EDINBURGH.- The Fine Art Society in Edinburgh presents Annie Kevans: Selected Portraits. This exhibition marks the first time that Kevans’ work has been exhibited in Scotland. Works from Kevan’s series The Muses of Jean Paul Gaultier are available to purchase for the first time, having previously been on display at the Barbican Art Gallery, Le Grand Palais, and the National Gallery of Victoria.

Kevan’s paintings reflect our distorted perceptions of figures in the public eye. Her works examine the duality of truth and falsehood by creating 'portraits' which may or may not be based on real documentation. She believes that a person’s identity is not preset, but is a shifting temporary construction and her work questions our view on history and perceptions of what is the truth. The subjects of these series include overlooked female artists, the mistresses of American presidents, and iconic figures whose struggles with mental illness and addiction came under public scrutiny. The entirety of Boys, her BA Degree Show series at Central Saint Martin’s School of Art & Design in 2004, was purchased by collector Charles Saatchi.

Works from the following series are available to purchase: Ship of Fools, WAMPAS Baby Stars, All the Presidents’ Girls, All About Eve, Women and the History of Art, and The Muses of Jean Paul Gaultier.

Re-Awakenings: Scottish paintings after the War 1945-1990 & mid-20th century furniture, lighting and design
This year, The Fine Art Society in Edinburgh’s Festival exhibition celebrates art and design in the years that followed the end of the Second World War. Alongside Scottish paintings dating between 1945 and 1990, the Fine Art Society includes a selection of European mid-20th century furniture, lightning and design presented by Edinburgh based business Lair.

In the wake of the Second World War, Scottish artists saw the avant-garde developments in European and American art, and sought a new beginning, or reawakening, for Scottish art and design. These changes to the aesthetic and emotive qualities of their work would have a lasting impact, influencing the work of subsequent generations of artists.

On show are works by James Cowie, Anne Redpath, Sir William Gillies, father and son Talbert and John McLean, Ian Fleming, Robert Macbryde, Robert Colquhoun, Alberto Morrocco, Oscar Marzaroli, John McLean, and John Byrne.

To accompany the exhibition, The Fine Art Society in Edinburgh includes a collection of primarily Italian and Scandinavian mid-20th century furniture, lighting and design from Edinburgh-based Lair. These works place innovations in Scottish art within the context of wider aesthetic trends that took hold throughout Europe during this period.

Lair specialises in showcasing the craftsmanship and beauty of mid-20th century furniture and interior design. Xanthe Weir, founder of Lair, moved to Edinburgh after working in London’s fashion industry, and seeks to reveal both the form and functionality of the objects she selects.