exhibition

Pictures by John Duncan Fergusson


ID: 1316, Status: completed
Exhibition period:
[1913-1914]
Type:
solo
Organizing Bodies:
Doré Gallery
Quickstats
Catalogue Entries: 47
Types of Work: painting and drawing: 4, unknown: 43
Artists: 1
Gender: female: 0, male: 1
Nationalities: 1
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Date Title City Venue Type
Opening Hours
daily: 10am - 6pm
Catalogue
Catalogue of Exhibition. Pictures by John Duncan Fergusson. 1913.
Nr. of pages: [PDF page number: 8], The publication's date is not indicated - however the catalogue was published in a volume which includes exhibitions from 1913-1914..
Holding Institution: Victoria & Albert National Art Library
Preface
Rutter, Frank: John Duncan Fergusson, 1 p.

"It is now some eight years since John Duncan Fergusson
took up his residence in Paris, and though since then he
has exhibited at London exhibitions and even held two
"one-man" shows, the present collection may be regarded
as the most important exhibition of his work yet held in
London. Certainly it shows how far this gifted young
Edinburgh painter has travelled since the personal force of
his portraits first thrilled us amid the rather staid surround-
ings of the R.B.A. exhibitions.
In Paris, where in 1909 he was elected sociétaire of the
Salon d'Automne. Mr. Fergusson is already regarded as a chef
d'école, and the recognition his art has already received in
Germany and the United States as well as in France should
contribute to his honour in his own country. It is a remark-
able testimony to the strength of his own individuality that
living, as he has done, in a vortex of new art movements,
Mr. Fergusson has remained a leader, and learning from many
movements but following none implicitly, he has evolved his
own personal style. A born colourist and fastidious to pre-
serve purity as weel as harmony in his paint, he charms us
not only by the beauty of his colour, but also by the
exquisite rhythm of his design. Obvious as the decorative
quality of Mr. Fergussons's paintings may be, it is a mistake
to regard them merely as pleasing arabesques and mosaics.
Terms of decoration are of value to this artist only in so far
as they help him to record with emotional emphasis his
personal experience. The flowered backgrounds frequently
employed in his portraits are not idly decorative but have
been deliberately chosen for the opportunities they afford of
echoing the significant lines of his sitter's face and figure.
This application of rhythm to express character is a salient
feature of Mr. Fergusson's art, yet the decorative impulse
with him is instinctive, rather than theoretical. he comes
to each new subjet free from dogmatic preconceptions as to
its treatment, and among the many qualities which go to his
making, none should rank higher than his rare power to
preserve his vision fresh and his practise flexible."
Note
The exhibition's date is not indicated - however the catalogue was published in a volume which includes exhibitions from 1913-1914.

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+Catalogue Entries by Nationality(Pie Chart)

Name Date of Birth Date of Death Nationality # of Cat. Entries
John Duncan Fergusson 1874 1961 GB 47
Recommended Citation: "Pictures by John Duncan Fergusson." In Database of Modern Exhibitions (DoME). European Paintings and Drawings 1905-1915. Last modified Jul 27, 2020. https://exhibitions.univie.ac.at/exhibition/1316