Art in Orkney exhibition at The Orkney Museum

This Saturday, 18th February, sees the opening of the first temporary exhibition of the year at the Orkney Museum, Tankerness House, Kirkwall. ‘Art in Orkney 1875-2020: A Private Collection’. This stunning display of art spans the centuries and has something to suit all tastes, from traditional Victorian watercolours to abstracts and sculpture.

The collection belongs to the former Orkney Museums Officer, Bryce Wilson, who has been collecting art for some considerable time. Not only has he been collecting art but creating it as well. Several of his drawings are included in the display, from a sensitive study of his parents to the pointillist illustration of the Broonie o’ Copinsay for the book ‘The Mermaid Bride, and Other Orkney Folk Tales’.

Among the local artists featured are two large paintings by Sylvia Wishart, the interior of a fisherman’s hut at Yesnaby by Stanley Cursiter and a homage to Dr John Rae by Erlend Brown. There are also works by Ian Scott, Gary Gibson, Frances Pelly, John Cumming and Christina Sargent, to name but a few.

Among the artists who were inspired by Orkney is a large watercolour ‘The Old Man of Hoy’ by Sam Bough, painted from the sloping deck of the paddle steamer Royal Mail, which was the first ferry between Scrabster and Stromness. Another Victorian artist who painted in Orkney was Tom Scott, who has a watercolour of Kirkwall from Cromwell Road on display. Barbara Rae is featured with a print of her voyage through the North West Passage, inspired by Dr John Rae, and a small painting of the Bay of Skaill, done from life.

‘Art in Orkney 1875-2020: A Private Collection’ runs from 18th February – 25th March. The Orkney Museum is open Monday-Saturday, 10:30-12:30, 13:30-17:00. Admission is free.