The female figure, often dancing and with erotic overtones, is a recurring theme in Fergusson’s work. These drawings were taken from one of his sketch books. They show him experimenting with an Egyptian inspired pose, with the figure both clothed and un-clothed. Fergusson met his future wife, the dancer Margaret Morris, in Paris in 1913 and together they collaborated on many dance projects. In 1917 they opened a summer school of dance in Devon, with the dancers encouraged to practice ‘en plein air’. This was the beginning of annual summer schools in both England and the South of France.
John Duncan Fergusson (Scottish, 1874 - 1961)
‘Scottish Colourist’ John Duncan Fergusson is recognised as one of the most influential Scottish painters of the 20th century. Mostly self-taught, he moved to Paris in 1907, where he became a member of the Parisian art circles to which artists such as Matisse and Picasso also belonged. The outbreak of the First World War forced him to return to Britain, and by 1918 he was an established member of the art scene in Chelsea, London. In 1929 he went back to Paris for a further eleven years before moving to Glasgow, where he lived until his death. Like his friend S J Peploe, Fergusson’s early work was influenced by that of Whistler and the Glasgow Boys, but in France he came across Fauvism and adopted a similar style, using pure, bright colours and bold, rhythmic contours.
