JOHN DUNCAN FERGUSSON (1874-1961)

J D Fergusson moved to Paris in 1907, becoming an habitué of Montparnasse night spots such as the Café d'Harcourt, situated on the boulevard Saint-Michel, east of the Luxembourg Gardens. As Fergusson recalled, 'Well, I was in Paris, without money or rich relations ... but repeatedly encouraged by what someone has called "le bon air de Paris ...". Life was as it should be and I was very happy' (J.D. Fergusson, quoted in J. Geddes and M. Morris, Cafe Drawings in Edwardian Paris from the Sketch-Books of J.D. Fergusson, Glasgow, 1974, p. 8).

Fergusson was naturally gregarious and extroverted and he mixed freely with some of the leading figures of the French avant-garde such as Matisse, Derain and Delaunay. His openness and receptivity to new and diverse influences was to be crucial, and in common with these artists, Fergusson sought to explore and develop the properties of colour, volume and line – and to do so through the lens of contemporary Parisian life.