Margot Sandeman (1922-2009) had a long-standing connection with the Isle of Arran. There were many happy childhood holidays with her family on the island. Later came sketching and painting trips with her good friend and fellow Glasgow School of Art student Joan Eardley. Finally, in 1973 Margot and her husband bought one of the little cottages up in High Corrie.
High Corrie is a unique place. The nine cottages that make up this tiny settlement sit tucked into the shelter of the mountain slope and give real insight into how the traditional communities of a bygone era would have looked. The setting – between mountain and sea – is beautiful, the views breathtaking. The High Corrie Burn flows past the clachan, while further up the hillside the rushing White Water makes an ideal picnic spot on the way up Goatfell.
We spent many memorable family holidays there. So it doesn’t surprise me in the slightest that Margot Sandeman fell in love with the place. Nor that both Corrie and High Corrie inspired some of her finest works. Or that the Isle of Arran as a whole proved to be a life-long source of creative inspiration for her.
In the little exhibition, No More Sheep, currently on in Kelvingrove Art Gallery in Glasgow, a selection of Margot Sandeman’s delicate paintings mourns the passing of a way of life she’d witnessed throughout the long years she’d been coming to Arran. In the early days sheep had played a big part in the life of the islanders and were seen all over the island. By the late 20th century that way of life was passing, if not gone altogether. And through these pictures she mourns that passing.
It’s good to know that Margot Sandeman is still remembered. And while this is only a tiny exhibition, it’s a good point to start from for anyone keen to find out more about Margot’s love of Arran and the places that inspired so much of her work.
No More Sheep: Margot Sandeman on Arran runs at the Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum until 1st June 2025
The full article is available in issue 103 of iScot Magazine