* WILLIAM JOHNSTONE OBE (SCOTTISH 1897 - 1981), UNTITLED 2

ink on paper, initialled, titled labels verso framed and under glass image size 77cm x 56cm, overall size 80cm x 60cm Exhibition label verso: William Johnstone: The Inner Eye, 30 September - 24 October 2020, The Scottish Gallery, Edinburgh. Note: William Johnstone was at the forefront of the British art world throughout the twentieth century. He became one of the first British artists to break with representation and paint purely abstract pictures; he also had evolutionary impact on art education. He was Principal at Camberwell College of Art from 1938- 1946 and then Principal at Central School of Arts and Crafts from 1947 to 1960. He developed the Basic Design course which stemmed from the Bauhaus and his instinct to defy convention and his eye for talented staff made Central a tour de force. Alan Davie, Anton Ehrenzweig, Patrick Heron, Earl Haig, John Minton, Eduardo Paolozzi, Victor Pasmore, Gordon Baldwin, William Turnbull all worked for him – which made for an explosive, creative mixture of artistic personalities. He received an OBE for his contribution to art education in 1954 then returned home to the Borders in 1960 to concentrate on painting and return to farming.