Margot Sandeman (27 May 1922 – 17 January 2009) was a Scottish painter, close friend of Joan Eardley and long-time collaborator with poet

Ian Hamilton Finlay Ian Hamilton Finlay (28 October 1925 – 27 March 2006) was a Scottish poet, writer, artist and gardener. Life Finlay was born in Nassau, Bahamas, to James Hamilton Finlay and his wife, Annie Pettigrew, both of Scots descent. He was educa ...

. She was known for her paintings of West Coast Scottish landscapes, rural settings, interiors and still lives.

Early life

Margot Sandeman was born in

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

to a family of Scottish artists, the daughter of self-taught watercolourist Archibald Sandeman (1887–1941), and internationally known embroiderer

Muriel Boyd Muriel may refer to: Places *Muriel de Zapardiel, a municipality in the province of Valladolid, Spain *Muriel, Zimbabwe, a settlement *Muriel Lake, British Columbia, Canada *Muriel Lake (Alberta), Canada *Muriel Peak, a summit in California Peopl ...

(1887–1981). Sandeman grew up in

Bearsden Bearsden ( ) is a town in East Dunbartonshire, Scotland, on the northwestern fringe of Greater Glasgow, approximately from the Glasgow city centre, city centre. The Roman Empire, Roman Antonine Wall runs through the town, and the remains of ...

in a creative household, influenced by

William Morris William Morris (24 March 1834 – 3 October 1896) was an English textile designer, poet, artist, writer, and socialist activist associated with the British Arts and Crafts movement. He was a major contributor to the revival of traditiona ...

and the

Arts and Crafts The Arts and Crafts movement was an international trend in the Decorative arts, decorative and fine arts that developed earliest and most fully in the British Isles and subsequently spread across the British Empire and to the rest of Europe and ...

movement. The family home was decorated by her mother with texts such as "Bread feeds the body but flowers the soul".

Studies

Sandeman studied at the

Glasgow School of Art The Glasgow School of Art (GSA; ) is a higher education art school based in Glasgow, Scotland, offering undergraduate degrees, post-graduate awards (both taught and research-led), and PhDs in architecture, fine art, and design. These are all awa ...

, where her contemporaries included Joan Eardley and the poet

. Sandeman was already a confident painter when she began art school and, like Eardley, one of a small group selected for special training by the head of drawing and painting,

Hugh Adam Crawford Hugh Adam Crawford, (28 October 1898 – 1982), was a Scottish artist and oil painter, mostly of portraits and figures, who was an influential and charismatic figure in the 1930s Glasgow art scene. During a long teaching career, Crawford influ ...

. Both artists flourished under his experimental fast-track treatment. Crawford commented on "the inner structure

f Sandeman's paintings F, or f, is the sixth letter of the Latin alphabet and many modern alphabets influenced by it, including the modern English alphabet and the alphabets of all other modern western European languages. Its name in English is ''ef'' (pronounce ...

which is not an optical thing."

Relationship with Joan Eardley

Sandeman and Eardley met for the first time at Glasgow School of Art and became close friends.

''"We were very shy of each other for about a year," Sandeman remembers. "But Joan's mother and my mother enticed us to do a Red Cross course together. We started having to bandage each other, that broke the ice! After that we became tremendously great friends."''

Both lived in

and, although their styles were very different, they encouraged and supported each other, drew and painted together, and shared camping trips and family holidays. In 1941, as students, Sandeman and Eardley acquired a horse and caravan and travelled, sketched and painted around

Loch Lomond Loch Lomond (; ) is a freshwater Scottish loch which crosses the Highland Boundary Fault (HBF), often considered the boundary between the lowlands of Central Scotland and the Highlands.Tom Weir. ''The Scottish Lochs''. pp. 33-43. Published by ...

. For many years, the two women regularly visited High Corrie on the

Isle of Arran The Isle of Arran (; ) or simply Arran is an island off the west coast of Scotland. It is the largest island in the Firth of Clyde and the seventh-largest Scottish island, at . Counties of Scotland, Historically part of Buteshire, it is in the ...

, renting an outhouse, "The Tabarnacle", as a studio. In a review of a 1940s

Society of Scottish Artists The Society of Scottish Artists is a Scottish artist-run organisation which seeks to ''promote and encourage experimentation and the "adventurous spirit" in Scottish art.'' It was founded in 1891 by Patrick Geddes, William Gordon Burn Murdoch and ...

exhibition, a ''

Scotsman Scottish people or Scots (; ) are an ethnic group and nation native to Scotland. Historically, they emerged in the early Middle Ages from an amalgamation of two Celtic peoples, the Picts and Gaels, who founded the Kingdom of Scotland (o ...

