Sylvia Wishart, Birsay, 1970 © the artist’s estate
On loan from J.&W. Tait Ltd, Kirkwall

‘…[a] deep sense of absolute satisfaction and contentment which I always find up in Birsay!’.
Robert Rendall (1898-1967), An Orkney Shore

Birsay has long been a place of pilgrimage and inspiration. The present Birsay Kirk stands on the footprint of the much older Christ Church that held the remains of Earl Magnus Erlendsson (1080-1115) following his murder in Egilsay. This location, along with the nearby monastery on the Brough of Birsay, would become a place of legendary miracles and healing and while Magnus’s body would soon be removed to Kirkwall, Birsay remained an important centre of culture on the Mainland.

In more recent times the parish of Birsay, located in the north west corner of Orkney’s West Mainland, has attracted many artists, writers and musicians to live and work. This exhibition brings together a small selection of paintings, drawings and illustrations featuring Birsay, all created in the 20th century. Orcadian artists Ian MacInnes (1922-2003) and Stanley Cursiter (1887-1976) were regular visitors to Birsay and Sylvia Wishart (1936-2008) made several detailed studies of key sites in the district in the 1960s. Visiting artists include Winifred Nicholson (1893-1981), Wilhelmina Barns-Graham (1912-2004) and Richard Long (b. 1945) who were also attracted to the unique character of the cliffs and surrounding landscape.

This artistic legacy was further enhanced through the work of the Orkney Field and Arts Centre, which operated for a time from Linkshouse, a fine Edwardian building located in the village of Palace. In the 1980s several distinguished Scottish artists set up their studios in Linkshouse as artist-in-residence including John Busby (1928-2015) and Frances Walker (b. 1930).

Linkshouse, which came to the Pier Arts Centre as a bequest, will once again play host to artists and creative people from Orkney and around the globe. Linkshouse – Orkney Arts Residency is nearing completion and represents a new and exciting chapter for the arts in Orkney– see how you can help realise these plans through our crowdfunding campaign here >