There are artists whose names are familiar to almost everyone interested in Scottish art, and then there are those whose work deserves a little more attention.
Babs Redpath falls into the latter category.
We have recently acquired a group of her paintings for the gallery, and they are a wonderful example of why I enjoy dealing in overlooked twentieth-century art.
There is a proper painter at work here, with a strong sense of composition, an interesting approach to colour and a willingness to move between quite different subjects and styles.
And, as is so often the case, the more you learn about the artist, the more interesting the paintings become.
From London to Edinburgh
Born in London, Babs Redpath studied at Edinburgh College of Art during the mid-1940s, where her teachers included two important figures in Scottish painting, William Gillies and John Maxwell.
Gillies was particularly known for his landscapes and still lifes, while Maxwell brought a more imaginative, sometimes dreamlike quality to his work.
These were two quite different artistic personalities, and it is interesting to consider their approaches when looking at Redpath's paintings today.
It was probably during her time at Edinburgh that Babs met her future husband, Thomas 'Kim' Redpath, a fellow artist and nephew of the celebrated Scottish painter Anne Redpath.
Babs and Kim went on to have twin sons, Adam and Tom.
The Redpath name is, of course, well known in Scottish art, largely through Anne. But Babs was an artist in her own right, with her own career, exhibitions and distinctive body of work.
A life in Glasgow
Babs eventually settled in Glasgow, where she worked in the education department of Kelvingrove Museum and Art Galleries.
I find this an interesting part of her story. Here was an artist who spent her working life surrounded by art, helping others engage with it, while continuing to develop her own practice.
She exhibited widely in Scotland, including with the Royal Scottish Academy (RSA) and the Society of Scottish Artists (SSA).
Her work is also represented in collections throughout Scotland, including those of the Universities of Glasgow and Strathclyde and NHS Lothian.
She was, in other words, not simply someone who painted privately. She had an established artistic career, even if her name is less familiar to collectors today.
The paintings
What particularly interested me about the group of paintings we acquired was the range of her work.
There are harbour scenes, pigeon lofts and a wonderfully colourful still life.
At first glance, they could almost be the work of different artists. But look a little longer and you begin to recognise her interest in structure, simplified forms and the relationship between colour and shape.
The harbour
One of the paintings depicts a small red boat sitting in a harbour, surrounded by buildings, harbour walls and reflections.
The palette is beautifully restrained. Muted greens, greys and earthy reds, with the little boat providing a welcome splash of colour.
There is very little unnecessary detail.
The buildings are reduced to blocks of colour, and their reflections almost become abstract shapes in the water.
It is a painting that rewards a second look.
The pigeon lofts
Two of the paintings depict pigeon lofts, and they are perhaps the most intriguing works in the group.
Pigeon keeping has a long association with working-class communities, particularly in the industrial towns and cities of Scotland.
These makeshift structures, often built from timber and whatever materials were available, have an architectural character all of their own.
And Redpath clearly found something worth painting in them.
In one work, the lofts stand against a pale, overcast sky. Their distinctive openings and projecting landing platforms are picked out in dark, angular shapes.
The whole composition has an almost monumental quality, despite the modest subject matter.
The second painting is darker and considerably more abstract.
The lofts seem to merge into one another, their structures built up through overlapping passages of charcoal grey, brown and muted green.
There is a wonderful physical quality to the paint, with areas of scraping, layering and visible brushwork.
What I particularly enjoy is that Redpath has taken something quite ordinary and made it the subject of a substantial painting.
She isn't trying to make the pigeon lofts picturesque.
She is interested in their shapes, their construction and the way they sit within the landscape.
There is something rather wonderful about that.
The still life
And then there is the still life.
A table covered in a pale cloth, a black coffee pot, a bowl of fruit and slices of melon.
It is a completely different mood.
The colours are warmer, with pinks, yellows, soft greens and a wonderful terracotta background.
The objects are simplified, but their arrangement is carefully considered. The black coffee pot provides a strong central shape, anchoring the composition among the much lighter colours.
It is perhaps the painting that most immediately brings to mind the Scottish tradition of expressive colour and still-life painting.
There are echoes of the broader artistic world associated with Anne Redpath, although I would be cautious about claiming any direct influence.
Babs had her own eye.
Finding her place in Scottish art
One of the pleasures of researching artists like Babs Redpath is discovering how their work fits into a much larger artistic story.
She studied in Edinburgh at a time when Scottish painting was developing in several different directions.
The legacy of the Scottish Colourists remained important, while artists such as Gillies, Maxwell and Anne Redpath were exploring their own approaches to landscape, still life, colour and composition.
Redpath's paintings suggest an artist who was comfortable working within this tradition without being restricted to a single style.
Her still life is concerned with colour and the relationships between everyday objects.
Her pigeon loft paintings are darker and more structural, sometimes approaching abstraction.
I find that contrast particularly appealing.
It suggests an artist interested in painting itself, rather than simply repeating a recognisable formula.
Why Babs Redpath?
I look at an enormous amount of art, and I buy the paintings that make me stop.
These did.
They are substantial, interesting works by an artist who studied under important Scottish painters, exhibited with established institutions and whose work entered public collections.
Yet Babs Redpath remains a relatively unfamiliar name outside certain Scottish art circles.
That is precisely the sort of artist I enjoy finding.
There is something rather satisfying about being able to offer an original painting by an accomplished twentieth-century artist without the price tag that often accompanies a more familiar name.
And, quite frankly, I think these paintings deserve to be seen.
We have a selection of original paintings by Babs Redpath available at Viki Knott Gallery, Edinburgh.