to the support of so many lenders, The Scottish Colourists: Radical Perspectives is an opportunity to mark a key moment in the ongoing revival of Scottish art, and its relevance on a global stage. FM John Swinney at Dovecot Studios Due to the higher-than-anticipated attendance to date, Dovecot Studios have extended the exhibition by a day, until Sunday, June 29, to ensure as many visitors as possible have the opportunity to see the work of the Scottish Colourists displayed alongside their better-known European contemporaries. * 58,353 Dovecot building visitors 1 June – 31 May 2019 compared with 88,774 1 June 2024 – 31 May 2025 (i.e. 52% increase)
Scotsman
06-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Scotsman
The Scottish Colourists attract record visitors 100 years after their first exhibition
Record visitor numbers at Dovecot Studios in Edinburgh this year highlight the power of popular exhibitions to attract audiences, support tourism, and even raise revenue. Sign up to our daily newsletter Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to Edinburgh News, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... 2025 marks a century since the four Scottish Colourists, FCB Cadell, JD Fergusson, SJ Peploe, GL Hunter, widely recognised as Scotland's most pioneering artists of the early 20th century, exhibited together as a quartet for the first time in London. Dovecot's exhibition to mark this centenary shows the Colourists enduring appeal. With building visitors pegged at over 90,000 in the past 12 months, Dovecot has increased its annual pre-pandemic footfall by over 50%*. Celia Joicey, Director of Dovecot Studios says, We are absolutely thrilled by the phenomenal response to The Scottish Colourists: Radical Perspectives exhibition — expert curation from the Fleming Collection, has attracted new audiences and supported deeper public engagement with the Colourists' work. Creating an exhibition programme with wide appeal, which includes forthcoming exhibitions on IKEA design and 20th century fashion, is crucial to our survival as a 21st century arts organisation and we are grateful to our visitors for its success. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Dovecot's increased footfall is distinctive. It has been recently reported that UK galleries are suffering from a decline in visitor numbers due to Brexit, the aftermath of Covid-19 and the cost-of-living crisis (I Paper, 2025; Art Plugged, 2025). By contrast, Dovecot's landmark show on The Scottish Colourists is now the most attended in the organisation's history, surpassing the highly successful Grayson Perry show in 2019. Dovecot Studios: The Scottish Colourists Bucking a slow start to the year for many museums and galleries, with a sector report citing visitors are still 10% down on pre- pandemic numbers (Association of Cultural Enterprise and Museum & Galleries Edinburgh, 2025), the exhibition has resonated with new and local visitors. 35% of those surveyed said they were first time visitors to the gallery. Dovecot cites the quality of its public programme and curating as a factor in this success. The exhibition places the Scottish Colourists alongside their European and UK contemporaries for the first time, challenging conventions around who should be considered the leading radical painters from 1905 to the outbreak of war in 1914. The exhibition is also supported by talks, events and workshops. James Knox, Exhibition Curator and a Director of the Fleming-Wyfold Art Foundation, says, The critical reassessment we've undertaken in this exhibition has allowed us to show these artists in a new light, demonstrating how their work remains deeply relevant today. It's inspiring to see these iconic Scottish artists being celebrated 100 years on since their first exhibition and how this international generation of radical painters forged a new language of colour in the early 20th Century. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Knox believes the appeal of the exhibition highlights the vital importance of championing Scottish art through fresh critical reassessment. For example, for the first time the exhibition sees the Colourists work shown alongside Fauve painters Henri Matisse and André Derain. Major institutional loans include Derain's renowned Fauvist work, Pool of London, lent by Tate, key works by Bloomsbury Group innovators Vanessa Bell and Duncan Grant, as well as major examples from Walter Sickert's more nuanced Camden Town Group. It also shows many Dovecot Studios: The Scottish Colourists works held in private collections not seen by the public before. Thanks to the support of so many lenders, The Scottish Colourists: Radical Perspectives is an opportunity to mark a key moment in the ongoing revival of Scottish art, and its relevance on a global stage. Due to the higher-than-anticipated attendance to date, Dovecot Studios have extended the exhibition by a day, until Sunday 29 June 2025, to ensure as many visitors as possible have the opportunity to see the work of the Scottish Colourists displayed alongside their better-known European contemporaries. * 58,353 Dovecot building visitors 1 June – 31 May 2019 compared with 88,774 1 June 2024 – 31 May 2025 (i.e. 52% increase)
Scotsman
06-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Scotsman
The Scottish Colourists attract record visitors 100 years after their first exhibition
