Over 60 paintings by Samuel Peploe (1871-1935)—the most colourful of Scottish artists—will be gathered for Kirkcudbright Galleries’ 2026 Summer Exhibition. We’re delighted that the exhibition’s curator, noted art historian Amanda Herries, has agreed to give a special lecture on the artist for TASDAG members and guests. After the lecture and lunch at the Selkirk Arms (included in the ticket), you’ll be able to view the exhibition with Amanda.
10:30-11:00 Teas & Coffees before lecture—Kirkcudbright Galleries 11:00-12:30 Lecture by Amanda Herries & questions 12:30-14:00 Lunch at the Selkirk Arms 14:00-15:00 Viewing the exhibition with Amanda
Peploe’s early career showed little trace of his artistic leanings. He left school at 14; his guardians wanted him to pursue a career in the army; he was. Peploe is one of the group of four artists known as the ‘Scottish Colourists‘. Born in Edinburgh, he studied art in Paris and lived there from 1910 to 1912. It was through painting holidays in Northern France that he was introduced to the use of bold colour, inspired by the bright sunlight. He later experienced the same intensity of light while painting on the island of Iona, off the west coast of Scotland. French painting proved to be a powerful influence for Peploe throughout his life. Although his work never became abstract, it was characterised by tight composition, strong colour and assured handling.
“What makes my Thinker think is that he thinks not only with his brain, with his knitted brow, his distended nostrils and compressed lips, but with every muscle of his arms, back, and legs, with his clenched fist and gripping toes.”
Auguste Rodin (1840-1917) represents the end of a sculptural tradition that goes back to Michelangelo, and ultimately to the ancient Greeks. Primarily a modeller, he completely revived sculpture from a period of relative stagnation and made it again a vehicle for intense personal expression, bringing a new and often erotic sensibility to bear on it.
Rodin sought to express, in an age not so dissimilar to our own, the anguish and ecstasy of the human soul as expressed through the movements of the human body—an ambition worthy of Michelangelo. In doing so he created an art that addresses itself directly to our own bodies and imaginations and created a challenge that was answered by many of the greatest painters and sculptors of modern times. This lecture will explore his work as a struggle between the immediacy of the physical and a deep yearning for spiritual resolution.
Michael Howard is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, and teaches at the Manchester School of Art. He has published widely on European art of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, his books include: L. S. Lowry: A Visionary Artist; The Impressionists by Themselves; The Stations of the Cross / The Captive Figure and the award-winning dramatic interpretation and publication of material originally performed by the Zurich-based Dadaists of 1916. A New Order: An Evening at the Cabaret Voltaire. His book on Gauguin, was written in association with the Gauguin Museum, Tahiti, and his book on Monet for the Musée Marmottan, Paris.
Edwin Lutyens: Architect to dolls, dukes and dynasties
It is just right, and to see and know that it is right, is a daily reward and a never-ending source of satisfaction.
Gertrude Jekyll on Munstead Wood, designed for her by Lutyens
Born the tenth child of the sporting artist, Charles Lutyens, Edwin was the namesake and godson of the famous Victorian artist, Edwin Landseer. It is perhaps not surprising, therefore, that he should show from an early age an artistic bent, setting up as an architect at the age of twenty. His friendship with the garden designer Gertrude Jekyll was of immeasurable benefit to him, leading to an order book filled with prestigious commissions during the halcyon days before the first war. Latterly, the overtly Arts and Crafts style of his early years mutated into ever more aristocratic modes, culminating in his building of Imperial Delhi.
Even so, Lutyens’ work always displays a lightness of touch, enhanced by his mastery of architectural principles and his meticulous attention to detail. Above all he possesses most uncommon trait in the architect, a sense of humour. All these attributes have given us some of the most beautiful buildings of the 20th century.
Nicholas Merchant has worked for some of the major auction houses in London as well as running his own book business devoted to the decorative and fine arts. His particular interest is English 18th century furniture and country houses; he enjoys discussing objects, particularly in their historical context. He lectures extensively in the USA, South Africa, Europe and UK, including at the V&A.
Seeking the ‘Marvellous’: the Wonderful World of the Surrealists
One of modern art’s most extraordinary and influential movements, Surrealism was founded like a political party with a manifesto, declaring what was necessary to believe in order to become a member. Led by the French writer André Breton, the Surrealists coalesced together in their shared horror at the futility of the First World War and their fascination with Sigmund Freud’s new theories of psychoanalysis and investigation of dreams. Consciously revolutionary and deliberately shocking, the Surrealists represented the ultimate expression of youthful revolt against the values of their parents.
Joshua White
Joshua is an enthusiastic art historian and an experienced lecturer in 19th and 20th century European and American art, international contemporary art, photography, design and architecture.
Joshua was director of The London Art Course at Christie’s, a former BBC journalist and founder and presenter of The Art Channel. He has lectured for Sotheby’s Institute, The University of the Arts, The University of California, Cheung Kong Business School (China’s leading business university), Tate Modern and Tate Britain, to name but a few, as well as contributing to a plethora of television and radio programmes.
William De Morgan, friend of William Morris, rediscovered the secrets of Near Eastern lustre glazes, the Martin brothers produced eccentric salt-glazed pottery, Sir Edmond Elton combined startling glazes with exotic forms and Bernard Leach married the arts of Japan and England creating a legacy still alive today.William Morris led a revolution against the products of the machine age. The first of our ‘passionate potters’, William de Morgan, was a friend of Morris who rediscovered the secrets of Near Eastern lustre glazes. In contrast, the eccentric and argumentative Martin Brothers created a range of elaborate salt glazed pots unparalleled in their imaginative breadth. Sir Edmund Elton, the ‘potter baronet’, made pots which combine startling glazes with exotic forms. And finally, Bernard Leach, the father of English studio pottery, not only married the arts of Japan and England but created a legacy that is still alive today. This lecture explores the lives of these truly passionate potters and celebrates their extraordinary and beautiful creations.
Dr Julian Richards was elected a fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of London in 1992 and has long been involved in teaching and outreach projects, lecturing widely in continuing education and researching & presenting programmes on history & archaeology for the BBC. He has just curated the new permanent ceramics gallery for Salisbury Museum. He is passionate about Stonehenge, pots and old cars.
The lure of North Africa for three 19th century Scottish artists.
Like other European and American avant-garde artists, the Glasgow Boys had a consuming interest in the mastering of light and colour. At first, the group’s work explored Realism and Naturalism as developed by French and Dutch artists. By the late 1880s, the Glasgow Boys were moving towards a more decorative approach. They began weaving their colours and brushwork in a manner almost flirting with abstract effects at times, influenced by Celtic design, the flattened forms of Japanse prints and—the subject of this lecture— the colour and exoticism of North Africa. The smell, sounds and brilliant light of the Moroccan people and animals, the dazzling white buildings and blue seas of Tangiers are reflected through the paintings of Arthur Melville, Joseph Crawhall and John Lavery.
Professor Frances Fowle is Senior Curator at the National Galleries of Scotland and Chair of Nineteenth Century Art at TheUniversity of Edinburgh. She is the author of Van Gogh’s Twin: The Scottish Art Dealer Alexander Bell and has curated numerous international exhibitions including Van Gogh in Britain:Pioneer Collectors in 2006. She was the 2002 Van Gogh Museum Visiting Fellow and is on the advisory board of the Van Gogh Worldwide Project, a digital platform for all works by Van Gogh.
