Student sleuth solves 100-year-old painting mystery at Kirkcaldy Galleries

The mystery donor of a much-admired still life painting in Kirkcaldy Galleries has finally been identified – almost a century after it was gifted to the institution.

The Samuel J Peploe painting Roses has featured prominently in exhibitions over the years but nobody knew who had originally bequeathed it.

With the Galleries celebrating its centenary this year, researchers have been examining the early collections, cataloguing them with details including when and who they were donated by.

But they were left stymied by Roses, as there was only one sentence explaining the painting’s acquisition: “Presented by the winner of the first prize of Kirkcaldy Art Union, 1926.”

That was until an arts student from Edinburgh University was offered a research placement which enabled her to investigate the background of the Scottish Colourist’s work.

The Scottish Colourists was the name given to a group of artists, including Peploe, who painted in the early 20th century.

Muqiao Yue, who is studying for a History of Art degree, was delighted to take up the challenge.

“It was a real privilege to have the opportunity to work on this,” she explained. “No name or further information was available, as it was reported in the local press that the winner wished to remain anonymous. It felt a bit daunting but I was well supported by Engagement Curator Jane Freel and I believed that, if the information was there, I would find it.”

Breaking the investigation down into three key elements – Kirkcaldy Art Union, the winner and the year – Muqiao explored the history of Kirkcaldy Galleries using local newspapers, including the Fifeshire Advertiser and Fife Free Press, and visited the National Library of

Scotland, where she was able to look through the British Newspaper Archive.

She also went to the Collections Centre in Glenrothes, home to the extensive Fife Collections and archives, and examined the original painting and its frame and scoured the centre’s newspaper cuttings for more information about Kirkcaldy Art Union.

She discovered the Union had helped support contemporary artists by organising a raffle where members of the public could win some of the works featured in an exhibition of their work at the art gallery every year.

Hours spent sifting through exhibition tickets, catalogues, letters and financial reports, particularly those from 1926, unearthed valuable information about Kirkcaldy Art Union, while the committee’s minutes book from 1935 included more details on its origins,

membership and role in the community.

The mystery was finally solved when, at the National Library, she sourced a financial report from the Art Union revealing the winner’s name and address alongside details of their prize and its anonymous donation to the Kirkcaldy Galleries.

“I was so excited I wanted to shout out,” she said.

However, rather than an individual, the winner was recorded as Aitken Dott & Son, a firm established in Edinburgh in 1842 which later became known as The Scottish Gallery. This gallery played a key role in promoting the work of the Scottish Colourists in the early to mid-20th century, supporting Peploe’s work throughout his lifetime and continues to do so.

With its £50 prize money from the Kirkcaldy Art Union raffle, it chose Roses from the annual exhibition and donated it to the then newly opened Kirkcaldy Galleries.

The generous donation is believed to have made Kirkcaldy Galleries the first in Britain to possess a Peploe painting. Today it is home to the largest collection of Peploe works outside the National Gallery.

“This was such an interesting and exciting project and I am extremely grateful to everyone who helped me,” added Muqiao. “It was hard work, particularly going through hundreds of newspaper articles without knowing if they would lead to anything. The best part, as well as finding the donor, was getting to see and touch the original Peploe.”

Samuel J Peploe’s grandson, Guy Peploe, a former managing director of the Scottish Gallery and the acknowledged expert on his grandfather’s work, gave a talk earlier this year at the Galleries promoting his new book The Scottish Colourists.

The Scottish Colourists, who also included Francis Campbell Boileau Cadell, George Leslie Hunter and John Duncan Fergusson, all spent time in France where they were influenced by the French artists’ use of bold colour and free brushstrokes. They embraced the freedom it offered after the conservative boundaries they came up against in their early years.

And Guy Peploe also took part in a sold-out In Conversation event with former politician and broadcaster Michael Portillo at the Adam Smith Theatre in October, when Mr Portillo talked about his family history and his memories of the Peploe paintings in his grandfather’s

collection, many of which were donated to Kirkcaldy Galleries.

Jane Freel said: “I’ve always been intrigued by how we acquired this painting. I’m delighted with Muqaio’s discovery about the origin of the painting and grateful for all her hard work.”

Roses by S J Peploe is currently on display as part of the centenary exhibition A Century of Kirkcaldy Galleries, which runs until 25 January 2026.