Gillies online catalogue march 2014

WILLIAM GILLIES (1898 -1973)

William Gillies (1898-1973) 5 - 29 March 2014 Renowned as the leader of the Edinburgh School and influential to a whole generation of Scottish artists, William Gillies has cast a lasting shadow on modern Scottish painting. Born in Haddington in 1898, he entered Edinburgh College of Art in 1916, but his studies were interrupted when he was called for service. He returned to his studies in 1919, putting the horrors of war behind him and at the end of his diploma was awarded a travel bursary. Shortly afterwards he was accepted to the staff of ECA, a post which was to tie him to the College for the next 40 years, and where his kind manner and dedication to painting helped to mould a whole generation of painters. He was Principal at the College from 1959 to 1966, before his colleague and close friend, Robin Philipson took over the post.

From his home in Temple in East Lothian, Gillies explored the landscape around his house, constantly searching for inspiration and subject matter. His commitment to landscape painting came from a deep knowledge and understanding of the geography around him. He had seven solo exhibitions at The Scottish Gallery during his lifetime and his popularity continues to grow on the secondary market. This exhibition, which features drawings and watercolours from throughout his career demonstrates his mastery of picture making and goes further to secure his lasting legacy.

Front Cover: Crofts, Plockton, Ross-shire, 1949 (detail) pen, ink & watercolour, 24 x 27 cms signed & dated lower right Opposite: Artist in his Edinburgh School of Art studio c.1960

1. Border Hills oil on canvas board, 42 x 51 cms signed lower left

2. The Gate watercolour, 55.5 x 71 cms signed lower left Exhibited: William Gillies, Landscapes and Still Lifes, The Scottish Gallery, Edinburgh, 2012.

3. Gala Water, 1972 watercolour & pencil, 40 x 34.5 cms signed lower right Exhibited: Summer Exhibition, The Scottish Gallery, Edinburgh, 2002.

Provenance: Collection of Jennifer Braithwaite, Edinburgh.

4. Winter Landscape, 1950 watercolour, 25 x 35 cms signed & dated lower right

5. Rosebery near Temple, c.1960 watercolour, 47x 62 cms signed lower left Gillies was a prolific watercolourist and his approach varied throughout his life. In the earlier period he only employs the brush, sometimes wet on wet, with a minimum of drawing which can lend a spontaneous and gestural quality and often captures a particular moment or some fleeting atmospheric effect. From the 1940s he tended to draw first, with pencil or pen and then use monochrome or colour washes but he would often return to ‘pure watercolour’ when the subject demanded, as in Rosebery, near Temple. Half a mile or so south along the course of the South Esk is Rosebery reservoir and Gillies will have parked his faithful Ford Granada (he had a lifelong love affair with the internal combustion engine) on the B6372 and climbed up a little to look down on the grey water and rain sodden trees on the far bank.

Gillies had seven one-person shows with The Scottish Gallery in his lifetime but in addition there was often a ‘bin’ of unframed Gillies watercolours displayed in the premises on Castle Street which were constantly on sale at the ‘bargain’ price of 20 guineas.

6. Still Life with Gold Urn & Blue Vase oil on canvas, 76 x 91.5 cms signed lower right, inscribed on verso: “Study in Gold and Blue” W. Gillies £60 Provenance: Collection of Mr. McInnes, 38 Fountainhall Road, Edinburgh.

7. From the Clovenfords Road, 1959 watercolour, 25.5 x 35.5 cms signed & dated lower left Exhibited: The Scottish Gallery, 1960.

Provenance: Private Collection, Germany.

Gillies found innumerable subjects off the A7, travelling south from Gorebridge, at Fountainhall, Stow and down by the Cadden Water beyond Clovenfords. The view is up towards Meigle Hill, a patchwork of fields, perfectly typical of Gillies: a high horizon above a complex of fields and trees springing from the ribbon of the burn at the bottom. In Clovenfords (cat. no. 6) in a similar view the bright strip of sky is repeated in the bright water at the foot of the composition.

