John Duncan Fergusson 1874-1961

STRUCTURE This picture is in very good condition with clear colouring throughout. The picture may benefit from a light clean. There are no signs of craquelure and the paint surface appears to be stable with areas of impasto. UNDER ULTRAVIOLET LIGHT The are no signs of retouching. FRAME Contained in a simple modern frame.
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A Beached Fishing Boat, Tangiers relates to Arab Fishermen and Boats (Fergusson Gallery, Perth) both of which depict the boatmen of Tangier at rest in the shade of the hulls of their fishing boats. Fergusson visited Morocco in 1899, inspired by the Glasgow artist Arthur Melville who painted a series of remarkable watercolours inspired by the city of Tangier. Fergusson cited Melville as the first artist to influence his work, 'Although I never met him or saw him, his paintings gave me my first start; his work opened up to me the road of freedom not merely in the use of paint, but freedom of outlook.' (Margaret Morris, The Art of J. D. Fergusson: A Biased Biography, 1974, p. 41) As has been noted, in the pictures painted by Fergusson in Morocco; 'the general focus of works... remains on the careful orchestration of tonal values within a limited colour range. However, the introduction of notes of bright red and green shows an awareness of the power of pure colour, revealing further links with the Glasgow Boys, and pointing the way to Fergusson's future artistic direction.' (Kirsten Simister, Living Paint, J.D. Fergusson 1874-1961, 2001, p.18)

Fergusson's visit to Morocco was a very serious attempt by the artist to find an environment of light and colour to inspire his art and expand his repertoire. With typically forceful and committed enthusiasm, 'he told his family he would certainly not write, and how no idea how long he would stay.' (ibid Morris, p. 22) He exploited the Glasgow Boys' method of applying expressive loose brushwork with thick impasto. 'By painting I mean using oil paint as a medium to express the beauty of light on surfaces. What we used to call in Scotland 'quality of paint' - with solidity and guts! - not drawing a map-like outline and filling in the spaces, with an imitation of the colour of the object, with the paint. That is the difference between the 'Glasgow School' paintings and academic paintings. I try to describe it as the difference between Harris tweed, composed of all sorts of colours of wool, and any cheap material dyed one flat colour. Even threadbare Harris tweed still has colour, luminosity and durability, and probably looks better when worn - I think so.' (ibid Morris, p. 37)