Breakers at Cullen
James Orr
c.1997 acrylic on board

The vitality of the landscapes by James Orr marks him out as a distinctively Scottish artist. Inspired and influenced by the work of the Glasgow Boys, Edward Seago and perhaps more obviously the Scottish Colourists Cadell and Peploe, James Orr depicts the simple pleasures in life through landscapes that are full of light, colour and immediacy. He paints in acrylic, which gives his paintings a distinguishing fluency. He was born in Glasgow and now lives in Ayrshire where he paints full-time, having studied part-time at Glasgow School of Art. He exhibits regularly in the annual RSA and RGI exhibitions, in a variety of London galleries and has held exhibitions abroad in New York, Hong Kong and Brussels. His work is held in the personal collections of the Duke of Edinburgh and Lord and Lady MacFarlane.

This painting was purchased by the College from the RGI’s exhibition in 1997 alongside another work, ‘Arisaig and Eigg’. These paintings work well as a pair, with both of them executed in a similar style. That year ‘Breakers at Cullen’ won the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons Award at the RGI.