James and Marguerite McBey Inside El Foolk (Photographs of James McBey)

SitterSitter is James McBey (Newburgh, Scotland, 1883 - 1959)

AssociatedAssociated with Marguerite McBey (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA, 1905 - 1999)

Date1959

Object NamePhotograph

Mediumphotograph

ClassificationsMcBey

DimensionsPhotographs: 14 x 9cm
Negative: 6.6 x 6.2cm
Envelope: 9 x 15.2cm

AcquisitionPresented in 1988 by Mrs Marguerite McBey.

LocationView by Appointment - Aberdeen Treasure Hub

Object numberABDAG008295.109

Keywords

About MeTwo copies of a black and white photograph, with negative, depicting James and Marguerite McBey looking through a telescope inside El Foolk, one of McBey's homes in Tangier, Morocco. In a note Marguerite explains that, "The telescope is a zeiss of 33, 53 and 73 magnifications through which we observed everything passing through the Mediterranean."

An annotation also explains that the photograph was used as the image for James and Marguerite's Christmas card for the year 1959 to 1960. McBey had written on many of these cards that "The future looks murky", which Marguerite thought was alluding to the political situation in Morocco at the time. Sadly many of the Christmas cards which were sent out reached their destination a few days after James McBey's death on 1st December 1959.

All were kept within a brown manila envelope.

This object is part of an archive that belonged to Marguerite McBey. As a result of her generosity, Aberdeen Art Gallery holds the largest archive of James McBey's work, including prints, drawings, sketchbooks, oil paintings and memorabilia such as this photograph.