{"product_id":"david-macbeth-sutherland-rsa-1883-1973-the-breakwater-stonehaven-original-scottish-oil","title":"David Macbeth Sutherland RSA (1883–1973) | The Breakwater, Stonehaven | Original Scottish Oil","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eAn expressive original oil painting by the Scottish artist David Macbeth Sutherland RSA (1883–1973), depicting the breakwater at Stonehaven on Scotland's northeast coast.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eWorking with a beautifully restrained palette of soft blues, muted greens, ochres and greys, Sutherland captures the force of the North Sea as waves break against the harbour wall.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eSmall boats sit in the sheltered water beyond, with the buildings of Stonehaven stretching across the distant shore.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThe painting has a wonderfully immediate quality. Broad, energetic brushstrokes and passages of exposed ground give the composition a freshness and freedom, particularly in the swirling movement of the foreground water.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eIt is an excellent example of Sutherland's expressive approach to Scottish landscape painting, where atmosphere, colour and movement take precedence over precise detail.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003e\u003cspan\u003eExhibition History and Family Provenance\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThis painting has an especially interesting and well-documented history.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThe reverse retains its original \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan\u003eAberdeen Art Gallery and Museum exhibition label from 1974\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e, identifying the work as \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThe Breakwater, Stonehaven\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cspan\u003e, by D. M. Sutherland.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eIt was exhibited as \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan\u003ecatalogue number 35\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e in the memorial exhibition held following the artist's death in 1973.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eSignificantly, the exhibition label records the lender as \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan\u003eDr Anne Sutherland, the artist's daughter\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eA further handwritten ownership label names Dr Dorothy A. Sutherland of Prestatyn, North Wales.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThe reverse also retains an earlier exhibition label associated with an Aberdeen Artists exhibition, apparently dated 1967, indicating that the painting had an exhibition history during the artist's lifetime.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eAcquired from the Sutherland family estate, the work has remained closely connected to the family of David Macbeth Sutherland and his wife, the distinguished Scottish artist Dorothy Johnstone ARSA.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003e\u003cspan\u003eAbout the Artist\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eDavid Macbeth Sutherland was born in Wick, Caithness, in 1883.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eAfter initially considering a career in law and working for a lithographic firm, he studied at the Royal Scottish Academy Life School under Charles Hodge Mackie.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eIn 1911 he was awarded the prestigious Carnegie Travelling Scholarship, travelling to Spain and France, where he encountered European painting and developed his own expressive approach to colour and composition.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eHe became an original member of the Edinburgh Group, a circle of progressive Scottish artists associated with the development of early twentieth-century Scottish painting.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eFollowing service in the First World War, for which he was awarded the Military Cross, Sutherland returned to teaching at Edinburgh College of Art.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eIn 1924 he married the artist Dorothy Johnstone ARSA (1892–1980). Together they became influential figures in Scottish artistic life.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eSutherland was appointed Head of Gray's School of Art in Aberdeen in 1933, a position he held until 1948.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eDuring the Second World War he worked as an official war artist, recording Newfoundland lumberjacks working in the forests of Deeside.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eElected to the Royal Scottish Academy in 1936, Sutherland exhibited extensively throughout his career and became particularly well known for his Scottish coastal landscapes, Highland views and scenes of Brittany.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eHis work is held in important public collections, including Aberdeen Art Gallery and the Royal Scottish Academy.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eSutherland died in Plockton in 1973.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThe Breakwater, Stonehaven\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cspan\u003e combines the artist's confident, energetic handling of paint with unusually well-preserved exhibition documentation and direct family provenance.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"viki.knott","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57231385821564,"sku":"X686","price":850.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0505\/7295\/1736\/files\/16AC9164-B85B-4ED8-9909-DC0183CE351A.jpg?v=1793007659","url":"https:\/\/www.vikiknott.com\/products\/david-macbeth-sutherland-rsa-1883-1973-the-breakwater-stonehaven-original-scottish-oil","provider":"viki.knott","version":"1.0","type":"link"}