Perpetua Pope, 1916-2013

Perpetua Pope was an oil and watercolour landscape painter who specialised in Hebridean landscapes. Pope was born to Scots parents in Solihull, Warwickshire, England. Pope's family relocated to rural Aberdeenshire when she was a youngster. Pope attended Albyn School in Aberdeen before enrolling in the Edinburgh College of Art in 1936, where she trained under William Gillies, William MacTaggart, and James Cumming. World War II interrupted her education, and she served with the Women's Auxiliary Air Force. Pope resumed her education at Edinburgh College of Art in 1946, then went on to teach at Moray House. She began her teaching career in primary and secondary schools, in addition to teaching at Moray House College of Education in Edinburgh, where she stayed before retiring in 1973 to paint full-time. Pope focused on painting at her Carlops home, Weaver's Cottage. Her work was highly influenced by her childhood landscapes in Aberdeenshire, but she also travelled extensively throughout Scotland and Europe, particularly to Cyprus, Lebanon, the Peloponnese, and Spain, in search of inspiration. Pope was a member of the SSA, the Scottish Arts Council, and Aberdeen Artists, as well as showing at the RA and the RSA. From 1956 to 1982, she had a run of solo shows at The Scottish Gallery, among many others.