Scottish Pictures: Edinburgh Assembly Rooms

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Lot 103
  • 103

John Duncan Fergusson 1874-1961

Estimate
10,000 - 15,000 GBP
bidding is closed

Description

  • John Duncan Fergusson
  • Cavalry officers on a french road

  • inscribed and signed u.c.; Transport/ on the road/ (Sketch for Road Screening purposes)/ Roadscreening to be made for/ 27. Div. to hide roads and/ traffic using them, from the enemy/ The screen to represent the objects on far side)/ L/cpt J.D.F/ camouflage 

  • watercolour over pencil

Provenance

London, Duncan Miller Fine Arts;
Private collection

Catalogue Note

The inscription on this intriguing watercolour suggests that Fergusson was a Lieutenant Captain in the 27th Division, Camouflage Unit. No record of this has been found but Fergusson was called up for military service in 1918. However as he was preparing for a solo exhibition of his work at the Connell Gallery that May he managed to gain exemption from service by giving the British War Memorials Committee the opportunity to view his work. Eventually, with the support of the art critic P.G. Konody, he was given a six-week commission by the Ministry of Information Propaganda and Record Department. From the end of July 1918 Fergusson was given access to Portsmouth Docks where he made numerous sketches (Fergusson's correspondence to Alfred Yockney, secretary of the British War Memorials Committee, is held at the Imperial War Museum).