Point de Granville, Normandie (oil on card)

A variety of approaches is evident in Fergusson's early seascapes. This painting, the smallest in the collection, is distinguished by the miniaturist treatment that has replaced Fergusson's characteristically broad brushwork and sensuous handling of the medium. Transparent glazes of oil, built up in layers form horizontal bands of sand, sky and sea. Over this arrangement Fergusson has added figures painted delicately, using fine brushes to pick out minute details. Even the buildings and sails of a distant port are suggested in the background. On his death in 1961 Fergusson left the largest collection of his works in existence to his partner, Margaret Morris (1891-1980). In 1963 she established the JD Fergusson Art Foundation, who subsequently gifted the entire collection, archive and copyright to Perth and Kinross District Council in November 1991.