The New Scottish Group was a loose collection of artists based in Glasgow, who exhibited from 1942 to 1956. It was formed around

John Duncan Fergusson John Duncan Fergusson (9 March 1874 – 30 January 1961) was a Scottish artist and sculptor, regarded as one of the major artists of the Scottish Colourists school of painting. Early life Fergusson was born in Leith, Edinburgh, the firs ...

after his return to Glasgow in 1939. It had its origins in the New Art Club formed in 1940, and had its first exhibition in 1942. Members did not have a common style, but shared left-wing views and were influenced by contemporary continental art. Members included Donald Bain, William Crosbie, Marie de Banzie and Isabel Babianska. Tom MacDonald, Bet Low and William Senior formed the Clyde Group to pursue political painting that manifested in urban industrial landscapes. The group helped start the careers of a generation of Glasgow-based artists and was part of a wider cultural "golden age" for the city.

History

(1874–1961), who was the longest surviving of the group of artists known as the

Scottish Colourists The Scottish Colourists were a group of four painters, three from Edinburgh, whose Post-Impressionist work, though not universally recognised initially, came to have a formative influence on contemporary Scottish art and culture. The four artists, ...

, had settled in France, but returned to Scotland in 1939, just before the outbreak of the Second World War, with his partner, the dancer and choreographer Margaret Morris (1891–1980). There he became a leading figure of a group of younger Glasgow artists. Members of Fergusson's group formed the New Art Club in 1940, in opposition to the established Glasgow Art Club. In 1942 they held the first of what would be a series of shows of their own exhibiting society, the New Scottish Group, with Fergusson as its first president. The introduction to the catalogue of their first show was written by novelist and poet Naomi Mitchison (1897–1999).D. Macmillan, ''Scottish Art in the 20th century, 1890–2001'' (Mainstream, 2001), , p. 80. The group held annual exhibitions in the period 1943–48, and larger shows in 1951 and 1956.J. Kinnear
''The Fergusson Gallery''
(Perth Museum & Art Gallery, 2005), , p. 14. Important to the artists was the nationalist and left-wing publisher William MacLellan, who produced a number of works of Glasgow artists in the 1940s, including Fergusson's book ''Modern Scottish Painting'' (1943), which expressed his anti-academic and democratic ideals and his desire to form a British equivalent to the French

Salon des Indépendants Salon may refer to: Common meanings * Beauty salon, a venue for cosmetic treatments * French term for a drawing room, an architectural space in a home * Salon (gathering), a meeting for learning or enjoyment Arts and entertainment * Salon (Pa ...

. Members of the group were involved in two of MacLellan's magazines in this period, supplying visual material or ''Poetry Scotland'' (1943–49) and ''Scottish Art and Letters'' (1944–50), which played an important part in disseminating ideas of the

Scottish Renaissance The Scottish Renaissance ( gd, Ath-bheòthachadh na h-Alba; sco, Scots Renaissance) was a mainly literary movement of the early to mid-20th century that can be seen as the Scottish version of modernism. It is sometimes referred to as the Scot ...

. Fergusson designed the covers for ''Scottish Art and Letters'' and acted as its artistic director. Fergusson also illustrated MacLellan's edition of by

Hugh MacDiarmid Christopher Murray Grieve (11 August 1892 – 9 September 1978), best known by his pen name Hugh MacDiarmid (), was a Scottish poet, journalist, essayist and political figure. He is considered one of the principal forces behind the Scottish Rena ...

's '' In Memoriam James Joyce'' (1955) and his paintings from this period included ''Danu mother of the Gods'', both of which combined elements of Celtic culture and modernism.J. T. Koch, ed., ''Celtic Culture: a Historical Encyclopedia, Volume 2'' (ABC-CLIO, 2006), , p. 112. In their last exhibition in 1956 the group displayed with another organisation, the Society of Scottish Independent Artists, a title that recalled Fergusson's ambition. Fergusson died in 1961.

Members

The group had no single style, but shared left-wing tendencies and included artists strongly influenced by trends in contemporary continental art. Painters involved included Donald Bain (1904–79), whose work was often crowded with rich colour and heavily worked paint, as in his ''The Striped Vase'' (1943), which was influenced by expressionism. William Crosbie (1915–99) was strongly influenced by surrealism, which can be seen in his ''Heart Knife'' (1934), an early example of a Scottish artist using the semi-abstract style derived from cubism. Margaret Oliver Brown (1912–90) was known for her portraiture. Marie de Banzie (1918–90) was influenced by expressionism and particularity the post-expressionist work of

Gauguin Eugène Henri Paul Gauguin (, ; ; 7 June 1848 – 8 May 1903) was a French Post-Impressionist artist. Unappreciated until after his death, Gauguin is now recognized for his experimental use of colour and Synthetist style that were distinct fr ...

