Perpetua (Pip) Pope (29 May 1916 – 31 May 2013) was a Scottish painter of landscapes, flower pieces and still-life compositions in both oil and watercolours, and was also an art teacher in

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

Life and work

Born in

Solihull Solihull (, or ) is a market town and the administrative centre of the wider Metropolitan Borough of Solihull in West Midlands County, England. The town had a population of 126,577 at the 2021 Census. Solihull is situated on the River Blythe i ...

, England, to Scottish parents, Pope's family moved to rural

Aberdeenshire Aberdeenshire ( sco, Aiberdeenshire; gd, Siorrachd Obar Dheathain) is one of the 32 Subdivisions of Scotland#council areas of Scotland, council areas of Scotland. It takes its name from the County of Aberdeen which has substantially differe ...

when she was still a young child. Her father was a businessman and keen art collector, from whom she inherited a number of significant works such as one of Samuel Peploe's Iona paintings. Pope attended

Albyn School Albyn School is a coeducational independent day school, founded in 1867 in Aberdeen, Scotland. Albyn was originally an all-girls school before becoming co-educational in 2005. The school has a nursery, primary school and secondary school; pupi ...

in Aberdeen, and then commenced study at

Edinburgh College of Art Edinburgh College of Art (ECA) is one of eleven schools in the College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences at the University of Edinburgh. Tracing its history back to 1760, it provides higher education in art and design, architecture, histor ...

in 1936. Her studies were interrupted by

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, during which time she served with the

Women's Auxiliary Air Force The Women's Auxiliary Air Force (WAAF), whose members were referred to as WAAFs (), was the female auxiliary of the Royal Air Force during World War II. Established in 1939, WAAF numbers exceeded 180,000 at its peak strength in 1943, with over 2 ...

. In 1946 Pope resumed her studies at Edinburgh College of Art, then undertook teacher training at

Moray House The Moray House School of Education and Sport ('Moray House') is a school within the College of Arts, Humanities and Social Science at the University of Edinburgh. It is based in historic buildings on the Holyrood Campus, located between the C ...

. Pope held several teaching posts in primary and private schools, including

Lansdowne House Lansdowne House now 9 Fitzmaurice Place is the remaining part of a building to the south of Berkeley Square in central London, England, not to be confused with 57 Berkeley Square – opposite – a much later quadrilateral building which take ...

in Edinburgh and the role of art mistress at

Oxenfoord Castle School Oxenfoord Castle School was a girls' private boarding school, based at Oxenfoord Castle, Pathhead, Midlothian, near Edinburgh in Scotland. The school was founded in 1931 and closed in 1993. It was founded by Lady Marjorie Dalrymple, sister of J ...

, Midlothian. Pope took up a post as art lecturer at Moray House in the mid-1960s, which she held until her early retirement in 1973. Upon retirement from teaching, Pope concentrated on painting at her home, Weaver's Cottage in

Carlops Carlops ( gd, Leum na Caillich) is a small village in the Pentland Hills, within the Scottish Borders area of Scotland, close to the boundary with Midlothian. It lies between West Linton and Penicuik. The village was founded in 1784 and developed ...

. She is linked to

The Edinburgh School The Edinburgh School refers to a group of 20th century artists connected with Edinburgh. They share a connection through Edinburgh College of Art, where most studied and worked together during or soon after the First World War. As friends and coll ...

of artists, having studied under Sir William Gilles at Edinburgh College of Art and formed friendships with fellow artists such as

Joan Eardley Joan Kathleen Harding Eardley (18 May 192116 August 1963) was a British artist noted for her portraiture of street children in Glasgow and for her landscapes of the fishing village of Catterline and surroundings on the North-East coast of Scotlan ...

. Like many artists of the Edinburgh School, Pope worked in both oil and watercolour. She primarily painted

still life A still life (plural: still lifes) is a work of art depicting mostly wikt:inanimate, inanimate subject matter, typically commonplace objects which are either natural (food, flowers, dead animals, plants, rocks, shells, etc.) or artificiality, m ...

and landscapes. Her work was heavily inspired by the Aberdeenshire landscapes of her youth, but she also traveled frequently both within Scotland and Europe, notably Cyprus, Lebanon, the Peloponnese and Spain, looking for inspiration. Pope exhibited at the

Royal Academy The Royal Academy of Arts (RA) is an art institution based in Burlington House on Piccadilly in London. Founded in 1768, it has a unique position as an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects. Its pur ...

, with the

Royal Scottish Academy The Royal Scottish Academy (RSA) is the country’s national academy of art. It promotes contemporary Scottish art. The Academy was founded in 1826 by eleven artists meeting in Edinburgh. Originally named the Scottish Academy, it became the ...

and had a series of solo shows at The Scottish Gallery between 1956 and 1982 and then at the Macaulay Gallery. Explaining her intentions in painting the Scottish landscape, Pope said in 2008,

Selected exhibitions

1942 RSA Annual Exhibition 1949 Exhibition of women artists, Church of Scotland Art Centre, Edinburgh 1956 The Scottish Gallery, Edinburgh 1965 The Scottish Gallery, Edinburgh 1971 25th Anniversary Exhibition, Edinburgh College of Art 1975 The Scottish Gallery, Edinburgh 1978 The Scottish Gallery, Edinburgh 1979 The Loomshop Gallery, Lower Largo 1980 Peter Potter Gallery, Haddington 1982 The Scottish Gallery, Edinburgh 1983 Macaulay Gallery, East Lothian 1984 Broughton Gallery, Scottish Borders 1986 The Open Eye Gallery, Edinburgh 1990 Macaulay Gallery, East Lothian 1992 Macaulay Gallery, East Lothian 1998 Stenton Gallery, East Lothian 2006 The Scottish Gallery, Edinburgh 2011 The Scottish Gallery, Edinburgh

External links

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pope, Perpetua 1916 births 2013 deaths People educated at Albyn School 20th-century Scottish painters 20th-century Scottish women artists 21st-century Scottish painters 21st-century Scottish women artists Alumni of the Edinburgh College of Art Painters from Edinburgh British art teachers People from Solihull Scottish watercolourists Scottish women painters Women watercolorists