about 1942

GMA 932

The vivid colours and flat patterning of this painting owe much to Matisse, while the 'tipped-up' perspective reflects Redpath's admiration for early Italian painting. Redpath was fascinated by colour and texture. In this painting, the pattern of the rug meshes with the shapes of the slippers and chair to such a degree that it is difficult to separate flat from three-dimensional form. Redpath's father designed tweed fabrics and her work has the sense of patterning sometimes found in textiles. She remarked: 'I do with a spot of red or yellow in a harmony of grey what my father did with his tweed.'

• Material: Oil on plywood
• Size: 73.90 x 96.10 cm
• National Galleries of Scotland
• © the Artist's Estate / Bridgeman Art Library. All rights reserved.

about 1947

GMA 1960

This is one of a number of paintings of the 1940s which show different views of the artist’s home at Beaconsfield Terrace, Hawick. Redpath had a great fondness for including domestic objects in her paintings. The Chinese rug in the foreground, the African sculpture on the mantelpiece and the linen chest in the far corner – decorated by Redpath – feature in many other works of this period. Redpath stated that she liked the rooms of her house to have white walls, most likely influenced by time spent in Italy. The walls serve to highlight and intensify the rich, bright colours used in the rest of the room. The painting shows the ‘tipped-up’ perspective Redpath often used to give a flattened, richly decorated effect.

• Material: Oil on plywood
• Size: 61.00 x 59.90 cm
• National Galleries of Scotland
• © the Artist's Estate / Bridgeman Art Library. All rights reserved.

about 1962

GMA 1113

In 1961 Redpath travelled to Lisbon. Inspired by the church of St Roque she turned her attention increasingly towards painting church interiors. As a child she had attended the Hawick Congregational Church and was fascinated by the ornamental trappings of the Catholic church. Although she was not religious, Redpath delighted in the rich colourings of gold, silver and purple, and in the precious decoration of altarpieces, as can be seen in this painting. Redpath’s church paintings mark a shift in both the character and style of her work. She commented on her ability to paint still life, saying ‘I couldn’t paint it smooth any more. I had to paint it as if it were some kind of encrusted jewel.’

• Material: Oil on hardboard
• Size: 61.00 x 61.00 cm
• National Galleries of Scotland
• © the Artist's Estate / Bridgeman Art Library. All rights reserved.

1953

GMA 4111

When creating this painting, Davie tried to rid his mind of conscious decision-making. He abandoned traditional methods of composition and subject matter and strove to paint with complete freedom. This approach was influenced by the artist's interest in Zen Buddhism. The work was painted on two large pieces of board, laid on the floor. Davie had to stand on the board itself to reach the centre of the painting. This is one of his first paintings to incorporate footprints, some of which belong to his young daughter, Jane.

• Material: Oil on masonite (board)
• Size: 153.00 x 192.00 cm
• National Galleries of Scotland
• © Alan Davie

1975

GMA 4116

In 1974 and 1975 Davie made a series of pieces on the theme of 'the studio.' 1975 was the first year that Davie spent the winter on the Caribbean island of St Lucia, where he would make drawings and gouaches which he would turn into oil paintings on his return to Britain. For 'The Studio' series, he made gouaches first and the oil paintings were developed from images in these works. They featured a collection of motifs and symbols placed in an interior (studio) environment. The animal that features is of no particular kind; it derives from drawings.

• Material: Oil on canvas
• Size: 152.30 x 183.00 cm
• National Galleries of Scotland
• © Alan Davie

1953

GMA 3482

Wilhelmina Barns-Graham’s paintings respond to geological formations and the natural environment, from seaside rocks to glaciers. This painting belongs to a group of studies inspired by the rock formations at Zennor, near St. Ives. The artist had a studio there and worked among the active artistic community in the area. In this painting, the paint has been scraped to produce a textured surface. This reveals the pencil lines underneath, which show that the work has been structured using geometrical proportions. The flattening of the picture space underlines the abstract nature of the painting, yet although abstract, Barns-Graham’s work takes the rhythms and forms of nature as its primary inspiration.

• Material: Oil and pencil on wood
• Size: 22.90 x 28.50 cm
• National Galleries of Scotland
• © Barns-Graham Charitable Trust

1957

GMA 2778

This work was painted while Barns-Graham was living in Leeds and teaching at the School of Art there. The colours are influenced by the colours she saw in the city: glimpses of brightly-coloured clothing which contrasted with the dark, wintery skies. 'Starbotton' is the name of a pot-hole she visited in Yorkshire. Like most of Barns-Graham's abstract paintings, the origins of this work are from nature and the artist's own experience. Barns-Graham had a long working life, and continued to paint until her death in 2004.

• Material: Oil on canvas
• Size: 63.50 x 76.50 cm
• National Galleries of Scotland
• © Barns-Graham Charitable Trust

1964

GMA 3359

This triptych was exhibited at Bellany's postgraduate exhibition in 1965, when the artist was twenty-three years old. The layout of 'Allegory' derives from Grünewald's 'Isenheim' Altarpiece, but the subject matter is autobiographical. As a student, Bellany had a Saturday job gutting fish in Port Seton, a small fishing village south of Edinburgh. The setting of 'Allegory' is a mixture of Port Seton and Eyemouth (another fishing port), where Bellany's grandparents lived. The gutted haddock, displayed in the manner of the Crucifixion, become metaphors for suffering humanity; the passive fishermen replace Christ's family and the Roman soldiers. Bellany has given religious monumentality to a real-life scene.

• Material: Oil on hardboard (triptych)
• Size: 212.40 x 121.80 cm; 213.30 x 160.00 cm; 212.50 x 121.80 cm
• National Galleries of Scotland
• © the Artist / Bridgeman Art Library. All rights reserved.

1966

GMA 2987

In this portrait,Bellany has paid close attention to the weather-beaten quality of his father's head and hands. These tell most about the character of the sitter and his life. The tattoo on his left arm says 'True love Nancy'. His wife Nancy (the artist's mother) was extremely important to him, to the extent that he gave up being a fisherman in 1951, to alleviate her anxiety, when he was at sea. The sitter rests against what appears to be one of the artist's own paintings, showing fishermen, a reference to the sitter's profession.

• Material: Oil on hardboard
• Size: 122.00 x 91.20 cm
• National Galleries of Scotland
• © the Artist / Bridgeman Art Library. All rights reserved.