Mary’s Garden — Scottish Exhibition Floral Still Life Oil by Dan Ferguson ROI 1910–1992
“Mary’s Garden” — Scottish Exhibition Floral Still Life Oil by Dan Ferguson ROI (1910–1992)
Documented Scottish exhibition still life of mixed garden flowers, retaining its original Paisley Art Institute Exhibition label.
Highlights
• Original Paisley Art Institute Exhibition label retained verso
• Exhibited title: “MARY’S GARDEN”
• Exhibit No. 2
• Original exhibition price: £40
• Artist recorded on the period label as “DAN FERGUSON, R.O.I.”
• Artist’s address recorded as Redyett, Motherwell, Lanarks
• McClures, Glasgow recorded as agent
• Signed “DAN FERGUSON” lower right
• Oil on board
• Approximate image size 61 × 46 cm / 24 × 18.1 in
• Framed size 75 × 60 × 5.5 cm / 29.5 × 23.6 × 2.2 in
• Ornate gilt moulded frame
• Presented under glass
• Recorded McTear’s Glasgow auction history
Introduction
A substantial and richly coloured Scottish floral still life by Dan Ferguson ROI (1910–1992), depicting an abundant mixed garden bouquet arranged within a grey-green metal tankard or jug.
Entitled Mary’s Garden, the work is distinguished by the survival of its original Paisley Art Institute Exhibition label. This period documentation records the exhibited title, exhibition number, Ferguson’s professional designation, his Motherwell address, McClures of Glasgow as agent and the original exhibition price of £40.
Against a restrained neutral ground and dark tabletop, Ferguson constructs the bouquet through overlapping layers of yellow, white, blue, mauve, purple, burgundy and warm orange flowers. The subdued setting throws the saturated flowers forward, while the carefully modelled vessel anchors the composition.
Catalogue Details
Artist: Dan Ferguson ROI
Nationality: Scottish
Dates: 1910–1992
Title: Mary’s Garden
Date: Post-1958 / second half of the 20th century
Medium: Oil on board
Signature: Signed “DAN FERGUSON” lower right
Subject: Mixed garden flowers / floral still life
Orientation: Portrait
Image: approximately 61 × 46 cm / 24 × 18.1 in
Framed: 75 × 60 × 5.5 cm / 29.5 × 23.6 × 2.2 in
Presentation: Ornate gilt moulded frame, under glass
Catalogue Note
Ferguson organises the bouquet around a broad pyramidal structure. Tall flowering stems establish height, while substantial yellow, white and purple blooms create visual weight through the centre. Smaller blossoms, buds and foliage soften the perimeter and introduce movement.
Individual flower heads overlap convincingly, with stems disappearing behind and re-emerging between neighbouring blooms. This layering creates genuine spatial depth rather than a flat decorative pattern.
Particularly accomplished is the grey-green vessel. Subtle half-tones, reflected colour and carefully positioned highlights give it convincing volume, weight and metallic character.
The approximately 61 × 46 cm format is also significant. Other recorded Ferguson floral compositions employ closely comparable dimensions, indicating that this substantial format formed an established part of his still-life practice.
The Flowers
Detailed examination indicates that Mary’s Garden represents a mixed garden and cottage-garden bouquet, rather than an arrangement composed exclusively of native Scottish wildflowers.
Particularly distinctive are the steel-blue sea holly (Eryngium-type) flower heads with sharply radiating spiny bracts. These sculptural flowers were previously described as conventional thistles, but their morphology is considerably more consistent with Eryngium.
White Leucanthemum-type daisies provide bright focal points, while finer-rayed aster/Michaelmas daisy-type flowersoccur in pale blue, mauve, pink and burgundy tones.
Warm orange Gladiolus-type flowers rise through the upper bouquet, providing an important vertical accent.
A prominent dark-purple double flower displays elongated, curling and partially quilled petals, consistent with a cactus/semi-cactus Dahlia or spider/quill Chrysanthemum-type bloom.
Substantial golden-yellow daisy and Chrysanthemum-type flowers form much of the central mass.
Airy mauve flowering sprays, intensely blue garden flowers, delicate clustered white blossoms, buds, stems and varied foliage complete the arrangement.
