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'Going to the Garden Party' - Potrait of Brenda Mark, 1922-1960
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'Going to the Garden Party' - Potrait of Brenda Mark, 1922-1960
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? The Artist's Estate

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'Going to the Garden Party' - Potrait of Brenda Mark, 1922-1960 1952
  • Scottish Art
The painter, draughtsman and teacher Brenda Mark was born in Hull, Yorkshire. However, she was brought up and spent the rest of her life in Edinburgh, studying at Edinburgh College of Art from 1939 to 1943. She taught art in primary schools and for four years was attached to the teacher training college in Moray House as a crafts lecturer. She also taught at St Denis? School, Edinburgh. She married the artist Sir Robin Philipson in 1949. Philipson was greatly influenced by Oskar Kokoschka and this is certainly visible the expressionistic brushstrokes of this work. Mark was a prominent exhibitor at the Scottish Society of Artists, of which she was a member, and the Royal Scottish Academy.

Glossary Open

Draughtsmanship

The ability to draw skilfully, often refers to technical drawing.

Expressionism

A style that made an impact in the arts in the 1920s, particularly in Germany. Expressionists deliberately abandoned realistic representation techniques in favour of exaggerations and distortions of line and colour that were intended to carry far greater emotional impact.

Royal Scottish Academy

The Royal Scottish Academy (RSA) was formed in Edinburgh in 1826 by Scottish artists who felt alienated by what they perceived as the elitism of the Royal Institution and its management of contemporary art exhibitions. In 1835, the RSA secured exhibition rights in the Royal Institution building, which had been erected on The Mound by the Board of Manufactures in 1826. The RSA and the Board frequently argued over responsibilities for advanced art education. From 1859, the RSA shared the premises of the new National Gallery of Scotland under the Board?s custody. In 1910, after transferring most of its art collections to the Gallery, the RSA gained exclusive tenancy of the former Royal Institution building, where it continues to hold large-scale annual exhibitions.

Scottish Society of Artists

The Scottish Society of Artists was founded in Edinburgh in 1891. It was seen as the `rebellious? and `progressive? younger sibling to the more traditional and conservative Royal Scottish Academy. Today the SSA still strives to show the most controversial, unique and challenging work available.

Draughtsmanship, Expressionism, Royal Scottish Academy, Scottish Society of Artists

Details

  • Acc. No. PG 3302
  • Medium Oil on canvas
  • Size 111.76 x 83.92 cm (framed: 112.00 x 83.00 cm)
  • Credit Dr Angus Gibson Gift 2002

See related artworks

Part of

Scottish Art

Related works

Self-Portrait as a Degenerate Artist, Oskar Kokoschka