2 - Westruther Parish Church, Scottish Borders

It is at Westruther Parish Church in the Scottish Borders where we again see examples of the two artists previously mentioned with both of them being from an earlier period in each artist’s career. The more artistically significant is the Alf Webster window dating from c.1910. Here, the whole image is imbued with an Irish / Celtic ambient glow of an almost mythological light and atmosphere. My attention is drawn to a possible connection between Scottish west coast artworks and Irish artworks developing simultaneously during the period.

In this window Webster’s composition appears as being compositionally ‘stacked’ with the figure above re-enforcing a vertical intent. Some may say that the inevitable verticality of a window space may deem this as normal in any case, but nevertheless this particular configuration can appear as a descending motion towards us and as such a bit unusual. It is certainly quite striking and might reasonably contain echoes of a ground-breaking artwork which had just appeared in Glasgow around that time. At any rate Webster would be aware of a new painting: “The Druids: Bringing in the Mistletoe” (1890) by George Henry and E A Hornel, two of the influential group of painters called the Glasgow Boys. They both worked on this painting together which can be seen at the Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum in Glasgow. The painting shows a group of figures in vertical procession descending towards the viewer and gathered fame, being considered as quite a novel form of composition, noted also for its distinctive mood and atmosphere. The painting has decorative elements added to it as a surface embellishment with gold leaf being used in parts. An early awakening perhaps of a developing European focus on surface qualities of design and texture.

Bearing such possible confluency in mind, I can detect in the window instances which might have been the forerunner of a decorative style engaged by the Irish artist Harry Clarke. The Kelvingrove Gallery has recently added a Harry Clarke window to its collection which I feel looks a bit sad and lonesome, lacking in good company perhaps, its graphic mannerism and colourful flamboyance under-exploited. The possible tripartite connection has not been formally advanced and remains merely a personal notion.

The figured window, a very early Douglas Strachan here dates from his Aberdeen origins when he worked for the commercial glazing firm of James Garvie and Sons. Here we see heavy commercial leaded glass work with figures, the brown suppressive modelling of which would carry on in the work of his brother Alex. Douglas had travelled south taking up work as a black and white graphic artist and a cartoonist on a Manchester newspaper where we can probably trace his great tonal strength and compositional power. He was invited to set up a new course in Design and Craft subjects at the Edinburgh College of Art (ECA). Leaving his brother in charge of the stained glass course Douglas left, committing his attention to completing a set of four windows for the Peace Palace at the Hague (1911) and thereafter on to a celebrated career as Scotland’s most notable stained glass artist of the 20th century.

The other window in the church dates around the late 1960’s or early 1970’s. The artist remains unknown but this is a window which comes from the stable of ECA.