The botanical identifications are based upon the morphology represented by Ferguson and are intentionally expressed at genus or flower-type level where the painted image does not permit a secure species-level identification.
The Artist
Dan Ferguson ROI (1910–1992) was a Scottish painter and printmaker associated with Motherwell, Lanarkshire.
Published biographical records state that Ferguson attended Dalziel High School before studying at the Glasgow School of Art. He was elected to the Royal Institute of Oil Painters in 1958 and exhibited with prominent Scottish institutions including the Royal Scottish Society of Painters in Watercolour and the Royal Glasgow Institute of the Fine Arts.
Published biographical material also records a silver medal at the Paris Salon in 1961 and a gold medal at the Italian Academy in 1980, while works by Ferguson are represented in public collections in Glasgow and Paisley.
Floral still life formed an established strand of Ferguson’s practice. Recorded compositions include Mixed Bouquet, Flowerpiece with Peaches and Summer Flowers. The latter is recorded at 61 × 46 cm, essentially identical to the painted dimensions of Mary’s Garden.
Exhibition History
Paisley Art Institute Exhibition, Paisley, Scotland
The original completed exhibition label retained verso records:
Exhibit No.: 2
Title: “MARY’S GARDEN”
Artist: “DAN FERGUSON, R.O.I.”
Address: Redyett, Motherwell, Lanarks
Agent: McClures, Glasgow
Original exhibition price: £40
Founded in 1876, Paisley Art Institute became a longstanding feature of Scottish exhibition culture and provided an important platform for exhibiting artists.
The survival of the completed label is particularly valuable because it establishes the painting’s exhibited title while recording Ferguson’s professional designation, contemporary address, exhibition number, agent and original asking price.
Ferguson was elected ROI in 1958. Since the period label already records him as “R.O.I.”, the work is conservatively catalogued as post-1958 / second half of the 20th century pending identification of the exact Paisley Art Institute exhibition year.
Provenance & Recorded History
Paisley Art Institute Exhibition, Scotland — original exhibition label retained verso.
McClures, Glasgow — recorded as agent on the Paisley Art Institute Exhibition label; additional McClure trade documentation retained verso.
McTear’s, Glasgow, The Scottish Contemporary Art Auction, 20 June 2024, Lot 194.
At the 2024 sale, Mary’s Garden was incorrectly associated with the different Scottish artist Danny Ferguson RSW RGI (1925–1993). The present attribution follows the stronger primary documentary evidence physically retained with the painting, explicitly identifying the exhibiting artist as Dan Ferguson, R.O.I., of Redyett, Motherwell.
Subsequently Cheshire Antiques Consultant LTD®.
Dimensions
Image: approximately 61 × 46 cm / 24 × 18.1 in
Framed: approximately 75 × 60 × 5.5 cm / 29.5 × 23.6 × 2.2 in
Condition Report
Offered in good decorative condition overall, with age-related characteristics commensurate with the work.
The painted surface displays minor age-related marks visible upon close inspection.
The ornate gilt frame displays age-related rubbing, marks and areas of loss to the decorative finish, together with cracking and separation to portions of the applied moulded ornament.
Please refer closely to the accompanying photographs, which form an integral part of the condition description.
Shipping
Worldwide shipping is available.
The painting will be professionally packed with appropriate consideration given to the painted board, glazing and decorative gilt frame. Insured delivery can be arranged according to destination.
Certificate of Sale & Dealer Attribution
The artwork will be supplied with a Certificate of Sale & Dealer Attribution issued by Cheshire Antiques Consultant LTD®, recording the artwork’s catalogue details, attribution, provenance as stated, and details of the sale. This document accompanies the work as part of its ongoing ownership and provenance record.
Attribution and Research
The historical observations, provenance research, attribution analysis and contextual commentary presented within this catalogue entry represent the professional opinion of Cheshire Antiques Consultant LTD®. They are offered in good faith as informed scholarly assessments based upon the available evidence, comparative research, published reference material and our experience within the international fine art market.
These observations should be understood as professional opinions rather than definitive statements of fact or guarantees of authorship, attribution, date, origin, provenance or historical interpretation. As with all historic works of art, future documentary discoveries, technical examination, conservation analysis or advances in academic research may refine, expand or revise current interpretations.
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