The Gallery presents a collection of paintings and works on paper by William Johnstone (1897-1981), one of Scotland’s first abstract painters of the 20th century and outstanding art educator of the post-war era. Included is a core collection of paintings and works on paper which belonged to Dr Moira Simmons MA, PhD, FSAScot (1928 – 2022) who was a collector of contemporary Scottish Artists from the late 1970s – 1990s, around the time she founded the Ancrum Gallery near Jedburgh in the Scottish Borders.
William Johnstone is regarded as one of the most enigmatic and mysterious of 20th century painters, whose pioneering art always commands attention and defies any easy categorisation. At heart, he was a celtic mystic whose work draws on his deep emotional and physical connection with the rolling landscape of the Borders.
