A new exhibition – inspired by an Edwardian masterpiece – will open at Aberdeen Art Gallery today.
Portrait of the Artist and his Wife was painted in 1910 by Aberdeen artist John Macdonald Aiken.
The full-length oil on canvas shows the grandeur and fashion of the period, which is further revealed in the exhibition The Lady and the Vamp: Women’s Wardrobes and World War I.
The display, which features extravagant Edwardian costumes alongside later outfits explores the changing image of women and their dress before and after the war.
Olga Ferguson, fine art curator at Aberdeen Art Gallery and Museums, said: “This superb portrait is a masterpiece by Aberdeen artist John Macdonald Aiken and it’s thanks to generous support from a number of funding bodies that we have been able to purchase this important work and bring it back to the city from which it originated.
“It forms the centrepiece of a new display which explores the changing social status and costume of women before and after the Great War.”
Mr Macdonald Aiken was born in Aberdeen in 1880 and studied at the city’s Gray’s School of Art, the Royal College of Art in London, and in Florence.
He was the head of Gray’s between 1911 and 1914 before serving in WWI, and he became a full-time painter after the war.
Stephen Deuchar, director of the Art Fund, who helped purchase the product, said: “This is a wonderful work by a major Scottish portrait painter of the early 20th century, which we are delighted to support.
“The work is well suited to Aberdeen Art Gallery’s collection and will make a fine centrepiece within its permanent displays.”
The portrait was purchased in February, and also received assistance from the National Fund for Acquisitions, Friends of Aberdeen Art Gallery and Museums, Pilgrim Trust and with income from the Webster Bequest.