'' art critic said,

''"Miss Joan Eardley and Miss Margot Sandeman more than maintain the exciting promise of their first appearances ��Both are quite fearless and convinced exponents of highly individual outlooks."''

Work

Sandeman graduated from

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

and in 1942 was sent to

Bletchley Park Bletchley Park is an English country house and Bletchley Park estate, estate in Bletchley, Milton Keynes (Buckinghamshire), that became the principal centre of Allies of World War II, Allied World War II cryptography, code-breaking during the S ...

, where she worked for six months as a code-breaker. After leaving Bletchley to care for her mother, Sandeman took a studio in Glasgow. Her first work there was a series of vivid still-lives while, for paid employment, she painted antique effects on lampshades. In 1946 she married the teacher, potter and ceramic artist

James Robson James Robson may refer to: *James Robson (academic) (born 1965), professor of Chinese Buddhism and Daoism at Harvard University * James Robson (bookseller) (1733–1806), English printer and bookseller * James Robson (doctor), team doctor for the S ...

, with whom she had two sons. Prolific and wide-ranging, Sandeman worked in the open air, in the studio, and from memory, creating unique interpretations of West Coast Scottish landscapes, rural settings, interiors and still lives. She collaborated regularly with poet Ian Hamilton Finlay. In later life Sandeman's range and output continued to increase, including a notable suite of paintings in celebration of Scottish dramatist and poet

Robert McLellan Robert McLellan OBE (1907–1985) was a Scottish Renaissance dramatist, writer and poet and a leading figure in the twentieth century movement to recover Scotland’s distinctive theatrical traditions. He found popular success with plays and ...

, a neighbour in High Corrie.

Exhibitions and awards

Sandeman exhibited at

The Royal Scottish Academy The Royal Scottish Academy (RSA) is the country's national academy of art. It promotes contemporary Scottish art. The Academy was founded in 1826 by eleven artists meeting in Edinburgh. Originally named the Scottish Academy, it became the Ro ...

from 1946-1972, Cyril Gerber Fine Art, Compass Gallery, the Hughson Gallery, Glasgow, the

Talbot Rice Gallery Talbot Rice Gallery is the public art gallery of the University of Edinburgh in Scotland and part of Edinburgh College of Art. The building has three exhibition spaces, including a contemporary white cube gallery and a neoclassical space that w ...

, Edinburgh, and the Lillie Art Gallery, Glasgow. Her principal solo exhibitions were at the Richard Demarco Gallery, Edinburgh from 1974 onwards. In 1964 Sandeman won the Guthrie Award of the

Royal Scottish Academy The Royal Scottish Academy (RSA) is the country's national academy of art. It promotes contemporary art, contemporary Scottish art. The Academy was founded in 1826 by eleven artists meeting in Edinburgh. Originally named the Scottish Academy ...

and in 1970, the Redpath Award from the

. She also received a

Scottish Arts Council The Scottish Arts Council (), was a Scottish public body responsible for the funding, development and promotion of the arts in Scotland. The Council primarily distributed funding from the Scottish Government as well as National Lottery funds ...

award in 1970. In 1989 she was Scottish winner in the Laing Competition.

Collections

Sandeman's work is included in the permanent collection of the

National Galleries of Scotland The National Galleries of Scotland (, sometimes also known as National Galleries Scotland) is the executive non-departmental public body that controls the three national galleries of Scotland and two partner galleries, forming one of the Nation ...

University of Stirling The University of Stirling (abbreviated as Stir or Shruiglea, in post-nominals; ) is a public university in Stirling, Scotland, founded by a royal charter in 1967. It is located in the Central Belt of Scotland, built within the walled Airth ...

, the Glasgow Life Museums, the Fleming Collection, among others.

References

External links

*
Modern Scottish Women - uncovering a vital period in art history

"Barges" by Ian Hamilton Finlay, illustrated by Margot Sandeman
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sandeman, Margot 1922 births 2009 deaths 20th-century Scottish women artists 21st-century Scottish women artists Alumni of the Glasgow School of Art Painters from Glasgow Bletchley Park people Bletchley Park women British landscape painters 20th-century Scottish women painters Guthrie Award winners