In any other year, on Mother’s Day, we’d be gathering together to celebrate the women in our lives who have raised us, nurtured and guided us. That won’t be possible this year, and we’ll be finding other ways to show our love and appreciation for our mothers, grandmothers, stepmothers and mothers-in-law. A number of artists in Aberdeen’s collection used their creativity to honour the maternal figures in their lives.
Enamelled Plaque: Mother, 1898
The sitter in this enamelled plaque shows schoolteacher Ann Watt, the mother of James Cromar Watt (1862-1940). He was one of Scotland’s most gifted enamellers and jewellers. He collected decorative art from overseas including Chinese lacquerware, metalwork, ceramics, carvings and textiles. After his death in 1940, many of these objects were bequeathed to Aberdeen Art Gallery & Museums. This is the earliest portrait plaque made by James Cromar Watt in the collection. He used a technique called ‘grisaille’ for the face, a method of painting layers of translucent enamels with subtle changes in colour, greys and whites. The technique gives a variation in light and shade to give a result that is almost photographic.
Ann Watt (Mother of James Cromar Watt), 1903
Ann is again depicted in this oil painting, painted by her son’s friend, Douglas Strachan. He trained at Gray's School of Art in Aberdeen and is best-known for his stained glass, an example of which can be found at St Machar's Cathedral in Old Aberdeen.
Portrait of the Artist’s Grandmother, 1901
James McBey (1883-1959) was born in Newburgh and was a self-taught artist and printmaker. He painted this portrait of his grandmother when he was 18. He mentioned in his autobiography that his grandmother often wore a grey Shetland shawl around her shoulders and a white linen 'mutch', a close-fitting cap covering the head and ears. She owned a black lace mutch which she had been saving for a special occasion. She decided she would wear it for the portrait and was disappointed when she discovered her grandson had depicted her wearing her everyday headwear.
Mrs Farquharson of Finzean, The Artist’s Stepmother, 1871
Joseph Farquharson was a Scottish painter best known for his landscapes. The sitter, Mary Anne Girdwood, was the artist's stepmother. She came from Edinburgh and was just two years older than her stepson. After her husband's death, she lived on at Finzean, in Aberdeenshire, with the artist.
By Jenna Rose, Art Curator
The whole team at Aberdeen Archives, Gallery & Museums send their love and congratulations to Jenna and her husband David on the birth of their first child in January - we hope you get to put your feet up on Mother’s Day, Jenna!
