Stromness, Orkney’s second biggest town, has a very good museum.

Due to Stromness’s seafaring past the museum has a bias towards polar exploration which these sculptures in bone reflect:-

There is also a large display of stuffed animals (mostly behind glass) but this turtle was above the door to the upstairs exhibition space:-

The background to one of the display cases was this illustration by Orkney painter Stanley Cursiter:-

Another of Orkney’s – indeed Stromness’s – favourite sons was the writer George Mckay Brown. The museum houses his Chair:-

There’s less than a week left of the “A New Era” Exhibition at the Modern Two Gallery of the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art.

I thought I’d post more of the delights to be found there.

The Sensation of Crossing the Street by Stanley Cursiter:-

Heavy Structures in a Landscape Setting by William McCance:-

Cartwheels by Eric Robertson:-

Women Singing at a Table by Keith Henderson (reminiscent of his “The Harbour Crowd” at that earlier exhibition):-

After the Storm Loch Tay by William McTaggart:-

Das Schloss by Thomas Nigel McIsaac:-

Orchestral: Study in Radiation by William Watson Peploe:-

The same artist’s Souvenir de triangle rouge:-

Untitled (aquarium) a sculpture by William Turnbull:-

The identically titled painting is an odd experience. You can almost see the fish moving:-

We’ve been to the New Era exhibition of Scottish Modern Art 1900-1950 at the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art (Modern Two.)

It’s not quite as good as the previous exhibition True to Life (for which I see some of the links to the paintings are no longer working) but there is still some good stuff there.

More so in the first two galleries. The pictures became darker both in tone and appearance as the galleries wore on.

Stanley Cursiter’s “The Regatta” is particularly striking with its bold slabs of colour:-

Cursiter’s “Rain on Princes Street”:-

J D Fergusson is more usually reckoned a colourist but though not an official war artist he was allowed to paint Portsmouth Docks during the Great War.

Another evocation of war is in Eric Robertson’s “Shellburst”:-

So too does Keith Henderson’s “Camouflage Hangars and Gas Gong”:-

The caption for Edward Baird’s “Unidentified Aircraft over Montrose” is odd as it says the bridge at the lower left has since been replaced by a suspension bridge but the one depicted is clearly exactly of that type:-

William McCance’s “Study for a Colossal Steel Head” is very modernistic:-

Stromness (the name is derived from the Norse Straumsnes [headland protruding into the tidal stream]) is Orkney’s second biggest town but that doesn’t mean it’s big. It has just under 2,200 residents.

It has a brilliant Art Gallery called the Pier Arts Centre with several works by Barbara Hepworth, Ben Nicholson and Stanley Cursiter among others. Well worth a visit – and it’s free.

Stromness Museum does have an entry charge but the ticket gives you entry for a week. It is also interesting with exhibits covering Stromness’s sailing hostory and from the Grand Scuttle of 1919 but also many examples of stuffed animals etc that may nowadays be frowned upon.

Here’s a view I took of North Stromness from the hills above:-

In this one most of the town is hidden under the brow of the hill but part of the harbour can be seen with Scapa Flow in the background beyond:-

Both in the previous photo and the one below of Stromness from the south the Northlink Ferries ship ferry Hamnavoe can be seen docked at the terminal. (The picture on the link is no longer accurate. The ferry company has a newer livery now.) Quite often when we walked down into the town along by the harbour the Hamnavoe would be there. Hamnavoe is an old name for Stromness, meaning peaceful harbour.

Looking south from Stromness, Scapa Flow in left distance:-

The High Street and those leading off it are very narrow. High Street:-

This one is quite cheekily named Khyber Pass:-