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Pat Douthwaite 1934*–2002 Introduction by Guy Peploe (The Scottish Gallery, 2005) Pat Douthwaite was born in Glasgow in the 1930s. She first used dance, and later her art as a means of expressing a personal freedom and bohemian spirit that was to eventually retreat into self doubt and fragile mental and physical health. Largely self-taught, she was temperamentally unsuited to (and indeed, seemingly unconcerned with) seeking a place in the art establishment or conforming to the whims of the commercial market, becoming associated with Outsider Artists, something she was comfortable with, and which became more pertinent as her life grew increasingly nomadic and rootless after the breakdown of her marriage to the artist Paul Hogarth.
Peter Blake: One Man Show By Marco Livingstone (Ashgate, 2009) £35 Also available: limited edition with print, £500 This new publication offers an extensive, up-todate appraisal of Blake’s artistic endeavours. Marco Livingstone, long time friend of the artist and expert on Pop Art, takes the reader through Blake’s career and explores his work in all media, from collage, sculpture, graphics and prints to painting. Both his experimental works and his more commercial works are studied, revealing the combination of inventiveness and aesthetic charm that has enabled Blake’s unique style to gain mass appeal. The special slipcase edition of One Man Show (limited to 100 copies) also contains a new screenprint, Roxy 2, produced by the artist to celebrate the release of this book. Megan Mikel
However, unlike many Outsider Artists her work has been widely shown by major commercial galleries. This catalogue from the Scottish Gallery, Edinburgh, was produced on the occasion of a memorial exhibition following her death in 2002 and reveals what a unique talent Douthwaite was. Her work can be uncompromising, disquieting and dark; and yet at other times tender and lighthearted and her parade of characters glow with a soft, velvety colour and elegance of form. A perceptive and informative introduction by Guy Peploe, together with intimate photographs by her son Toby Hogarth reveal the 'alluring outsider' as one of the true originals of Scottish art. * Please note there is some discrepancy over Douthwaite's actual birth date * The death certificate records it as 28 July, 1939.
Sarah Norris
Winifred Nicholson By Christopher Andreae (Ashgate, 2009) £35 Best remembered for her flower and landscape paintings, Winifred Nicholson’s beautiful works are at once sensitive and full of light and life. Throughout her 60 year artistic career Nicholson travelled frequently and took inspiration from the different surroundings and atmospheric conditions she experienced, both in Britain and abroad. Water, light and colour had a tremendous influence on her style. This new book provides an overview of her life and works and recognizes her importance as a female modern British artist. Megan Mikel
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