works from public and private collections, many of which had not been on view to the public before.

As the Glasgow Boys and Girls had strong links with Helensburgh it is not surprising that the exhibition included a number of paintings from this area.

Notable among these was the work of Norah Neilson Gray, who was born in Helensburgh in 1882, studied at Glasgow School of Art, and whose lyrical watercolours, such as “July Night, Loch Lomond” (above), evoke familiar local scenes.

“July Night, Loch Lomond” was lent to the Kirkcudbright exhibition from the Anderson Trust Collection, currently on view in Helensburgh Library.

Also on loan to Kirkcudbright were a number of Norah Neilson Gray’s paintings in private collections, and one of her most accomplished watercolours, entitled “Hôpital Auxilaire d’Armée 30, Abbayede Royaumont” (left), which is permanently on display in Helensburgh Library.

As the title suggests this is not a local subject. The painting, depicts the interior of the Abbaye, near Paris, adapted for use as an army hospital and staffed entirely by women from the Scottish Women’s Hospitals.

It was inspired by the artist’s experience as a volunteer nurse in the hospital at Royaumont during the First World War. In addition to its merits as a work of art, it has considerable historic significance and in 2005 was on loan to the Quincentenary Exhibition of the Royal College of Surgeons in Edinburgh.

Other artists represented in the Glasgow Girls exhibition included Annie French, Jessie M.King, and Eleanor Moore, the mother of a well-loved local artist, Ailsa Tanner.

The town of Kirkcudbright and