The National Gallery of Scotland presents The Artist Up Close: Portraits of Scottish Artists from the Prints and Drawings Collection open 10 February – 5 June 2010.
The Artist Up Close will bring together a broad range of portraits of some of Scotland’s most admired artists created by themselves, their friends or family. The display will include prints and drawings from the National collection spanning the last 300 years. Portraits of Sir Henry Raeburn, Allan Ramsay and Sir David Wilkie will be shown alongside modern artists such as Eduardo Paolozzi, Anne Redpath, and Alan Davie. Whilst these artists’ names and work may be familiar, this display will put their faces and personalities in the picture.
The exhibition will contain many insightful self portraits. A striking image of Allan Ramsay (1713 – 1784) at the age of 20 already depicts a young, confident man who went on to become one of the most successful portrait painters in the 18th century. Another fascinating sketch is possibly the earliest surviving work by Eduardo Paolozzi (1924-2005). Drawn on the cover of a book of nursery rhymes, this youthful self portrait was created when he was approximately 11 years old.
The show will also feature portraits by family members. Kate Cameron (1874 – 1965), sister of famous Scottish printmaker D. Y. Cameron (1865 – 1945), studied at Glasgow School of Art like her influential brother. Her delicate and restrained drawing reflects his quiet and retiring personality and was probably made for her own enjoyment rather then for public display. A study of Alexander Runciman (1736 – 1785) by his younger brother John Runciman (1744 – 1768) will also be in the show. The siblings were great friends; Alexander taught John to draw and the pair travelled together to Italy in 1767, to further their artistic training.
Lastly close friendships will be represented in the show. A pair of reciprocal portraits by a young Henry Raeburn (1756 – 1823) and his mentor David Deuchar (1745 – 1808) will provide a touching memento of the older and younger artists’ friendship and mutual respect. This is a rare opportunity to see the earliest known work by Raeburn. A portrait of Jessie Marion King (1875 – 1949) by her lifelong friend Helen Paxton Brown (1876 – 1956) will also feature. The two women were fellow pupils at Glasgow School of Art and shared a studio from around 1898 until 1907.
These 32 works will showcase the breadth and variety of the Gallery’s world-class collection of works on paper and will offer a special glimpse at these fascinating Scottish artists, through their own eyes and those close to them.
Image: View from Dosseringen near the Sortedam Lake Looking towards Nørrebro, 1838, Christen Købke, Statens Museum for Kunst, Copenhagen
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