, as can be seen in her 1945 painting ''Shadow'', which borrows from his Haitian pictures. Isabel Brodie Babianska (1920–2006), who had trained with de Banzie at the

Glasgow School of Art The Glasgow School of Art (GSA; gd, Sgoil-ealain Ghlaschu) is a higher education art school based in Glasgow, Scotland, offering undergraduate degrees, post-graduate awards (both taught and research-led), and PhDs in architecture, fine art, an ...

, was influenced by expressionist

Chaïm Soutine Chaïm Soutine (13 January 1893 – 9 August 1943) was a Belarusian painter who made a major contribution to the expressionist movement while living and working in Paris. Inspired by classic painting in the European tradition, exemplified by the ...

, as can be seen in the collection of grotesque faces in her painting ''Fiesta'' (1943). Expressionism can also be seen as an influence on the work of Millie Frood (1900–88), in dislocated landscapes such as ''October'' (1946) and ''Turning Hay'', which included vivid colours and brushwork reminiscent of

Van Gogh Vincent Willem van Gogh (; 30 March 185329 July 1890) was a Dutch Post-Impressionist painter who posthumously became one of the most famous and influential figures in Western art history. In a decade, he created about 2,100 artworks, inc ...

. Frood's urban scenes contain an element of social commentary and realism, influenced by Polish refugees

Josef Herman Josef Herman (3 January 1911 – 19 February 2000), was a highly regarded Polish-British painter who influenced contemporary art, particularly in the United Kingdom. He was part of a generation of central and eastern European Jewish refuge ...

(1911–2000), resident in Glasgow between 1940 and 1943D. Macmillan, ''Scottish Art, 1460–1990'' (Mainstream, 1990), , pp. 369–71. and

Jankel Adler Jankel Adler (born Jankiel Jakub Adler; 26 July 1895 – 25 April 1949) was a Polish Jewish painter and printmaker. Biography Jankiel Jakub Adler was born as the seventh of ten children in Tuszyn, a suburb of Łódź. In 1912 he began training ...

(1895–1949), who was based in

Kirkcudbright Kirkcudbright ( ; sco, Kirkcoubrie; gd, Cille Chùithbeirt) is a town, parish and a Royal Burgh from 1455 in Kirkcudbrightshire, of which it is traditionally the county town, within Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland. The town lies southwest of ...

from 1941 to 1943.M. MacDonald, ''Scottish Art'' (London: Thames and Hudson, 2000), , p. 187. Also influenced by Herman were husband and wife Tom MacDonald (1914–85) and Bet Low (1924–2007), who with painter William Senior (b. 1927) formed the Clyde Group, aimed at promoting political art. Their work included industrial and urban landscapes such as MacDonald's ''Transport Depot'' (1944–45) and Bet Low's ''Blochairn Steelworks'' (c. 1946).

Significance

The New Scottish Group helped launch the careers of a number of young artists. It was also part of a cultural "golden age" for Glasgow, that included dance, theatre, literature and architecture. This included Margaret Morris' foundation of a professional dance troop, Celtic Ballet, in 1947, which combined traditional Scottish and classical dance.

References

Notes

Bibliography

*Kinnear, Jenny, ''The Fergusson Gallery'' (Perth Museum & Art Gallery, 2005), . *Koch, J. T., ed., ''Celtic Culture: a Historical Encyclopedia, Volume 2'' (ABC-CLIO, 2006), . *Macmillan, D., ''Scottish Art in the 20th century, 1890–2001'' (Mainstream, 2001), . *Macmillan, D., ''Scottish Art, 1460–1990'' (Mainstream, 1990), . *Palmer McCulloch, M., "Continuing the Renaissance: little magazines and a late phase of Scottish Modernism in the 1940s", ''Etudes Ecossaises'', 15 (2012), ISSN 1240-1439. *Strang, A., ''Modern Scottish Women: Painters and Sculptors 1885–1965'' (Edinburgh: National Galleries of Scotland, 2015), , {{Scottish art Scottish art Scottish artist groups and collectives 1942 establishments in Scotland 1956 disestablishments in Scotland 1940s in art 1950s in art Socialism in Scotland