Lamplight (oil on panel)

Fergusson's family provided the subject matter for many early sketches and paintings. He was the eldest of four children and had two sisters called Elizabeth and Christina. We don't know which of his sisters is portrayed here but according to Margaret Morris, he was closer to the younger, Christina. Fergusson told a story about Christina which highlights their closeness. On the cold, wet night of his unexpected return from Morocco in 1899 the family dog had suddenly insisted on being let out causing Christina to exclaim 'Johnny is on his way home!' Fergusson explained this in terms of their shared Celticism. On his death in 1961 Fergusson left the largest collection of his works in existence to his partner, Margaret Morris (1891-1980). In 1963 she established the JD Fergusson Art Foundation, who subsequently gifted the entire collection, archive and copyright to Perth and Kinross District Council in November 1991.