About this artwork

William MacTaggart enjoyed a long career as an artist, exhibiting regularly from 1920. In the 1950s he began painting a series of still lifes framed by windows. These have been compared to the work of the French painter Edouard Vuillard in their evocation of a privileged, enclosed space. In this painting from around 1962 a vase of poppies is framed by a window, through which can be seen a row of houses in Edinburgh’s New Town, opposite MacTaggart’s studio. The painting is not only a still life but a study in mood and tone, the rich, deep blues of the night sky balancing the colourful and exuberantly painted flowers.

Updated before 2020

Does this text contain inaccurate information or language that you feel we should improve or change? Tell us what you think.

Sir William MacTaggart

Sir William MacTaggart