New Painting Continues Legacy of Generous Support for Galleries

A painting by a highly regarded Fife artist is the latest to be added to Kirkcaldy Galleries’ contemporary art exhibition, thanks to a generous gift.

Helping Granny by Dunfermline born Caroline Walker has just been installed in the Collecting the Contemporary exhibition at the Galleries.

And its unveiling recently marks the sixth addition of contemporary artworks to the Kirkcaldy visitor attraction within the space of just two years.

The vibrantly-coloured painting captures a candid scene of the artist’s mother playing with her grandson, Caroline’s youngest child, in the garden of her Fife home.

And it is a very fitting enhancement to the Galleries, as Caroline’s love of art and painting began when her mother brought her to see the McTaggarts and Peploes there when she was a young girl. In addition the title of the painting was inspired by a work of the same name by William McTaggart, which Caroline was shown on a recent visit to OnFife’s Collection Centre at Glenrothes.

The painting was commissioned for the Galleries by Stefan Cross KC and Dr Alison Steele, who are enthusiastic patrons of the arts, particularly Caroline’s work.

Kirkcaldy Galleries had been keen to acquire one of Caroline’s works for some time, but it only became possible after curators from the venue were invited to an exhibition of her paintings at the Ingleby Gallery in Edinburgh last year.

The Ingleby explained it had a donor who was interested in donating money to commission a painting by Caroline and, as Kirkcaldy Galleries did not have any of her work in its collection, asked if it would be interested.

Caroline’s work highlights the everyday work carried out by women, much of it unpaid and unrecognised by society. The OnFife curators were delighted to accept the offer as it tied in with the Galleries’ aim of including more work by women artists, particularly those with a Fife connection.

“This is a very important addition to our collection and it is something we have been interested in for a long time,” explained Lily Barnes, OnFife Collections Curator.

“A large percentage of the artists in our collection are men as, traditionally, they were the ones who had access to art and education. Women are under-represented and this is something we are keen to address.

“In addition, Caroline is a local artist and our contemporary exhibition is all from painters who were born, lived or worked in Scotland.

“We are absolutely delighted to have it and are extremely grateful to everyone who helped us to make it happen.”

Nicola Wilson, OnFife Collections Development Manager, added: “This is a brilliant addition to our contemporary art collection. It is a beautiful painting by a local artist who is also a woman, so it ticks all the boxes.

“Fife has an amazing art collection and quite a few paintings were given to the Galleries, or left by people in their will, while others were commissioned from donations made to us.

“We hope that this gallery and its paintings will inspire other people who love art to consider doing something similar to enable us to enhance our collection even further.”

Image:

Lily Barnes, OnFife Collections Curator, left, and Nicola Wilson, OnFife Collections Development Manager, with Helping Granny by Caroline Walker, the latest contemporary art addition to the OnFife Collection. The painting was acquired thanks to a donation from Stefan Cross KC and Dr Alison Steele.