Fergusson at Stirling

The J D Fergusson Memorial Collection was presented to the University by Margaret Morris, the artist's lifelong partner, and the J D Fergusson Art Foundation on Thursday 26th September 1968. This was the first and only bequest of a group of his work to be made by the Foundation before the setting up of the Fergusson Gallery in Perth.

Join us in the Pathfoot Building, Univeristy of Stirling for a special viewing of our lesser seen Fergusson works. We'll be opening up the store to give you a chance to view works such as 'A Bridge on the River Kelvin' and 'Voiles Indiennes'. We'll also open our artist files, where you can delve into the story of how the works came to Stirling.

About the J D Fergusson Memorial Collection
In the late sixties the Foundation and Margaret Morris were looking for a good home for the collection and Universities, which encouraged innovation and attracted new money, were a popular choice for seeking a secure home for art at that time. Fergusson had also been very attached to Perthshire and had expressed a wish that a gallery could be sited there, so the new University at Stirling, at not too far a distance, and with its energetic young Principal, Tom Cottrell, seemed a natural choice.
The collection of fourteen of Fergusson's paintings was chosen to represent all periods of his life from his very early Bazaar in Tangiers (c. 1897) to A Bridge on the Kelvin (1942). It contains some of his finest work and includes the seminal painting Rhythm (1911).

The University has recently re-published a catalogue of these works with added accompanying essays. 'Colour, Light, Freedom: Fergusson at Stirling' can be purchased in the Pathfoot Building Crush Hall for £5, or ordered online here.

Read the introductory essay in this publication by Guy Peploe (the grandson of Fergusson's friend and contemporary, S.J. Peploe).

View all the Fergusson works held by the Art Collection

About the Univeristy of Stirling Art Collection

The Univeristy of Stirling holds a significant collection of Scottish Contemporary Art, housed primarily in the modernist Pathfoot Building. We hold a regular series of exhibitions, events and workshops that aim to make arts and culture a part of daily life for staff, students and visitors to the Unviersity. We are open Monday- Friday , 9am - 5pm or by appointment and are free for all to visist.

Getting Here

Pathfoot is on the University of Stirling Campus, FK9 4LA and can be seen up on the slope on your left as you enter the campus by the main entrance.

You can get to the campus by bus, bike or car and parking is free for the first two hours of your visit. For more comprehensive advice on how to get here please visit https://www.stir.ac.uk/about/art-collection/visitor-information/.

The building is an accessible building, with spaces for blue badge holders to the front and rear of the building. More information is on our website, but if you have any questions about access, please email Emma at [email protected] or give us a phone on 01786466050

Host or Publisher Art Collection, University of Stirling