John Duncan Fergusson, R.B.A.

Alice Moore of Chatham, New Jersey;
Terence McGee of Chatham, New Jersey;
Sotheby's, Hopetoun House, 24 April 2006, lot 147;
Private collection

New York, The Whitney Studio (now the Whitney Museum), John Duncan Fergusson Exhibition, December 1926, no.8 

The canvas has not been lined. There are areas of craquelure, most notably to the clouds in the upper centre of the composition, however, most other instances of craquelure are visible only upon close inspection. There are some specks of surface dirt throughout, otherwise the work appears to be in good overall condition. UV light inspection reveals some minor flecked retouching to the craquelure, this is most concentrated in the sky with some very minor touches to the landscape. Held in a black painted and gilded frame.
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For many years Fergusson lived in London and Paris and did not paint the rich subject matter of his home country. This changed in 1922 when he embarked on his first motoring tour of the Scottish Highlands from the invitation of his long-standing friend, businessman and writer, John Ressich. Their tour began on 29 May in Glasgow, reached Pitlochry on the second day and continued onward to Blair Atholl. They drove along one of the most picturesque roads in Scotland, the Pass of Killiecrankie; 'through Glengarry to Dalwhinnie where taking the wrong turning we were very fortunately made Newtonmore and turned there to come back by Laggan and the Loch Laggan road to Spean Bridge. The road through Loch Laggan was one of the most beautiful of our trip, Ben Alder Forest particularly on the south shores striking our attention.' (Margaret Morris, The Art of J. D. Fergusson, A Biased Biography, 1974, p. 141)

The enchantingly scenic tour rekindled Fergusson’s interest in Scottish landscape and resulted in a wealth of sketches, watercolours and paintings. Comparable landscapes also dated 1922 are A Puff of Smoke Near Milngavie (private collection) and In Glen Isla (University of Stirling, J. D. Fergusson Memorial Collection). These sketches and paintings were put aside until after the summer, when he spent six months in London feverishly painting pictures inspired by this journey and his rekindled enthusiasm for Scotland. His life-long partner, Margaret Morris recalled, ‘There is little to say about the next six months, because Fergus was literally painting every minute he was not sleeping or eating.’ (Alice Strang, Elizabeth Cumming and Sheila McGregor, J.D. Fergusson, National Galleries of Scotland Edinburgh, 2013) The resulting pictures were exhibited in Fergusson’s first solo exhibition in Scotland held at The Scottish Gallery in Edinburgh and at La Société des Beaux-Arts in Glasgow in 1923. He continued to exhibit these pictures and Looking Over Killiecrankie was shown at what is now the Whitney Museum in New York in 1926.

Fergusson’s love of colour is displayed here through the richly hued palette and the strong emphasis of the geometry of the landscape. These elements reflect the influence of his time in Paris in the early 1900s, and especially his interest in the art of Paul Cézanne. Through the contrasting layers of receding landscapes, the viewer’s eye is drawn towards the deep blue towering mountains in the distance. Canadian painter Emily Carr said that Fergusson encouraged his students ‘to see rhythm in nature’ and in Looking over Killiecrankie we can perceive the artist’s desire to represent these rhythms of repeated curvaceous forms created by the hills, clouds and mountains in the distance. His infatuation with brilliant colour is displayed in the lush greens, strong blues and purples that dominate his palette. This enthusiasm for colour and its skilful manipulation is taken in part from Fauve artists like Matisse and Derain. Contemporary artists and critics saw Fergusson as a pioneer of modern Scottish painting; P.G. Konody stated in The Times, ‘Mr. Fergusson is the most stimulating and intriguing of this group of modern Scotsmen.’ (Alice Strang, Elizabeth Cumming and Sheila McGregor, J.D. Fergusson, National Galleries of Scotland Edinburgh, 2013)