Stella Crawford - Fitting Out at St Abb's

Stella Crawford (1921–1991) - Fitting Out at St Abb's
An atmospheric acrylic on board by the Scottish artist Stella Crawford (1921–1991), depicting fishing boats and harbour buildings at St Abbs on the Berwickshire coast. Signed at the lower right and retaining extensive biographical and exhibition information to the reverse, together with an original artist’s label giving the title Fitting Out at St Abb's.

A working fishing boat dominates the foreground, pulled alongside the harbour wall with its mast, ropes and rigging cutting across the composition. Two figures attend to equipment on the quayside at the left, while the distinctive whitewashed and stone buildings of the harbour rise behind. The title refers to the process of preparing or equipping a vessel for service, giving the scene a particularly strong connection to the working life of St Abbs rather than presenting the harbour simply as a picturesque coastal view.

Crawford handles the scene with considerable freedom. Broad passages of muted grey, green and blue establish the cool coastal atmosphere, enlivened by flashes of ochre, orange and rust across the boat, roofs and foreground. Loosely worked passages of acrylic, dry brushwork and broken colour give the harbour surface considerable texture, while the pale rigging provides a strong linear structure across the composition.

Stella Crawford, née Meredith, was born in 1921 and undertook part-time studies at both Gray’s School of Art in Aberdeen and Glasgow School of Art. Based in Stirling, she exhibited extensively during the 1980s with a number of important Scottish exhibiting bodies and institutions.

The exhibition résumé retained to the reverse records appearances at the Smith Biennial in 1981 and 1983, the Scottish Society of Women Artists throughout the 1980s, the Royal Glasgow Institute in 1986 and 1987, and exhibitions of the Royal Scottish Society of Painters in Watercolour. It also records exhibitions with Central Arts and the Scottish Artists and Artist Craftsmen. Crawford died in 1991.

The Scottish Society of Women Artists, with which Crawford exhibited repeatedly, later developed into what is now Visual Arts Scotland. Her participation in exhibitions associated with the Royal Glasgow Institute and RSW places her within the active Scottish exhibiting community of the period, despite her work now being comparatively little documented on the secondary market.

The painting retains an especially interesting group of labels and documents to the reverse. Alongside Crawford’s exhibition history is an address label identifying her at 12A Gladstone Place, Stirling, and the original typed label recording the title Fitting Out at St Abb's.

Presented in a narrow silver-toned frame.

A particularly appealing Scottish coastal painting combining the character of a working fishing harbour with Crawford’s loose, expressive handling of colour and atmosphere, enhanced by unusually extensive artist and exhibition documentation to the reverse.

Artist: Stella Crawford (née Meredith)
Title: Fitting Out at St Abb's
Date: Circa 1980s–early 1990s
Medium: Acrylic on board
Signed: Signed lower right
Unframed size: 50cm x 60cm
Framed size: 53cm x 63cm
Provenance / Labels: Original artist’s title and price label, Stirling address label and exhibition résumé retained to the reverse
Condition: Good vintage condition overall. Some minor age-related surface wear and marks are visible, consistent with age. The narrow silver-toned frame shows some light surface wear and small marks.