Record visitor numbers at Dovecot Studios in Edinburgh this year highlight the power of popular exhibitions to attract audiences, support tourism, and even raise revenue. Sign up to our daily newsletter – Regular news stories and round-ups from around Scotland direct to your inbox Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... 2025 marks a century since the four Scottish Colourists, FCB Cadell, JD Fergusson, SJ Peploe, GL Hunter, widely recognised as Scotland's most pioneering artists of the early 20th century, exhibited together as a quartet for the first time in London. Dovecot's exhibition to mark this centenary shows the Colourists enduring appeal. With building visitors pegged at over 90,000 in the past 12 months, Dovecot has increased its annual pre-pandemic footfall by over 50%*. Celia Joicey, Director of Dovecot Studios says, We are absolutely thrilled by the phenomenal response to The Scottish Colourists: Radical Perspectives exhibition — expert curation from the Fleming Collection, has attracted new audiences and supported deeper public engagement with the Colourists' work. Creating an exhibition programme with wide appeal, which includes forthcoming exhibitions on IKEA design and 20th century fashion, is crucial to our survival as a 21st century arts organisation and we are grateful to our visitors for its success. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Dovecot's increased footfall is distinctive. It has been recently reported that UK galleries are suffering from a decline in visitor numbers due to Brexit, the aftermath of Covid-19 and the cost-of-living crisis (I Paper, 2025; Art Plugged, 2025). By contrast, Dovecot's landmark show on The Scottish Colourists is now the most attended in the organisation's history, surpassing the highly successful Grayson Perry show in 2019. Dovecot Studios: The Scottish Colourists Bucking a slow start to the year for many museums and galleries, with a sector report citing visitors are still 10% down on pre- pandemic numbers (Association of Cultural Enterprise and Museum & Galleries Edinburgh, 2025), the exhibition has resonated with new and local visitors. 35% of those surveyed said they were first time visitors to the gallery. Dovecot cites the quality of its public programme and curating as a factor in this success. The exhibition places the Scottish Colourists alongside their European and UK contemporaries for the first time, challenging conventions around who should be considered the leading radical painters from 1905 to the outbreak of war in 1914. The exhibition is also supported by talks, events and workshops. James Knox, Exhibition Curator and a Director of the Fleming-Wyfold Art Foundation, says, The critical reassessment we've undertaken in this exhibition has allowed us to show these artists in a new light, demonstrating how their work remains deeply relevant today. It's inspiring to see these iconic Scottish artists being celebrated 100 years on since their first exhibition and how this international generation of radical painters forged a new language of colour in the early 20th Century. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Knox believes the appeal of the exhibition highlights the vital importance of championing Scottish art through fresh critical reassessment. For example, for the first time the exhibition sees the Colourists work shown alongside Fauve painters Henri Matisse and André Derain. Major institutional loans include Derain's renowned Fauvist work, Pool of London, lent by Tate, key works by Bloomsbury Group innovators Vanessa Bell and Duncan Grant, as well as major examples from Walter Sickert's more nuanced Camden Town Group. It also shows many Dovecot Studios: The Scottish Colourists works held in private collections not seen by the public before. Thanks to the support of so many lenders, The Scottish Colourists: Radical Perspectives is an opportunity to mark a key moment in the ongoing revival of Scottish art, and its relevance on a global stage. Due to the higher-than-anticipated attendance to date, Dovecot Studios have extended the exhibition by a day, until Sunday 29 June 2025, to ensure as many visitors as possible have the opportunity to see the work of the Scottish Colourists displayed alongside their better-known European contemporaries.
The Herald Scotland
15-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Herald Scotland
Global celebration of gardens unveiled in Scotland
The exhibition, which opens to the public on Saturday, will look at places of sanctuary and cutting-edge garden creations around the world. Read more: Garden Futures: Designing with Nature, which runs until 25 January, will also explore how gardens have inspired fashion, artists, video games and advertising campaigns. The Maggie's cancer care centre in Dundee, seaweed gardens in Oban, Little Sparta, the garden created by artist Ian Hamilton Finlay and landscape designer Charles Jencks' Garden of Cosmic Speculation, near Dumfries, are showcased in the exhibition. The Maggie's cancer care centre in Dundee is featured in a new exhibition at the city's V&A design museum, which is celebrating garden creations around the world. (Image: V&A Dundee) The show also features Dior menswear inspired by the Charleston garden in Sussex, the former home of artist Derek Jarman in Kent, self-watering plant pots created by Scottish designers Andrew Flynn and Martin Keane, and a new tapestry commissioned for the exhibition from Dovecot Studios in Edinburgh. V&A Dundee director Leonie Bell said: 'Gardens are both everyday and extraordinary – they mean something different to everyone. A new tapestry was commissioned by V&A Dundee from Dovecot Studios in Edinburgh for its new exhibition Garden Futures: Designing With Nature. (Image: Phil Wilkinson) "These designed spaces reflect the times we live in and express our relationship with nature. Some are productive spaces for work, rest and play, while others represent profound spiritual, cultural and political ideas. "This vibrant exhibition blooms with design stories of gardens from Scotland and around the world, unearthing different approaches to creating the 'perfect' garden. "It looks back to early earthly ideas of paradise and considers how gardening can cultivate a greener, fairer and more joyful future for humans and nature alike. "Whether you're a seasoned gardener or you've never grown anything in your life, the exhibition offers a thought-provoking experience, providing moments of sanctuary and creative inspiration within its stunning design."
