Frances Macdonald Passing Islands

Frances Macdonald passing islands

4 february – 2 march 2013

16 Dundas Street, Edinburgh EH3 6HZ Tel 0131 558 1200 Email [email protected] Web www.scottish-gallery.co.uk

Cover: Late Afternoon – Port na Fraig, Iona (detail) oil on canvas, 30 x 40 ins, 76.25 x 101.5 cms foreword

From her studio overlooking the Corryvreckan, Frances Macdonald has a clear view across the Sound of Jura to the north end of the island; to Scarba, the mountains of Mull before the great expanse of the North Atlantic. Having lived at Crinan for 40 years, Macdonald’s painting is based on her intimate understanding of the landscape around her. Her knowledge of sailing informs her of approaching weather patterns, and she captures fleeting Hebridean sunshine alongside the winter squalls with equal immediacy. Peploe and Cadell’s paintings of Iona cast a long shadow in Scottish art history, yet Macdonald has established herself as a worthy heir to the tradition started at the end of the 19th century. Like Peploe and Cadell she finds delight in the juxtaposition of angular rock and white sand. Her use of the palette knife creates a dynamism and animation in each painting. She works her paint across the canvas in angular lines; her assured marks arrived at through careful elimination of aesthetic non-essentials. It is bravura painting, her means perfectly suited to capture the broken skies and raging seas in full force, with rocks transformed into cubistic patterns. For this, her third exhibition at The Scottish Gallery, she has looked at new subject matter: sketching the flora and fauna of the Galapagos where she visited in November, and the South of France where she often visits. She has recently been awarded the Charles Rennie Mackintosh residency at Collioure, which will commence in May 2013. The results are eagerly anticipated. Tommy Zyw January 2013

Left: Frances Macdonald in the Galapagos, November 2012. Duntrune Castle from Crinan oil on canvas, 20 x 24 ins, 51 x 61 cms Rugged coastline, Kintyre towards Jura oil on canvas, 24 x 32 ins, 61 x 81.25 cms Knockvologan near Fionnphort, Mull oil on canvas, 40 x 60 ins, 101.5 x 152.5 cms

The Burgh from the White Strand of the Monks, Iona Evening at the North End, Iona oil on canvas, 16 x 18 ins, 40.5 x 45.5 cms oil on canvas, 16 x 18 ins, 40.25 x 45.75 cms A break in the clouds from the Machair, Iona oil on canvas, 30 x 40 ins, 76.25 x 101.5 cms Le Crois de St Croix – near Nice oil on canvas, 24 x 32 ins, 61 x 81.25 cms Toulon Boat at St Tropez oil on canvas, 12 x 16 ins, 30.5 x 40.5 cms Above: Locked in at No. 14, Crinan oil on canvas, 10 x 10 ins, 25.5 x 25.5 cms Right: In for the night, Crinan oil on canvas, 16 x 18 ins, 40.25 x 45.75 cms

Traigh Gael, Mull, late Summer oil on canvas, 40 x 50 ins, 101.5 x 127 cms Low cloud over Mull Rhum & Eigg from Portuairk oil on canvas, 16 x 18 ins, 40.5 x 45.5 cms oil on canvas, 16 x 18 ins, 40.5 x 45.5 cms Martyr’s Bay, Iona oil on canvas, 36 x 54 ins, 91.5 x 137 cms

Lunga on the horizon from Iona Perfect Pinks oil on canvas, 6 x 8 ins, 15.25 x 20.5 cms oil on canvas, 6 x 8 ins, 15.25 x 20.5 cms Tidal Race – Storm Island, Iona Last Sail, heading for the Dorus Mhor ‘from my studio’ oil on canvas, 6 x 8 ins, 15.25 x 20.5 cms oil on canvas, 6 x 8 ins, 15.25 x 20.5 cms A little tuft of Pinks, Ronachan oil on canvas, 24 x 32 ins, 61 x 81.25 cms St Tropez, Old Harbour oil on canvas, 12 x 16 ins, 30.5 x 40.5 cms Sunday – The Harbour, St Tropez oil on canvas, 15.75 x 19.75 ins, 40 x 50 cms Pale emerald mist over Cara & Gigha oil on canvas, 24 x 32 ins, 61 x 81.25 cms

