Perth Art Gallery today announced its summer exhibition The Scottish Colourists Revealed will open 3 April 2026. Advance tickets are now available for this exhibition, featuring artworks rarely seen in public from this legendary group of Scottish artists.
The exhibition brings together paintings by Samuel John Peploe, Francis Campbell Boileau Cadell, George Leslie Hunter and John Duncan Fergusson, collectively known as The Scottish Colourists. Drawing inspiration from their formative years in France, these four artists developed a bold, signature style although they never actually painted as a group and were only exhibited together on three occasions during their lifetimes.
Perth-based Aviva will loan masterpieces from its private collection to the city. These works were originally collected in the 1980s for General Accident, Aviva’s predecessor, who were founded in Perth in 1885. The display of the unseen paintings celebrates the historic connection between Aviva and Perth. Aviva will also be supporting a programme of learning and engagement throughout the exhibition run.
The Scottish Colourists Revealed features paintings from the collections cared for by Culture Perth and Kinross as well as loans from multiple exhibition lenders. Rarely-seen works by Peploe, Cadell and Hunter will be on loan from the National Trust for Scotland.
The exhibition features further masterworks from Dundee and Edinburgh Universities, the Hugo Burge Foundation and The Royal Scottish Academy (RSA). The RSA will be loaning works as part of its 200th anniversary celebrations. It is marking this occasion nationwide with RSA200: Celebrating Together. This partnership project will bring hundreds of artists, partners, galleries and institutions together across the nation, for an extraordinary year of exhibitions, events and performances.
Auctioneers Lyon & Turnbull have sponsored the exhibition in its bicentenary year.
Gavin Strang, Managing Director, Lyon & Turnbull auctioneers said, “We were founded in Edinburgh in 1826, the same year as the Royal Scottish Academy and we’re delighted to be sponsoring The Scottish Colourists Revealed as part of our bicentenary celebrations. 2026 also marks 100 years since we began to sell works by the Scottish Colourists. Bringing together so many of their beautiful paintings in public is a special occasion and we’re thrilled to help make it happen.”
Helen Smout, Chief Executive Officer at Culture Perth and Kinross said, “We are beyond thrilled to be hosting this exhibition on the Scottish Colourists. The four artists have such an enduring and long-lasting impact on Scottish art, and it is a joy to reveal some of their lesser seen works to a wider audience. We’re incredibly grateful to Lyon & Turnbull and Aviva for their support on this exhibition as well”.
The Scottish Colourists Revealed runs from Friday 3 April to Monday 26 October 2026. Admission is £6/£4.50 concessions. Culture Perth and Kinross Supporters and Under 16s go free. Discounts are available for Art Fund and Young Scot Members. Tickets are available now via the Culture Perth and Kinross website.