8. Ferniehurst, 1956 pencil drawing, 26 x 35 cms signed & dated lower left

9. Clovenfords, 1960 watercolour, 22 x 35.5 cms signed & dated lower right The landscape between Edinburgh and the Borders changes at every turn. Roads follow river valleys, passing through towns and villages, and wind steeply up on to high moorland, battered by wind, rain and snow. Gillies went by car or motorbike from his cottage in Temple and explored again and again the landscape of the area, stopping at the side of the road wherever and whenever something caught his eye. One of his favourite views is one taken from the side of the road, looking across to the valley on the opposite side.

10. Still Life, Pot with Daisies oil on canvas, 58.5 x 112 cms signed lower left

11. Path by a Pond pen & watercolour, 48 x 64 cms signed lower left Exhibited: Sir William Gillies, Paintings, Watercolours & Drawings, The Scottish Gallery, Edinburgh, 1989 (cat. no. 10).

Provenance: Purchased from The Scottish Gallery by Royal Edinburgh Hospital in 1972; Private Collection, Edinburgh.

12. A Village Church watercolour, 24.5 x 45 cms Exhibited: 20th Century & Contemporary Scottish Paintings, The Scottish Gallery, Edinburgh, 2000.

Provenance: Collection of Jennifer Braithwaite, Edinburgh.

13. Harbour, Pennan, 1951 watercolour, 23 x 33.5 cms signed & dated lower right Exhibited: Sir William Gillies, Paintings, Watercolours & Drawings, The Scottish Gallery, Edinburgh, 1989 (cat. no. 26); Sir William Gillies, Paintings, Watercolours & Drawings, The Scottish Gallery, 2003 (ex cat).

Provenance: Collection of Jennifer Braithwaite, Edinburgh.

The Pennan harbour life belt is still there (one hopes that it has been ‘serviced’ since Gillies painted it in 1951!) He made this trip to the North West of Scotland in the company of Robert Henderson Blyth and both painted at Gardenstown and around Pennan and Gamrie. Harbour, Pennan is a rather Henderson Blyth picture focusing both on a quirky foreground detail and a view to the distance.

14. Kippford, c.1950 ink drawing, 43.5 x 57 cms signed lower right

15. Crofts, Plockton, Ross-shire, 1949 pen, ink & watercolour, 24 x 27 cms signed & dated lower right

16. Still Life with Yellow Cloth & Blue Vase, c.1954 oil on canvas, 35 x 66.5 cms signed lower right Exhibited: Exhibition of Paintings - WG Gillies, The Scottish Gallery, February 1970 (no. 35) Provenance: Private Collection, purchased from The Scottish Gallery in 1970

17. Crofts in a Landscape (near Laide) watercolour, 52.5 x 70 cms signed lower right Exhibited: William Gillies, Landscapes and Still Lifes, The Scottish Gallery, Edinburgh, 2012 (illus. p.35).

18. Balmacara, Sgur Mor, 1949 watercolour, 24 x 31cms signed lower right Exhibited: William Gillies Retrospective Exhibition, The Scottish Arts Council, Edinburgh, 1949 (cat. no. 178); Bourne Fine Art, Edinburgh.

Provenance: Collection of Jennifer Braithwaite, Edinburgh.

19. Morar, 1928 watercolour, 42 x 55 cms signed lower left

20. Highland Shore, c.1934 watercolour, 51 x 63 cms signed lower right Exhibited: Royal Scottish Society of Painters in Watercolour; The Scottish Gallery, Edinburgh, 1971.

Provenance: Dr Robert A. Lillie Collection (cat. no. 510).

21. Willowbrae Road, Edinburgh, c.1935 watercolour, 16 x 23 cms signed lower left Exhibited: The Scottish Gallery, Edinburgh, 1994.

Provenance: Collection of Jennifer Braithwaite, Edinburgh.

The view is down Willowbrae Road towards Jocks Lodge and the church is the New Restalrig.

Gillies lived with his mother and sisters at no. 162, a substantial detached bungalow further up the road, backing onto Queen’s Park, from July 1929 until they moved out to Temple ten years later. It is one of only a few entirely urban images and seems to depict dusk, with gas lamps lit.

