Hand, Heart and Soul at Edinburgh's City Art Centre is a timely attempt to show the impact of the Arts and Crafts movement in Scotland in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, and its lasting consequences for Scottish art. Arranged in themed sections, it carries you along on a wave of enthusiasm and talent, from the movement's beginnings with links to the English Arts and Crafts movement and artists such as Walter Crane and William Morris, towards Patrick Geddes's vision of an all-embracing "organic" education for Edinburgh.
The founding of benevolent societies which then employed artists to decorate public buildings, and the influence of Francis Newbery at Glasgow School of Art and his craft studios, meant that individual expression, new media and working methods were encouraged. Sister studios were set up in Glasgow, art communities flourished throughout Scotland, and men and women worked together to create art in an atmosphere of equality.
At the same time, Arts and Crafts houses were being commissioned and built - Hill House is perhaps the best known, but there were many others such as Formakin in Renfrewshire and Earlshall in Fife. New publications such as the Scottish Art Review and institutions such as the Scottish Guild of Handicraft offered further opportunities for exhibitions and the sharing of ideas. Decoration extended to both the design and creation of churches, the Thistle Chapel in Edinburgh a memorable example. Photographs of artists working together emphasise the professional camaraderie of the time.
A particular thrill comes from the new women artists and the variety of their work. There is no end to the versatility of their pieces - Phoebe Anna Traquair, an artist and craftswoman, created both enormous works such as the frescoes at Mansfield Place Church in Edinburgh and large embroideries such as the triptych The Salvation of Mankind which uses rhythmic swirling clouds, angelic figures and an ornately embroidered central angel, all in perfect stitching, to convey a richly spiritual and uplifting piece. However, she could also produce a silver chalice with enamel miniatures that is pure and thoughtful.
Embroidery, championed by Jessie Newbery's new Glasgow School of Art department, was the most obvious creative area. Pieces in the show include a dress by Daisy Agnes Anderson McGlashan, beautifully worked in silk with velvet applique and silk thread in satin stitch, and using green, purple and white to show her support for women's suffrage. Maggie Hamilton's gorgeous embroidered panel of doves, roses and ribbons has outstanding stitch and colour quality, and its rhythmic design, using space as much as subject, is a delight.
But women artists such as Traquair would work in any media - stained glass, brass, leather, silver or pottery. A writhing mermaid on an enamelled vase by Helen Walton sits near a delicately decorated cup and saucer by Ann Macbeth, a well-known textile artist.
The exhibition offers a wealth of pieces, some never seen before. Your eye turns from an exuberant brass peacock mirror by Margaret Gilmour to embroidered and stylised hangings for Hill House by Margaret Macdonald Mackintosh; from enamelled Celtic brooches by Alexander Ritchie to Jessie M King's decorated crockery and menus for the Paul Jones Tea Rooms in Kirkcudbright. Designs for commercial premises such as Miss Cranston's tea rooms are contrasted with profound architecture such as Lorimer's Scottish National War Memorial.
It is as if these artists knew no limits, and with such confidence came the opportunity to produce functional and beautiful objects and buildings, touching all spheres of Scottish life. In short, these artists changed art and society in Scotland, fusing craftwork and fine art, enriching both with an unending creativity not equalled since that time.
- Hand, Heart and Soul is at the City Art Centre, Edinburgh, until September 23. The Herald is media partner.
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