Montrose Museum event explores the ’20s cultural revolution

Former Gable ender Denis Rice’s personal recollections of Tom MacDonald were the subject of a special Montrose museum event.

MacDonald, who wrote as Fionn MacColla and penned well-known works including And the Cock Crew and The Albannach, was born and educated in Montrose.

He was one of the main advocates of the Scottish Renaissance, which began in Montrose, fuelled by the genius of Hugh MacDiarmid and writers Willa and Edwin Muir, Violet Jacob, Helen Cruickshank and artists Edward Baird and William Lamb.

Mr Rice’s talk was staged in conjunction with Ideas of Their Ain, an exhibition of national importance curated by staff at Montrose museum.

It features art, archives and memorabilia brought together for the first time, from the Scottish National Portrait Gallery, the National Library of Scotland, Stirling University library, Angus Council libraries, museums and many private collections.

The exhibition looks at the inspiration Montrose provided to the main players of the Scottish Renaissance during the nation’s ’20s cultural revolution.