Spectator
05-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Spectator
Why were the Scots so much better at painting than the English?
This exhibition is awash with luscious brushstrokes, but then that's to be expected: it's full of Scottish painting. Before the barren era of conceptual art, which most hope is over, people often observed that the Scots could paint while the English could draw. Why is a bit of mystery, but it was true right through the 18th and 19th centuries and well into the 20th. The Dovecot Studios exhibition opens with John Duncan Fergusson's portrait of his lover and first muse, Jean Maconochie, painted about 1902. It's a fabulous eyeful of brush marks. Her pale pink, oval face nestles under her black billowing locks, flanked by two glowing pearls dropping from her ears, the whole moony ensemble bathed in the deep green of her hat, scarf and coat as if she was emerging, miraculously, from a dark, verdant night. But what takes your breath away are the brush marks that swim through this surrounding darkness and then become finer as they shape – a better word would be stroke – her cheeks, chin, nose and the arch of her brows above rounded eyes, caresses that culminate in her pouting lips that are held aloof but at the same time appear ready to be kissed. This is painting, brush-bending, as a hymn to flesh on bone, love-making lifted out of time. The second painting in this show, however, is an oddity. It's 'Self-portrait in a Turban' (1910) by Duncan Grant who, though a Scot, had nothing to do with the Scottish colourists. Nor is it painterly, but rather drawn and dry in technique. Grant worked in London, and was a member of the Bloomsbury Group. What the painting is really about is anyone's guess. He has depicted himself, or rather his top half, naked, wearing only a turban, which could just as easily be a bath towel, that echoes the colour of his pale blue eyes. His right hand is held aloft in a fay, come-hither gesture, as if inviting the spectator to strip and join him in his Turkish bath. Looking at this picture I couldn't resist remembering the nickname given to him later by his intimates in the Bloomsbury Group: Drunk-And-Can't. Why ever was this included in the show? The exhibition is promoted as being a 'first time showcase of the Scottish Colourists in the context of their European contemporaries'. I was looking forward to seeing how well the paintings of the four Scottish colourists, Fergusson, Peploe, Hunter and Cadell, held up beside the works of Van Gogh, Cézanne, Matisse and Derain. There is a fine Derain, but only one scrappy, utterly untypical pen-and-ink study by Matisse, and no Van Gogh nor Cézanne. But there are a host of works by the largely English Bloomsbury and Fitzroy Street groups and a sprinkling of Welsh and Irish artists, which makes the exhibition international in a way (if you're a Scottish nationalist). Hence, perhaps, the prominence of Duncan Grant at the entrance – a Scot who emigrated to the South. All the artists included were influenced by the explosion of post-impressionism in France – but the results of their efforts were very different and these tend to cloud the distinct achievements of the four Scottish colourists themselves. Nevertheless, oil painting, when done as well as this, is wonderful to witness. Loaded brush marks, as they dip, run, shift and lift, follow the flow of the painter's vision. As you look at these paintings you can see the artists seeing, join them, as it were, behind their eyes. Cadell, the youngest of the four, emerges as the finest talent. His portrait of the boxer, 'Basher Willie' Thompson, sitting naked on a bright vermillion chair, his weathered, roseate face and hands in startling contrast to his white, usually covered flesh. The exhibition begins with the Scottish colourists' dark early, Edwardian still-lives – glints of light on silver sugar bowls and flowers in a vase – then moves on to their French-inspired works, tumbles of oranges, crumpled bright fabrics and bottles of red wine, but it ends with their late paintings of the Scottish landscape, above all the turquoise-green seas, rose-tinted beaches and blue mountains of the Hebridean islands. These are the most light-filled, colour-saturated and uplifting paintings in the show. One has to wonder how these artists might have fared if they'd never left home. The rare, luminous, ever-changing beauty of their native landscape could have become synonymous with the Scottish colourists. But as it is their works remain, for the most part, just one more, albeit bright, eddy on the edges of post-impressionism.
