What we did in 2019-2020

 

The last financial year was a busy one for the Friends. The following Grants were awarded during this year:

 

Children’s Art Competition:                                                   £2,140

Portrait of Lord Mungo Murray:                                            £20,000

Purchase of Ticket Book for Turkey Red:                              £3,000

Lachlan Goudie Paintings:                                                      £10,000

Eric Watt Book:                                                                      £5.000 (Still to be invoiced)

GoMA Youth Project:                                                             £3,500

Camel Caravan Tapestry:                                                        £10,000 (Still to be invoiced)

Total                                                                                        £53,640

 

 

The beginning of a new subscription year was affected by the pandemic. Our hard-working Administrator, Joanne, was able to enter Kelvingrove Art Gallery just before it closed and pick up what mail there was. Those of you who pay by cheque and sent a cheque in during March should have received a current membership card by now. The members who pay by standing order also should have received a current card. I take this opportunity to remind those members who pay by standing order to cancel their previous payment and also to check that the new amount is being paid into the Clydesdale Bank, Milngavie.

Once again the Lectures and Excursions have been very successful and have been frequently oversubscribed. We are indebted to the Blue Badge Guides who give of their time and knowledge freely together with the Lecturers who have informed and delighted us with information not readily available. After all expenses incurred by the Excursions & Lectures, the total net amount is £5,812.

It is to be hoped that access to the office in Kelvingrove Art Gallery will soon be available and the remaining membership cards can be posted out.

As we are all aware by now, these are unprecedented times with no clear idea of when we will be able to resume our duties as a Committee. More than ever we value our Members and trust, sincerely that you will all keep your membership active to support the survival of the Friends.

 

Morag C Robertson, Finance Convenor

 

 

 

Coronavirus Update

Today we should have been meeting for our 75th AGM but sadly due to Covid-19 that is not to be.

We decided at the beginning of the outbreak to postpone the AGM until such times as it seemed prudent to do so. This may not be for some time yet but in the meantime the committee will be meeting electronically  to discuss ways and means to get the Friends up and running again.

This will depend very much on the situation in the museum world and given the age of many of our members when it will be safe to meet again.

Meanwhile many of the world’s museums are offering online tours and activities and I hope you get the chance to try some of them out.

Until we can cross the threshold again of Glasgow’s Museums I hope all our members and their families are keeping well and remember that we WILL return!

Elizabeth M Dent

Mackintosh at the Willow.

On 11 March 2020 nearly 40 Friends gathered in the Mackintosh at the Willow to explore the newly restored Willow Tearooms, the only one  surviving of the Tearooms which CR Mackintosh designed for Miss Kate Cranston.

After a brief introductory talk in the Mezzanine level we made our way to the Billiards Room where the ladies among us enjoyed seeing the room which only men were permitted to enter when it was designed.

The double chairs were quite comfortable and the light fittings seemed remarkably contemporary.

Only the smoke and the billiards table were missing!

Courtesy of Michael Hutchinson

After that we made our way to the Salon de Luxe, the highlight of the tour. Beautifully restored  with chandeliers, chairs ,doors etc made as exact replicas of the originals.

It was a delight to settle down at the tables for afternoon tea and to be able to take in all the decorative features while bathed in light streaming in from the beautiful windows.

All this and a scrumptious afternoon tea! We left well nourished both in mind and body and in no doubt that we would like to go back.

E M Dent

Margaret MacDonald and Charles Rennie Mackintosh

Our latest lecture was a stimulating look at Margaret Mackintosh Macdonald in the context of

her life and work, her links to her husband, her sister and 'The Four' in general.  Frances

Dryburgh's look at this was also to let us see how views on Margaret, her 'talent' or 'genius',

or not, have changed from that of her own time, mostly positive, especially in Vienna and

Turin, to being thought of, not only as of limited worth, but as a hindrance to her husband's

work, and back to a more balanced view today.  A very recent article emphasised the last

view.  The impossibility of ever knowing from the records how much input she had to

Charles's work was also noted.  Frances is always a joy to hear and this lecture was another

example of her knowledge and enthusiasm for us to share.

Margaret Anderson

GROWTH: a GoMA Youth Group exhibition

Last year, FoGM agreed to support a project aimed at bringing together members of the GOMA YOUTH GROUP (GYG) (ages 16 to 25 years) and local artists. GYG worked alongside curatorial teams and Learning and Access to engage with contemporary art and find out about careers in the museum sector. The outcome of this was a short exhibition at GoMA which showed the work produced in collaboration. The show aimed to explore how the GYG generation deals with an increasingly complex and fluid world. On the 18^th February members of FoGM visited the show and were introduced to the artists, the exhibits and some members of GYG. Food for thought!

Visit to the Hunterian

Struan in front of “ Spring in Glasgow”

 by J D Ferusson. 

  Thanks to Michael Hutchinson

On10th February, an intrepid small group braved Storm Ciara, to enjoy a visit to the re-hung Hunterian Art Gallery highlights.  The galleries are now themed, and the guide, Struan, chose a small number of paintings to illustrate these, e.g. Imagination and Observation, Practice and Process.  He noted that there was a superficial meaning to these but that each was layered to allow a deeper look.  We started with Gavin Hamilton's very large 'Hector's Farewell to Andromache' and finished with a Joan Eardley seastorm at Catterline, showing how she did more than observe but immersed herself in the experience.  Jacob Stella's 'Flight into Egypt done on black slate showed how the artist had to bring the Light of Christ, dominating the picture from a dark base, where other artists start with a light canvas and add darker colours to it.  Struan was very knowledgeable and gave us good insights to the pictures. He offered plenty of time for question and discussion and talked before and after the tour to the group as individuals.  It was well worth braving the weather to enjoy this.

Margaret Anderson

Switzerland and the Art World

In a comprehensive and beautifully illustrated lecture, Caroline Steel introduced us to Switzerland and the Art World. The country plays an important role in the Art World producing artists of international renown and becoming home to many famous collections. Moving from west to east, she covered four collections highlighting one artist at each location-in Geneva, Ferdinand Hodler; in Berne, Paul Klee; in Basle, Jean Pinguely and in Zurich, in the Buhrle collection, Giacometti.

Dovecot Studios

On 23^rd January, 30 Friends travelled to Edinburgh to the Dovecot Studios. The Studios are easily accessible in Infirmary Street near the National Museum of Scotland. The current exhibition shows exquisite embroideries and tapestries by May Morris, daughter of William Morris.

Friends in the gallery. Courtesy of Frances Dryburgh

From the gallery above the workspace, we could see the weavers at work. There are two other exhibitions, one dealing with linen manufacturing in the East of Scotland and the other of recent tapestries from the Dovecot particularly those designed by Barbara Rae.

This was a successful and enjoyable day thanks to excellent organisation by our guides.

Dovecot Studios