The life and work of a late Helensburgh artist will be celebrated in an exhibition marking her 100th birthday next month.
Ailsa Tanner, who passed away in 2002, was well-known in the community for her artistic talent. A collection of her artwork is to be shown in Helensburgh Library between June 3 and July 1.
The Anderson Trust Local Collection – of which Ailsa was a founding member - has contributed nine of her paintings for the exhibition.
Trustee Mary-Jane Selwood said: “Many will remember Ailsa as a friend and as an artist but for those who regret not knowing her this exhibition offers a unique opportunity of understanding her through her work, which, I suspect, is the way in which she would have wished to be remembered.
“Nine paintings on display from the Anderson Trust Local Collection form the nucleus of this exhibition, splendidly augmented thanks to loans from private collectors.
“Together they help to demonstrate the scope of Ailsa’s interests – landscape, flowers, portraits – and her distinctive bold style and joyous use of colour which defies classification.
“Ailsa Tanner was a trustee of the Anderson Trust when it was established in 1980 on the death of its donor, Nance Anderson.
“Her wide knowledge and meticulous scholarship helped to establish and maintain this collection of paintings as a valuable resource for Helensburgh.”
Born in Kilmarnock and spending much of her childhood in Shanghai, Ailsa completed double degree course from Edinburgh University and Edinburgh College of Art and earned a job in the Fine Art department of Kelvingrove Museum.
She came to Helensburgh in 1956 after she married her husband, Philip Tanner, where she settled and had three children.
She continued to work in the art field, taking on a role as a curator and creating exhibitions of work from forgotten and overlooked artists from the early 1900s, whilst also continuing to paint.
Nature and landscapes painted in a bold and colourful manner were a trademark of Ailsa’s art style.
Her daughter Bridget said: “She loved the honest disorder and clutter of real life - piles of fishing nets, working fishing ports, old boats decaying gracefully, washing lines, agricultural machinery - not the modern picture-perfect urbanisation.
“Her flowers and trees were never prinked but had a natural wonkiness.
“And the weather was always central to her paintings and her train of thought!”
The exhibition is available to be viewed during the library’s opening times from 9.30am to 4.30pm on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, 9.30am to 6.30pm on Thursdays, and 9am to 1pm on Fridays and Saturdays.
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