The Gauldrons, Machrihanish oil on canvas, 24 x 32 ins, 61 x 81.25 cms Hydrangeas at Crinan Lighthouse oil on canvas, 8 x 6 ins, 20.5 x 15.25 cms Clouds over Ben Mhor from Iona oil on canvas, 12 x 12 ins, 30.5 x 30.5 cms Strong winds across the Sound of Iona oil on canvas, 40 x 50 ins, 101.5 x 127 cms Les Alpilles oil on canvas, 18 x 20 ins, 45.75 x 51 cms Le Plan de la Tour – St Maxime oil on canvas, 24 x 32 ins, 61 x 81 cms Poltalloch Wood, June oil on canvas, 30 x 40 ins, 76.25 x 101.5 cms

Blue boats at Crinan Pier The Paps oil on canvas, 6 x 8 ins, 15.25 x 20.5 cms oil on canvas, 6 x 8 ins, 15.25 x 20.5 cms Towards Jura from Kintyre oil on canvas, 32 x 24 ins, 81 x 61 cms The Sgarbh steams by past my Rowans oil on canvas, 16 x 18 ins, 40.25 x 45.75 cms Port Bhan – Iona oil on canvas, 24 x 32 ins, 61 x 81.25 cms Duntrune Castle, late September oil on canvas, 8 x 8 ins, 20.5 x 20.5 cms Blustery day near the Corryvreckan from my studio, October oil on canvas, 12 x 12 ins, 30.5 x 30.5 cms A favourite place of mine, Iona oil on canvas, 12 x 12 ins, 30.5 x 30.5 cms Lighthouse at Crinan, Lock 15 Cara in the distance, Kintyre oil on canvas, 8 x 6 ins, 20.5 x 15.5 cms oil on canvas, 8 x 6 ins, 20.5 x 15.25 cms Misty morning at the North End, Iona oil on canvas, 36 x 60 ins, 91.5 x 152.5 cms frances macdonald

Born Glasgow 2009 Portland Gallery, London 1983 – 1986 Elected Council Member, SSWA 2010 The Scottish Gallery, Edinburgh 2004 – 2010 Elected Council Member, RGI 2011 Portland Gallery, London 2013 Charles Rennie Mackintosh Residency at Collioure 2013 The Scottish Gallery, Edinburgh

Solo Exhibitions Selected Mixed Exhibitions 1975 Gallery Paton, Edinburgh Aberdeen Art Gallery & Museums 1977 Shore Gallery, Edinburgh McLean Museum Greenock 1988 Macaulay Gallery, Stenton The Royal Scottish Academy 1989 Sue Rankin Gallery, London The Royal Glasgow Institute of the Fine Arts 1993 The R.G.I. Kelly Gallery, Glasgow Visual Arts Scotland 1994 The R.G.I. Kelly Gallery, Glasgow The Royal Scottish Society of Painters in Watercolour 1995 The R.G.I. Kelly Gallery, Glasgow 1996 The Scottish Arts Club, Edinburgh Collections 1997 Open Eye Gallery, Edinburgh Adam & Company, Edinburgh 1998 Cyril Gerber Fine Art, Glasgow Haines Watts Chartered Accountants, Glasgow 1999 Open Eye Gallery, Edinburgh Drummond Miller Solicitors, Edinburgh 2000 Portland Gallery, London First National Bank, USA 2001 Art 2001: The London Contemporary Art Fair Fred Olsen Cruise Lines 2002 Portland Gallery, London Gleneagles Hotel 2003 Open Eye Gallery, Edinburgh Halifax 2003 Portland Gallery, London I and H Brown Ltd 2005 Art 2005: The London Contemporary Art Fair Misys PLC 2005 Portland Gallery, London Capital Property Group 2006 Portland Gallery, London Royal Bank of Scotland 2007 Portland Gallery, London Robert Fleming Holdings Ltd 2008 Portland Gallery, London Stena Line 2009 The Scottish Gallery, Edinburgh and private collections worldwide

Published by The Scottish Gallery to coincide with the exhibition Frances Macdonald: Passing Islands 4 February – 2 March 2013

Exhibition can be viewed online at www.scottish-gallery.co.uk/francesmacdonald

ISBN: 978-1-905146-73-4

Inside covers: The artist’s sketches from the Galapagos Islands, November 2012.

16 Dundas Street, Edinburgh EH3 6HZ Tel 0131 558 1200 Email [email protected] Web www.scottish-gallery.co.uk