Chronology Sir William Gillies CBE, RA, RSA, PPRSW, D.Litt, FEIS 1898

1909-16 1916 1917

1919 1920 1921 1922

1923

1924

1925 1928

1929 1929 1931

1932

1934

1936 1937 1939 1940

Born 21 September, Haddington, East Lothian, son of John (born 1856) and Emma Gillies (nee Smith, born 1864) and brother of Janet (born 1896) and Emma (born 1900).

Educated at Knox Academy, Haddington (awarded Dux Medal in 1916).

Enrolled at Edinburgh College of Art, studied for two terms.

Called for National Service. Drafted with the Scottish Rifles to France where he saw service around Arras. Wounded and gassed and returned to Scotland in 1918.

Resumed studies at Edinburgh College of Art. First solo exhibition in Haddington watchmakers, owned by local art enthusiast Alexander Wright.

Death of Gillies’s father.

Awarded Diploma in Drawing and Painting and post-Diploma Scholarship providing studio facilities for a further year’s study.

Became a founder member of the exhibiting society the 1922 Group. The group’s exhibitions were held in Edinburgh from 1923-29.

Awarded Travelling Scholarship and, with fellow recipient William Geissler, went to Paris to study under André Lhôte, and travelled to Italy.

Returned to Scotland.

Appointed Assistant Art Master at the Royal Academy, Inverness.

Appointed part-time lecturer in School of Drawing and Painting, Edinburgh College of Art. Gillies’s family moved from Haddington to 162 Willowbrae Road, Edinburgh.

Joint exhibition with Frances Hodgkins, St George’s Gallery, London.

Work first exhibited at the Royal Scottish Academy.

Moved with sisters and mother to house on Willowbrae Road, Edinburgh.

John Maxwell joined the staff of Edinburgh College of Art, and became a lifelong friend.

Scottish Society of Artists Annual Exhibition included 12 works by Edvard Munch (1863-1944).

Shared a studio with William MacTaggart at 45 Frederick Street.

Invited to become member of the exhibiting society, the Society of Eight.

The Society’s exhibitions were held in Edinburgh from 1912-1938.

Appointed full-time lecturer, Edinburgh College of Art. Work first exhibited at the Society of Scottish Artists.

Death of Gillies’s sister, Emma.

Elected professional member of the Society of Scottish Artists.

Gillies moves to cottage in Temple, Midlothian, with mother and sister Janet.

Elected Associate of the Royal Scottish Academy.

1942 Work included in the exhibition Six Scottish Painters, Reid and Lefevre, London.

1946 Appointed Head of the School of Drawing and Painting, Edinburgh College of Art. 1947 Elected Royal Scottish Academician.

1948 Solo exhibition at the French Institute, Edinburgh (drawn from collection of

Dr. R. A. Lillie) Became member of the Educational Institute of Scotland.

1949 Solo exhibition at The Scottish Gallery (The first of seven during Gillies’s lifetime).

1950 Elected member of the Royal Scottish Society of Painters in Watercolour.

1951 Work included in the exhibition 60 Paintings for ’51, Festival of Britain, South Bank, London.

1953 Solo exhibition, The Scottish Scene, The National Trust for Scotland, Edinburgh,

(drawn from collection of Dr. R. A. Lillie).

1954 Arts Council exhibition, Paintings, watercolours and drawings by WG Gillies and

John Maxwell, New Burlington Galleries, London.

1957 Awarded CBE. 1959 Appointed Principal of Edinburgh College of Art. 1960 Death of Gillies’s sister Janet, Temple.

1962 Work included in the exhibition Modern Scottish Paintings from the Collection

of Dr. Lillie, Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art, Edinburgh.

1963 Elected President of Royal Scottish Society of Painters in Watercolour.

Death of Gillies’s mother.

1964 Elected Associate of the Royal Academy.

1966 Retired as Principal of Edinburgh College of Art. Received Honorary Degree of Doctor

of Letters from Edinburgh University. Elected Fellow of the Educational Institute of Scotland.

1969 Retired as President of Royal Scottish Society of Painters in Watercolour.

1970 Knighted in recognition of his services to art in Scotland.

Retrospective exhibition, WG Gillies, Royal Scottish Academy and Scottish Arts Council Gallery, Edinburgh.

1971 Elected Royal Academician.

1973 Died 15 April, Temple.