Galleries - November 2012

The first, in 2011, won by Celia Paul, saw a number of other signif- icant additions from women artists – Maggi Hambling, Marcelle Hanselaar and Mary Mabbutt among them. Indeed 30 in all were bought from that exhibition and all are on show there currently (along with a selection of earlier works) to launch the 2013 version. Deadline for this competition is 30 April and, with not only a £10,000 First Prize but also substantial further pur- chases in the offing, well worth trying. Details on the website. Wild Art Founded in 1964at a time when painting of wildlife was only just beginning to emerge out of the shade of book illustration, the Society of Wildlife Artists was lucky enough to be, from the out- set, a member of the FBA (Fed- eration of British Artists) and this association has certainly helped it to thrive and prosper over the last half century. From 149 works from its 35 founder members, this has now grown to something over 75 members and an annual show this year at the Mall Galleries (1 to 11 November) of over 350 pieces – sculpture and prints as well as paintings, drawings and water- colours. It’s a rich and often sur- prising mix full of some very buy- able things . . . Meanwhile for a more domest- icated form of animal life let me also draw attention to the Society of Equestrian Artists’ ‘The Horse in Art’ at the Menier Gallery. Abigail McLellan Rebecca Hossack ’s latest ex- hibition commemorates the life and works of Abigail McLellan (1969–2009). Though McLellan died prematurely, latterly strugg- ling with MS, her work is anything but sombre. Paintings such as New Drum (1996) and Yellow Jacket (1998) demonstrate her ease with colour, which is always vibrant and playful, often creating an entire spectrum of one hue on a single canvas. Meanwhile her portraits bear an interesting ele- ment of sparseness and flat per- spective to them, perhaps influ- enced by her fascination with Japan. Indeed, Louise (1996) was exhibited at the National Portrait Gallery, London, as part of the BP Portrait Awards. McLellan lived in Scotland all her life and was a graduate of Glasgow School of Art so it’s no surprise then that her paintings are likened to the Scottish Col- ourists. It is particularly apt there- fore that, among others, some of her work is now held in the prestigious Fleming Collection of Scottish Art, London. Nicola McCartney ANTENNAE 10. GALLERIES NOVEMBER 12 Enos at 10 This year East Neuk Open Studios celebrate their 10th birth- day, with 32 artists participating along this delightful stretch of the East Fifeshire coastline on the first two weekends of November. To mark the occasion, there’s also a special exhibition of their work in the Byre Theatre, St Andrews from 7th November to 9th December. If you don’t know this part of the world, it’s an excellent excuse to go and have a look and the work comes guaranteed good! A Remarkable Woman Everything about Ruth Borchard and her life was amazing, from her time as Jewish refugee in an Isle of Man internment camp, devising a programme of morale-boosting jobs for her fellow detainees and bringing up her daughter there (then writing a semi-fictional novel about it) to her post-war scheme of writing to artists offering 21 guineas for a self-portrait. She was rarely refused and built up a sup- erb (and very large) collection during the 50s/60s that included Roger Hilton, Ann Redpath, Carel Weight and other such notable names, many before they achie- ved a wider prominence. This is now exhibited regularly under the aegis of the King’s Place Gallery and has become the core of a collection that is being usefully extended into the 21st C. via a biennial show, the Ruth Borchard Self-Portrait Competition. From left: M ary Mabbutt ‘Red Studio Portrait’ 2011 at King’s Place D om Theobald ‘Shoe’ 2012 at Hester Gallery A bigail McLellan ‘Louise Sitting’ at Rebecca Hossack Gallery Peter Joyce ‘La Saline Grand Champ’ March 2012 at Jenna Burlingham Fine Art Carry Akroyd ‘A Field Full of Swans’ at The Society of Wildlife Artists, Mall Galleries Alfred Munnings ‘Path to the Orchard’ 1908 at Richard Green