Colorstruck: The Art of Anne Redpath

By Ami Melville

Linked to the Scottish Colourists and a significant member of the 20th century “Edinburgh School” of vivid landscape painters, Galashiels-born artist Anne Redpath’s work conveys an undeniable appreciation for colour. Over the decades of her influential career, Redpath’s subjects and her responses to such subjects fluctuated during a tumultuous time in the world. She even took a hiatus from painting for over a decade to care for her sons after moving to the south of France with her husband. However, before and after this break she maintained her use of bold, precise brush strokes mixed with sharp application from her palette knife. By examining her work, we see a dynamic artistic career accounting for the intricacies of her life and the world around her.

Redpath’s Life Painting (1918) is one of her earlier works, in which she uses a more muted color palette than her later pieces. Painted just after her graduation from the Edinburgh College of Art in 1917, Redpath draws out certain details of the woman’s form using a soft approach intertwined with bold placement. The shine of the woman’s hair is emphasised through undetailed yet precise highlighting using a lighter tone. Her muscles are given form under her skin through more subtle strokes of Redpath’s brush. Her face conveys just enough of her expression to cast a pensive atmosphere on the piece. The background feels like white noise surrounding her, which adds to this aura.

Anne Redpath, Self-portrait of the Artist, 1943. Courtesy of Jenna Burlingham.

After returning to painting, Redpath began to experiment with a more extensive colour palette. She still utilised pale, beige tones in her background but added more texture with open space and white highlights. In her self portrait (1943) she uses stronger lines to characterise her facial expression, contrasting hard edges with the dynamic strokes around her. She additionally paints herself with a pink and blue scarf to draw more warmth into the painting. Unlike the energetic aura of her brush strokes, the artist seems unmoving and stagnant, possibly as she regains her confidence in her abilities after stepping away for many years.

Anne Redpath, Landscape in the Canary Islands (1960), oil on board. Courtesy of the Scottish Art Gallery.

Redpath returned to mainland Europe throughout the fifties, which heavily influenced her subject matter specifically in landscapes. She notably paints many views of Venice along the water, as well as several Venetian cathedral interiors. She additionally travels to both mainland Spain and the Canary Islands off the coast of northwestern Africa. Her work Landscape in the Canary Islands (1960) conveys the true extent of her palette as she characterises a harsh landscape detailed with vibrant red, orange and white. Her fondness for the simple architecture of the houses is shown through her attention to their shape and shadows.

Anne Redpath, Flowers in a Jug (1964), oil on canvas. Courtesy of the Scottish Art Gallery.

Redpath’s later work continues to show her increasing use of impasto, which involves thick paint commonly applied with a palette knife. Her work Flowers in a Jug (1964) forgoes perspective in favour of a thick, pasted background upon which a jug of colourful flowers. She utilises empty space and thin red lines to create detail in the vase, which shows her fondness for the subject matter. This evolution from muted tones to bravely vibrant works give us a glimpse into her dynamic career, which should continuously be appreciated and studied as her influence as a colourist in the 20th century and after is imperishable.

Bibliography

“Anne Redpath (1895 – 1965).” The University of Edinburgh, August 18, 1970. https://www.ed.ac.uk/alumni/services/notable-alumni/alumni-in-history/anne-redpath#:~:text=Redpath%20was%20most%20notably%20influenced,father%20did%20in%20his%20tweed.

“Anne Redpath.” The Scottish Gallery, April 25, 2023. https://scottish-gallery.co.uk/artists/anne-redpath/.

Anne Redpath. Accessed March 7, 2024. https://www.nationalgalleries.org/art-and-artists/artists/anne-redpath.

“Anne Redpath - Biography.” Jenna Burlingham Gallery. Accessed March 7, 2024. https://www.jennaburlingham.com/artists/272-anne-redpath/biography/.