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The exhibition opens with a 1902 portrait of Jean Maconochie, Fergusson’s lover and first muse. The deep greens used for Maconochie’s hat, dress, and background contrast with the brightness of her face and earrings. The free brushstrokes and dramatic lighting show the influence of Manet and Velasquez, but also reveal glimpses into Fergusson’s future style and, more broadly, of the Colourists’ approach to light and colours. 

The story of the Colourists is, at its core, a story of friendship. It begins with a meeting between Peploe and Fergusson in 1900 in Edinburgh. While Fergusson was impulsive and ambitious, Peploe was more considered and reflective. Despite the differences in character, the two became inseparable and a source of inspiration for one another. The frequent trips to France and the Outer Hebrides in Scotland in the first years of 1900 brought into their art a sense of spontaneity that did not exist before. Influenced by the sun-drenched French landscapes and breathtaking Scottish vistas, colours such as pure white, turquoise, violet, and pale pink, entered their palette. 

FCB Cadell would also grow close with Peploe, whom he met in 1909. Cadell had already established himself as a painter of still lifes, glamorous high-society women, and fashionable interiors of the capital’s homes. After his discharge from the army at the end of WWI, Cadell took refuge on Iona, a small island on the West coast of Scotland, famous for its stunning landscape and religious significance. In 1920, Peploe accompanied Cadell on the island, and from then on, the two friends worked together almost every summer. 

In 1906, Leslie Hunter was living in San Francisco, where his family had moved at the end of the 19th century, when a devastating earthquake struck and destroyed all his works. With nothing left, Hunter decided to return to Glasgow. There, he scraped together a living by working as an illustrator while managing periods of mental fragility and poor health. In 1919, he discovered the Fife shorelines, a vibrant stretch of coast above Edinburgh. This revelation infused new life into his art; his use of colour became instinctive and his attempts to capture the effects of light more refined. While Hunter and Fergusson had met in Paris before the war, the meeting with Peploe, who in turn introduced him to Cadell, only happened in 1919. 

Peploe was pivotal for the development of the friendship among the four men, yet it was Alexander Reid, a Glaswegian art dealer, who created the artistic brand of the Colourists. In 1924, Reid organised the exhibition Les Peintres de l’Ecosse Moderne in Paris, in which he included works by the four friends. It was a commercial success and established their credentials as influential figures in the art environment of the time. Yet, it was only in 1948 that the four artists were officially presented as a group at the exhibition Paintings by Four Scottish Colourists at T&R Annan & Sons in Glasgow. 

Only Fergusson was alive to see the long-awaited recognition of their work and friendship. Hunter had died in 1931, Peploe in 1935, and Cadell, in poverty, in 1937. James Knox, the exhibition curator and director of the Fleming Foundation, explains, “Focused increasingly on landscape, they brought to bear their acute artistic intelligence, their lifelong exposure to the tensions between colour and tone and their natural talent to convey a love and fascination with the distinctive beauty of Scottish light.”

Although the revolution that Peploe, Fergusson, Hunter, and Cadell brought into the art world lasted only for a few years, their artistic significance is evident. Their paintings not only redefined the idea of Scotland and its art, once perhaps seen as gloomy and unimaginative, but contributed to the birth of modernism in Britain. Most importantly, the white beaches and turquoise waters of the Scottish Isles, the daring portraits, and vivacious still lifes sparked a sense of hope and joy amongst the rubbles of two world wars. 

Scottish Colourists: Radical Perspective is on show at Dovecot Studio in Edinburgh until June 28th, 2025.