Fine Art in Focus: Highlights from the Angus Fine Art Collection

ANGUSalive is delighted to announce the recent acquisition of the painting Old Montrose by renowned artist James Morrison (1932-2020), which is now on display for visitors to see in the latest exhibition at Montrose Museum – Fine Art in Focus: Highlights from the Angus Fine Art Collection.

 Previously in a private collection, Old Montrose was donated to Montrose Museum by Jeri Bapasola, with the help of the Art Fund.

 In a career spanning seven decades, James Morrison had a tireless passion to capture the raw, wild, natural beauty of the landscape around him. It was moving to Montrose, and the vast glens around Angus which inspired Morrison to concentrate on realism. Always working en plein air, he depicted atmospheric skies within a panoramic scene.

Emma Gilliland, ANGUSalive Museums & Galleries Collections Lead said: “We are incredibly grateful to Jeri for this generous donation. Morrison was one of the most significant artists of the twentieth century and it is a privilege to care for and display this artwork in his much-loved Montrose.”

This painting is on display as part of a new exhibition Fine Art in Focus: Highlights from the Angus Fine Art Collection.  The Angus Fine Art Collection brings together artworks once held by the seven historic burgh towns of Angus. In 1975 these collections were brought together to form a single, rich and diverse public collection, now cared for by ANGUSalive on behalf of the people of Angus.

With more than 4,000 works, including oil paintings, watercolours, drawings and sculpture, the collection celebrates Angus and the wider northeast of Scotland. Local artists such as William Lamb, David Waterson and James Watterston Herald appear alongside nationally renowned figures as Joyce W. Cairns, James McIntosh Patrick and Robert Gibb.

This exhibition was inspired by the book Highlights from the Angus Fine Art Collection, which showcases the stories behind some of the collections most remarkable artworks. For the first time, many of these highlights are brought together in one space, offering visitors fresh ways to experience Angus’s artistic heritage.

Also on display is a sketch by George Paul Chalmers (1833-1878) which has returned home from conservation at The Scottish Conservation Studio. Chalmers was born in Duncan’s Close, Montrose, the son of a ship’s captain, and was recognised as an artist of note, gaining membership of the Royal Scottish Academy in 1871. He was nicknamed ‘The Angus Rembrandt’ but was very critical of his own work, constantly re-working subjects until he was satisfied.

This work is the original preparatory sketch for The Legend, which is on display at the National Galleries of Scotland, and depicts a scene from Sir Walter Scott’s The Pirate. The old seer Ulla Troil (Norna) addresses a group of children, including the young Minna and Brenda, who later become central characters in the novel. Ambitious in scale and vision, the final painting took Chalmers fourteen years to complete and is regarded as one of his greatest achievements.

Copies of Highlights from the Angus Fine Art Collection can be purchased from ANGUSalive museum gift shops. Visit Montrose Museum from Friday to Monday, 10.30am-4pm to see this new exhibition, which is now on show until Sunday 5 July 2026.

Find out more about the exhibition here.