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CRAIGIE AITCHISON, R.A. (BRITISH, 1926-2009)

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CRAIGIE AITCHISON, R.A. (BRITISH, 1926-2009)
Isle of Arran
oil on canvas
90 x 120 cm. (35 3/8 x 47 1/4 in.)

Provenance
Purchased directly from the artist by the family of the present owner in 1995
Private Collection, U.K.

ARR

The Isle of Arran, located off the West Coast of Scotland, in the Firth of Clyde, has long-held the attention of the creatives, having a special aura, with mythologies and stories spanning centuries. The isle was home to many areas of neolithic cairns and burial sites, with a larger site described as Giant’s Graves overlooking Whitling Bay. It was heavily mined for materials during the Bronze and Iron Ages with evidence of it’s export found all over Britain. The isle would later fall under the rule of Magnus III of Norway (or Magnus Barefoot as he was known) in 1103 but it was not until 1237 that the entirety of the Scottish isles gained independence after the Battle of Largs fought between Scotland and Norway which effectively ended the 500 year history of Norwegian invasions. Large Viking graves have been discovered in places on the isles which also King’s Cave, where Robert Bruce was thought to have sheltered circa 1306.

Aitchison was fascinated with the isle, having spent much of his childhood on the Isle of Arran, he would paint many of his earlier works from photographs of these trips. He would return later, after his extensive travels throughout Italy, in 1970, to scatter his mother’s ashes to lie alongside his father’s. The isle of Arran clearly had a meaningful and profound effect on the artist, as a place of immense historic value, with deep-routed Celtic and religious connotations and one of peace and serenity. The pyramid-like peak of the isle was a symbol used much throughout his career and similar shapes would later find their way into crucifixion and other paintings.

Arran of the many stags
The sea strikes against her shoulders,
Companies of men can feed there,
Blue spears are reddened among her boulders.

Merry hinds are on her hills,
Juicy berries are there for food,
Refreshing water in her streams,
Nuts in plenty in the wood.

(13th century Irish poem Acallam na Senórach)

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[ translate ]

CRAIGIE AITCHISON, R.A. (BRITISH, 1926-2009)
Isle of Arran
oil on canvas
90 x 120 cm. (35 3/8 x 47 1/4 in.)

Provenance
Purchased directly from the artist by the family of the present owner in 1995
Private Collection, U.K.

ARR

The Isle of Arran, located off the West Coast of Scotland, in the Firth of Clyde, has long-held the attention of the creatives, having a special aura, with mythologies and stories spanning centuries. The isle was home to many areas of neolithic cairns and burial sites, with a larger site described as Giant’s Graves overlooking Whitling Bay. It was heavily mined for materials during the Bronze and Iron Ages with evidence of it’s export found all over Britain. The isle would later fall under the rule of Magnus III of Norway (or Magnus Barefoot as he was known) in 1103 but it was not until 1237 that the entirety of the Scottish isles gained independence after the Battle of Largs fought between Scotland and Norway which effectively ended the 500 year history of Norwegian invasions. Large Viking graves have been discovered in places on the isles which also King’s Cave, where Robert Bruce was thought to have sheltered circa 1306.

Aitchison was fascinated with the isle, having spent much of his childhood on the Isle of Arran, he would paint many of his earlier works from photographs of these trips. He would return later, after his extensive travels throughout Italy, in 1970, to scatter his mother’s ashes to lie alongside his father’s. The isle of Arran clearly had a meaningful and profound effect on the artist, as a place of immense historic value, with deep-routed Celtic and religious connotations and one of peace and serenity. The pyramid-like peak of the isle was a symbol used much throughout his career and similar shapes would later find their way into crucifixion and other paintings.

Arran of the many stags
The sea strikes against her shoulders,
Companies of men can feed there,
Blue spears are reddened among her boulders.

Merry hinds are on her hills,
Juicy berries are there for food,
Refreshing water in her streams,
Nuts in plenty in the wood.

(13th century Irish poem Acallam na Senórach)

[ translate ]
Sale price
Unlock
Estimate
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Time, Location
13 Dec 2022
United Kingdom
Auction House
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