EDINBURGH.- An original painting by Joseph Farquharson, valued between £80,000 and £120,000 headed back to the family estate of Finzean on Deeside to be reunited with the exact spot it was painted. 17 year old Izzy Farquharson, great grand niece of the artist, took the painting to the Forest of Birse, looking down the River Feugh towards the old Finzean Bucket Mill and house. The painting titled called 'Glowed with tints of evening's hour' will be sold by
Lyon & Turnbull on the 4th June 2015 in Edinburgh at their Sale of Scottish Paintings.
Izzy Farqharson said I have always loved his paintings and I know most of the spots in the area where he painted them. It is amazing to have the actual painting here in the exact place that he painted it. It has changed quite a lot, but you can still see the road, sawmill and cottage in the distance. I believe the title Glowed with tints of evening hour is a quote from Sir Walter Scott.
Farquharson combined a career as a painter with his inherited role as laird of Finzean. His father, the 10th laird, was a doctor with an Edinburgh practice, and a competent amateur artist who encouraged Joseph. Much of his childhood was spent at Finzean. He trained at the Royal Scottish Academy Life School and Trustees Academy, Edinburgh.
Nick Curnow Vice Chairman and Paintings Specialist at Lyon & Turnbull said "This painting is a beautiful example of the artists work. The watershed in his career was marked by three or four winters spent from 1880 onwards in Paris in the studio of Carolus-Duran. An admirer of Velázquez, Carolus-Duran taught his students to use the brush straight away and think in terms of form and colour. As a result Farquharsons work was always characterized by richly handled paint".
At Finzean he adapted French plein-air techniques to the Scottish climate. He designed a painting hut on wheels, fitted with large windows and a stove. From this hut he painted the great wooded landscapes surrounding the estate on which his reputation rested. Nick Curnow expalined "He frequently asked an employee on the estate to pose as a shepherd in his painting. On one memorable day Farquharson asked if he was getting cold, although blue with cold the hapless model declined letting Farquharson finish the painting.
He exhibited his paintings at the Royal Scottish Academy, Edinburgh, the Royal Academy and the Royal Institution, London.