The Edinburgh Reporter December 2021

Plaque unveiling in Roseburn Park
The Edinburgh Reporter
Message from
the Moderator
5
Lord Wallace
Engraved in memory
New plaque commemorating ‘Murrayfield’s Artist’ Charles H Mackie
By PHYLLIS STEPHEN
A NEW PLAQUE has been unveiled in
Roseburn Park commemorating the artist,
Charles H Mackie, RSA, RSW, who died in
Murrayfield in 1920. Mackie, the only Scottish
artist of that period who actually met French
artist, Gauguin and who was taken round his
studio was called “Murrayfield’s artist” by John
Yellowlees, Chair of Murrayfield Community
Council at a short ceremony in the park.
Inspired by the recent exhibition at the City
Art Centre, the community council provided
the plaque which is now sited on the northern
side of the shared path. Mackie rented a studio
on Murrayfield Road from 1896 on the bottom
floor of the old Roseburn Primary School. The
building was demolished by the council in the
1960s and replaced by a modern office building
and the plaque is on the opposite bank of the
Water of Leith directly opposite.
Dr Helen Scott, Curator at the City Art
Centre, and Pat Clark, author of the Mackie
biography unveiled the plaque, and are pictured
above with community councillors and a photo
of Mackie’s work, ‘There were Three Maidens
pu’d a Flower (By the Bonnie Banks o’ Fordie)’
c.1897, part of the City Art Centre collection.
Pat Clark, the self-declared “world authority”
on the artist, told The Edinburgh Reporter that
Mackie used to watch polo matches on the
pitches which now lie between the Water of
Leith and BT Murrayfield, and that he painted
the Pentlands from his deathbed in the house/
studio on the bank of the Water of Leith. Ms
Clark’s book about Mackie (‘People, Places and
Piazzas. The Life and Art of Charles H. Mackie’)
was a work which she explained was “many
years in the making”.
Pat said: “I went to Australia, I went to France
and I tried to follow in Charles Mackie’s
footsteps. I encountered his last living relatives
who live out in Melbourne, Australia, and I
tracked down many of his paintings although I
have to admit that some are lost to posterity.
“But many of the best paintings he ever
created were actually executed here in
Murrayfield. He was born in Aldershot where
his father was a serving soldier, and then
attended George Watson’s College in Edinburgh.
He made his home and studio here.
“He was a unique artist influenced by a group
of artists in France called Les Symbolistes. He
met Vuillard and brought the first Vuillard work
back to Scotland. His art grew out of his Scottish
roots, but it also reacted to the influences of the
Nabis in Paris. They in turn had been influenced
by Gauguin. Charles Mackie is the only Scottish
artist of that period who actually met Gauguin
and who was taken round his studio.”
Mackie is buried in Warriston Cemetery. In
the 1890s he was commissioned by Patrick
Geddes to produce murals for Ramsay Garden
in Edinburgh’s Old Town, as well as illustrations
for the pioneering journal The Evergreen.
Despite his many achievements, he has always
been treated as a peripheral figure in the story of
Scottish art. As a mature artist, Mackie worked
with an impressive range of media, not only
producing oil paintings and watercolours, but
also murals, woodblock prints, book
illustrations and sculpture. His influences were
quite diverse, drawing inspiration from French
Symbolism, the Celtic Revival movement and
the landscapes of his European travels.
Rail investment needs to be on track
COP26 IN Glasgow delivered a
pact which represents a new
chapter in our global fight against
the climate crisis.
In Scotland, having led the way
on climate legislation following
Scottish Labour’s cross-party
push for radical targets, we’ve not
seen enough action from The
Scottish Government with targets
on emissions, renewable heat,
and biodiversity all being missed.
There’s no meaningful plan for a
jobs-first transition, and public
transport routes are being cut. We
need a just transition which
creates high-quality, green jobs
and ensures that no community is
left behind.
The climate crisis is the greatest
threat facing our world with low
income countries already
experiencing the devastating
impacts of flooding and droughts.
Scottish Labour has launched
Green Labour as an optimistic,
alternative vision of the greener
Scotland we want to build. In the
Scottish Parliament as we build
recovery from COVID we need
joined-up action on fuel poverty,
new community heat and
renewables that are affordable for
consumers, and a focus on new
jobs and training.
We also need more affordable
transport in communities across
Scotland. We need investment in
new rail services, support for new,
locally owned bus services like
Lothian Buses, safe, properly
planned active travel routes, and
EV charging points: an expansion
of low carbon transport that
meets people’s needs.
We all need to work together
to make the changes our
communities need to cope
with the climate and nature
emergencies.
The agreement reached at
COP26 is just a starting point
and our communities must be
at the heart of the just transition
we need.
Sarah Boyack MSP
OFTEN, AROUND this time of year, when
you’re out shopping and paying for
something, the person on the checkout
hands you your receipt, and says “Merry
Christmas” or possibly “Compliments of
the season”.
I hope increasing age hasn’t made me
too cynical, but sometimes the thought
flits through my mind that the greeting is
not always motivated by the person having
a genuine interest in whether or not I have
a merry Christmas. Could they be saying
this because they’ve been told to? I conjure
up an image of a memo from supermarket
headquarters directing those on the
checkout to give customers a cheery
seasonal greeting on the assumption that
this will somehow help cement a bond
between the shop and the customer.
Even if age breeds some cynicism, I
believe my suspicions are outweighed by
the experience that more often than not,
the person saying,“Merry Christmas” really
means it. Invariably it lifts my spirits.
There actually is something genuine to
this whole idea of Christmas cheer. As
December 25th draws near, people do
seem to warm up just a bit.
Recalling the Christ child’s birth, they do
make an extra effort to practice the virtues
the angels sing of - “peace on earth,
goodwill towards all people.” But why do
we notice this at Christmas? Why does this
surge in warm-heartedness stand out?
Is it because, despite our best intentions,
good will towards all people so easily
becomes a seasonal event rather than a
standing policy?
When Christ entered our world, He
didn’t come to brighten our Decembers,
but to transform our lives. It can be hard
work to practice good will towards one
another. But John the Baptist’s message
was that, as we prepare for Christ to come
into our lives, we can change our ways.
Jesus’ ministry provides the blueprint
for loving our neighbour in a busy and
complicated community. Christ made a
point of seeking out the broken and
outcast people of His day - He saw the
value in each one of them. And by doing
so, He helped them recognise the value
in themselves.
This Christmas season, let us recognise
that just as faith is a decision, good will
towards people is a series of decisions that
work themselves out not in temporary
Christmas cheer, but in the details of life all
year round.
Lord Wallace, Moderator of the General
Assembly of the Church of Scotland