Sculpture of William Duguid Geddes (1905)

James Pittendrigh MacGillivray (1856-1938)

    Geddes (1828-1900) was Professor of Greek and then Principal of the University of Aberdeen. MacGillivray was born in Port Elphinstone, Abedeenshire. He trained as a sculptor in Edinburgh and Glasgow, and went on to produce many public works in Scotland such as statues for the Scottish National Portrait Gallery, monuments to figures such as Robert Burns, and memorials in Glasgow’s Necropolis. He was described as “Scotland’s greatest sculptor” in his obituary in The Scotsman.

Ellesmere Island (c. 1994)

James Morrison (1932-2020)

    Morrison was born in Glasgow and trained at the Glasgow School of Art. He first started visiting the Arctic in 1990, which he described as a “paradise on Earth”. He painted pictures like this in difficult conditions, with the additional threat of wandering polar bears.

Stracathro (c.1995)

James Morrison (1932-2020)

    Morrison settled in Montrose and spent most of his career painting the landscapes of Angus and other parts of Scotland, with trips to France and Canada. He taught at Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art in Dundee and frequently featured in television and radio programmes about the arts.

Because there are no more lands to conquer (2010)

Katharine Aarrestad (born 1968)

    Aarrestad’s signature medium is reverse painting on glass, often giving her works evocative titles. This painting references what is sometimes called “the heroic age” of European polar exploration. Aarrestad says this about her work:

“What do we experience when we view nostalgic images in another context? I endeavour to explore the spaces, tensions, relationships between the viewer, the image and the narrative. Juxtaposition of images and titles are used to ‘open up’ this experience and to delve deeper. Conventional visual contexts of background are replaced by the possibilities of an alternative narrative which may or may not be stimulated by the title/ text.”

Winter Landmarks (1975)

Gordon Bryce (born 1943)

    Bryce was born in Edinburgh and studied at Edinburgh College of Art. Later at Gray’s School of Art in Aberdeen, he taught printmaking and then headed the fine art department. His painting focuses on the landscapes of Aberdeenshire and the west coast of Scotland, and still life.