Craigie AITCHISON

Do you own a piece by Craigie Aitchison and would you like to know more about the work and its value? Our Experts will carry out a free appraisal of your painting, provide you with an estimate of the market price, and help you to sell it at the best price.

Status, price and estimation of the artist Craigie AITCHISON

Price of a painting signed Aitchison: 4,000 – 70,000 €.

Estimate of a drawing or watercolour by the artist for auction: 300 – 4,000 €.

Artist’s price for the sale of a print: 300 – 1,000€.

If you would like to have a painting by the artist appraised, our experts are at your disposal for a free appraisal.

Who is Craigie Aitchison?

Craigie Aitchison was a Scottish painter characterised by the use of pure and saturated colours in his compositions. His paintings generally depict subjects such as landscapes, portraits, still lifes and religious scenes.

A master of landscape and religious themes

In 1954, he was one of the “ Six young people contemporains ” presented in an exhibition at the Gimpel Fils gallery. The following year, after receiving the British Council Italian Government Scholarship for painting, Aitchison went to Italy and fell in love with the country. It is from this experience that Aitchison’s powerful mastery of landscape painting is born, with the ability to construct a moving emotional sense of place using few elements.

The landscapes of Italy and the bright light have an undeniable effect on his work (it was during this period that his palette changed from muted to vibrant tones). He then began to study the work of the old masters more closely.

When Aitchison depicts religious themes, although they have a quality all their own, there is something that reminds us of the 15th century miniatures, mysterious, poetic and timeless.

His later crucifixions reflect a deeply moving individualism in its simplicity. Aitchison has been commissioned to produce works for two cathedrals in the UK, creating four crucifixion panels for the altar of St Margaret’s Chapel in Truro Cathedral and a scene for Liverpool Cathedral.

A striking friendship with Euan Uglow

Aitchison and Euan Uglow remained close friends in their time at the Slade, with Uglow giving Aitchison the easel on which he had always painted and Aitchison serving as Uglow’s best man at his wedding. After Mrs. Aitchison’s death in 1970, her son almost became a member of the Uglow family, spending every Christmas with them in South Norwood.

Both are finalists for the first Jerwood Painting Prize, worth £ 30 000, sponsored by the Sunday Telegraph in 1994. Aitchison wins. After Uglow’s death in 2000, Aitchison organised a loving retrospective of his work at the Holburne Museum of Art, Bath.

Institutional recognition and the Royal Academy

Aitchison was elected an Associate Member of the Royal Academy of Arts in 1978 and a full member in 1988. He was also appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in 1999. A retrospective of the artist’s work was held in 2003 in the Sackler Galleries designed by Norman Foster at the Royal Academy, preceded by an exhibition at the Serpentine Gallery (1981) and the Gallery of Modern Art in Glasgow (1996).

Today, Aitchison’s work can be found among collections at The V&A, The Tate, The Pallant House Gallery, The Royal Academy, The Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art, The National Museum of Wales, The UCL Art Museum, The Government Art Collection, The Arts Council Collection, the Fleming Collection, the Jerwood Collection, the Ingram Collection and the Deutsche Bank Collection.

Appraise and sell a painting by Craigie Aitchison

If you own a Craigie Aitchison painting or any other sculpture, ask for a free estimate via our online form.

You will then be contacted by a member of our team of experts and auctioneers to give you an independent view of the market price of your painting. In the event of a sale, our specialists will also advise you on the various options available to sell your work at the best price.