William Littlejohn
Royal Scottish Academy (RSA)
Edinburgh, Scotland
01 November – 14 December 2008

by Rea Cris

Born in 1929 in Arbroath and decreased in 2006, this is a retrospective of one of Scotland’s unsung artists. Before his death, Littlejohn left the entire contents of his studio to the Royal Scottish Academy (RSA), and some of the items are on show as part of an exhibition with a rich array of oils, watercolours and prints. Objects on display from his studio include bits of ropes tied into intricate and decomposing knots, a splattered postcard, a print of Bonnard, book on Japanese spoons and ladles.

Littlejohn is a master at the still life style and what can only be deemed as ‘gentle’ abstraction. His interest and influences are easily pinpointed and orbit around life in the North East of Scotland and Japanese aesthetics. In 1984 he was awarded a RSA Gillies Award to travel to Japan, a trip whose influence is evident therein in his art. Littlejohn creates a new aesthetic by marrying the composed and controlled Japanese aesthetics to the earthen-coloured abstract quality of Jacques Braque.

There is something very neat and meticulous about Littlejohn’s work. It is composed and organized without compromising on the serene tone they radiate. He posses an amazing sense of colour coordination. There is a sweetness of colour, without being sickly. The colours like the composition are soft and subtle. He seems to pick up on effortless combinations of colours, shapes and even words. What delight there is in the title of “Moon, Mirror, Moth”.

Littlejohn did not diversify much; he returns to the same subjects and uses the same objects repeatedly. But rather than doing so for commercial reasons, it seems more like analytical ponderings. His paintings might have been a life-long meditation for him. Unlike some artists who are both prolific and changing, Littlejohn seems to have been prolific but constant. Some of the recurring objects that crop up are: fishes, mirrors, clocks, ladles and snakes. There are recurring colours as well, as his palette does not change drastically throughout his career; browns, pinks, terracotta.

Some works to look out for especially are: “Still Life with Chinese Cockerel” (1974), “Serpent and Mirror” (1986). There is a danger that the exhibition becomes a bit repetitive, but many works are available for purchase and on a whole, Littlejohn is a true Scottish gem to discover.

http://www.nationalgalleries.org/