Van Gogh – art and angst

Wheat Field with Cypresses, Saint-Remy, Oil on Canvas, 1889

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Vincent Van Gogh, that glorious nutter, was born on this day in 1853. He died at the age of 37 after a short life filled with genius and despair.

Some years ago I read Martin Gayford’s book The Yellow House: Van Gogh, Gauguin, and Nine Turbulent Weeks in Provence. This excellent work uses old letters to reconstruct the few months Van Gogh spent living and working with Paul Gauguin in a house in Arles. I was left with the overriding feeling that Van Gogh wanted nothing more in life than to be loved and understood.

Vincent invited Gauguin to stay because he deeply admired the older man’s work and imagined he could learn much from him. In preparation for Gaugin’s arrival at the Yellow House, Vincent painted his iconic Sunflowers series just to decorate the walls of Gauguin’s room! But Van Gogh’s mental illness made him erratic and volatile and his dreams of founding a collaborative artistic commune with Gauguin rapidly fell apart.

The wonderful painting above – Wheat Field with Cypresses – was made during Van Gogh’s time at Saint-Paul Asylum in Saint-Rémy-de-Provence. I’ve visited this beautiful town a few times. It really is surrounded by those distinctive hills that Van Gogh reproduced so perfectly in his work.

I love those places, Arles and Saint-Rémy, but their beauty is tinged by thoughts of poor Vincent and his sufferings. I feel the same way about his wonderful, vibrant, disturbed and magnificent paintings.

Women not witches: an important distinction

Witches in Word, not Deed – an exhibition at Central Library until 30 November 2023

Witches in Word, Not Deed is an exhibition…

….to remember the real women who were persecuted as witches in Scotland… Thirteen women are remembered … bringing attention to the loss of life and identity in which the witch trials resulted.

https://talesofonecity.wordpress.com/

These were not witches. They were simply women: accused; often tortured; then murdered for the commission of utterly fictitious crimes.

There have been a number of projects in recent years, raising awareness of the many women who were tried and executed as witches in Scotland. The first I became aware of was the vocal and tireless, Witches of Scotland. This is a campaign seeking justice for those accused women.

The Witches of Scotland (WoS) Campaign was launched on International Women’s Day 2020 by Claire Mitchell [KC] and Zoe Venditozzi. The campaign has 3 aims: to obtain a pardon for those convicted as witches under the Witchcraft Act 1563, to obtain an apology for all those accused, and to obtain a national memorial to remember those killed as witches.

https://www.witchesofscotland.com/

The very excellent Claire Mitchell KC, and author Zoe Venditozzi also host a podcast. They originally planned a short run of (I believe) 6 episodes, but will soon reach their 70th!

Witches of Scotland podcast

Through this podcast I learned of a project local to me, The Calder Witch Hunt, along with many, many others. They interview authors, academics and fellow campaigners. Very much worth a listen and follow.

Speaking of local “witches”, there’s a “Lizzie Brice’s Roundabout” near me. The local lore is that Lizzie Brice was a witch and, I was told, “the last witch burned in Scotland”. Everyone accepted that as truth… However, according to a booklet produced by the Local History Library, Lizzie was, happily, not accused of witchcraft.

Lizzie Bryce was a widow living in the parish of Mid Calder in the 1800s. She and her daughter were employed to house “pauper children” from Edinburgh, keeping them out of the workhouses and in the more wholesome country air.

_{source: West Lothian Council Local History Library, 1999}

Unusually, for a poor woman, her name lived on: attached to the strip of woodland where she lived and later the roundabout built nearby, a petrol station, and a pub.

Women of Faculty: Remembering Margaret Kidd, 1923-2023

Portrait of Margaret Kidd in Parliament Hall

ON 13^th July 1923, Miss Margaret Kidd, MA., LL.B., Edinburgh, was admitted to the Faculty of Advocates, the first woman to become a Member of Faculty. She remained to be the only woman at the Bar for more than 25 years.

1923 SLT 106

Centenary celebrations

video: “Women of Faculty: Remembering Margaret Kidd, 1923-2023“

13^th July 2023 marks the centenary of Margaret Kidd’s calling.

At an event in Parliament Hall, attended by Margaret Kidd’s granddaughters and great-granddaughter, a portrait was unveiled.

new plaque, Parliament Hall

The new portrait of Margaret Kidd hangs next to that of the Right Hon. Lady Dorrian, commissioned to mark her elevation to Lord Justice Clerk, the first woman to hold that office.

Learn more at: Women of Faculty: Remembering Margaret Kidd 1923 to 2023

video: “Edinburgh, 1923“

Coming soon: Gaelic story exhibition at NLS

Sgeul / Story

Folktales from the Scottish Highlands collected by John Francis Campbell of Islay (1821 to 1885).

An exhibition in Gaelic and English about stories and storytelling traditions.

Visit from 9 June at George IV Bridge building in Edinburgh.

Wilfred Owen, the Advocates Library and the Stevenson connection

To commemorate the centenary of Wilfred Owen’s visit to the Advocates Library I put together a small exhibition. This is the story…

Edinburgh Library and Information Services Agency

One hundred years ago, on the 22^nd October 1917, war poet Wilfred Owenpaid a visit to the Advocates Library to meet with Charles John Guthrie (Lord Guthrie). To commemorate this centenary I put together a very small, private exhibition in the Advocates Library. However, since we’re approaching Armistice Day, and it’s a sweet story, I decided to post something here too.

Wilfred Owen’s letter to his mother, 22nd October 1917 from ‘Selected letters’ by Wilfred Owen; edited by John Bell, 2nd edition 1998

From the end of June to early November 1917, Wilfred Owen was resident at Craiglockhart War Hospital, receiving treatment for shell-shock. His doctor, Arthur Brock practised ergo therapy, ‘the cure by functioning’. Brock encouraged his patients to work and explore outdoors, and to experience the local community and culture.

‘Dulce et Decorum Est’ by Wilfred Owen. Written at Craiglockhart in the…

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NLS/Glasgow Science Festival event – Trailblazing Women of Science

Dame Maria Gordon, geologist

As part of the Glasgow Science Festival programme, the National Library’s science curator, Catherine Booth, will be talking at the Glasgow Women’s Library on 17 June at 2 pm about Scottish female scientists who made outstanding achievements against all odds.

This event is free or with a suggested £2 donation, and booking is essential.

The pictured scientist, Dame Maria Gordon (1864-1939), was born in Aberdeenshire and became a prominent field geologist.

The Glasgow Science Festival runs from 9 – 19 June. View the programme and booking details

National Library of Scotland at the Royal National Mòd!

These sound like great events. If you’re attending the Royal National Mòd this year, why not pay the NLS lot a visit?

The Royal National Mod  

The National Library will be at the Royal National Mod in Oban, which runs from 9 – 17 October. We will have a stand in the Corran Halls Marquee from 12 – 16 October.  Come along to meet staff and hear about our collections.

On Tuesday 13 October we will give a presentation about our Gaelic collections, launch the Library’s new online Gaelic rare books resource, and explain how we build modern Gaelic and local collections.   This is a free drop-in event and will take place from 6:00 -7:00 pm at the Great Western Hotel, Oban.

On Wednesday 14 October, we will be running a Gaelic creative writing workshop, in partnership with Moniack Mhor, from 2:00 – 3.30 pm at The Library, Oban High School.   This workshop is a free event but spaces are limited so booking is essential: Book online or call: 0131 623 3734