"I chose the John Singer Sargent painting of Lady Agnew (1892) as it has always been a favourite of mine.
It was a painting I had always admired in the National Galleries for so long. I didn’t go as far as having the fridge magnet, but my mum had the tea towel!! I adored everything about it. I think it must be one of the most popular paintings in the collection.
Here was this stunningly beautiful lady, only 27 I believe and recovering from influenza. Seated in a Bergère chair with a blue Chinese cloth behind, Gertrude Agnew languidly draped herself into this pose and looks out from the canvas. Those eyes are quite amazing, and she seems quite still and unselfconscious of her beauty.
As for the painting, it must have been one of Sargent’s best. It was certainly famous then.
I loved painting the luminous white silk dress with the lilac sash. It was an exciting painting from the tonal point of view. I decided to make my interpretation in watercolour and gouache, as opposed to oil paints: I saw it as a challenge, to see if I could work the watercolour in a similar way to the oils. It taught me so much. I wish we saw more paintings like that today. A romantic era!" Ann Oram
Ann Oram trained at Edinburgh College of Art (ECA). After her post-graduate year and Andrew Grant Scholarship to France and Italy, Ann returned to ECA to lecture in the Painting school.
Ann has spent many years living and working abroad and the inspiration she gets from her travels helps to keep her work fresh and vibrant. During the 1980s, she spent many years living in southern Spain and, more recently, Ann has returned from a long spell in Vienna, Austria. The Austrian journey adventure also allowed her to work in Switzerland, the Czech Republic, Italy and Hungary. Ann exhibits widely throughout the UK, including London, Oxfordshire, Newcastle and Edinburgh. Her work is included in many private and corporate collections throughout the world.
CV
Born in London in 1956.
1976-82 Studied at Edinburgh College of Art
1983-85 Part-time lecturer, Edinburgh College of Art
1986 Elected to RSW (Royal Scottish Society of Painters in Watercolour)
1987-88 Lived and painted in Spain
1988 Visiting lecturer, University of Northumbria
1991-93 Part-time lecturer, Edinburgh College of Art
Is married to David Cemery and has one son, Andrew.
2006-2007, lived and painted in Vienna, Austria. Visited and worked in Switzerland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Italy and Hungary.
Paints full time, except when running the Art School with her husband.
Awards
1980 Carnegie Travelling Scholarship, Royal Scottish Academ Student Exhibition
1981 Andrrew Grant Travelling Scholarship to New York
1981 Largo Award, Edinburgh College of Art
1981-82 Andrew Grant Major Award. Travelled to France and Italy
1991 May Marshall Brown Award (RSW)
1998 William Gillies Award (RSW)
Group Exhibitions Since 1985
The Scottish Gallery, Edinburgh
Macaulay Gallery Stenton
Thackeray Gallery, London
Corrymella Scott, Newcastle upon Tyne
Portland Gallery, London
Henshelwood Gallery, Newcastle upon Tyne
Roger Billcliffe, Glasgow
Falle Fine Art, Jersey
Richmond Hill Gallery, London
Corto & Nero Vienna
Galerie Wolfrum, Vienna
The Jerdan Gallery, Crail
Duncan Miller Fine Arts, London.
Lemon Street Gallery, Truro. The Edinburgh School.
Royal Glasgow Institute, R.S.A, RSW, R.A London.
Gullane Art Gallery
Islington Art Fair, 20/21st Royal College of Art, Glasgow Art Fair
Solo Exhibitions Since 1985
The Scottish Gallery 1985, 90, 93, 96, 2004, 2010
Macaulay Gallery, Stenton 1986, 88, 92
The Thackeray Gallery 1991, 93
Corrymella Scott, Newcastle 1996, 98, 2000, 03, 08
Henshelwood 2006
Portland Gallery 1995, 97, 99, 2005
Richmond Hill Gallery 2007
Corto& Nero, Vienna 2007
Lemon Street Gallery, Truro Journeys From Europe. 2008
Recent Group Shows
The Edinburgh Show, Lemon Street Gallery, Truro
RSW. RGI, R.A
Art Fair, Islington; 20/21st Art Fair, Royal College of Art; Affordable
Art; Glasgow Art Fair. Duncan Miller Fine Arts and Scottish Gallery.
Partridges, London (Scottish Gallery) Flower Show
Richmond Hill Gallery, Featured Artist, Summer Exhibition
Commissions
1999 Royal Bank of Scotland: Designed two tapestries for the Younger Building, Edinburgh. Unveiled by the Princess Royal.
Standard Life: Paintings of the Edinburgh International Festival Fireworks, and Princes Street Gardens, for their new Headquarters in Lothian Road.
Collections
Bank of Scotland; Britoil; Credit Lyonnais; Dundas and Wilson; Dunedin Fund Managers; Edinburgh University; Edinburgh Fund Managers; Ethicon; Heriott-Watt University; Northern General Hospital; Robert Fleming Holdings Ltd; Royal Bank of Scotland; Royal Bank of Scotland Singapore; Scottish Life; Scottish Provident; Scottish Widows; Shepherd and Wedderburn WS; Standard Life; Tysak and Partners.
Work in numerous Private Collections throughout Britain and Ireland, USA, Singapore, New Zealand, Spain, Austria and Holland
