Submitting.
John Halliday: The Monkey Palace, Fine Art Society, Edinburgh Born in 1933, John Halliday is a veteran, but his art is not as well known as it should be. Perhaps this is because he has lived and worked in Kirkcudbright almost all his life. It is also true, however, that he has had a very successful career as a painter of architectural decorations which by their nature can’t be put in exhibitions and so, while no doubt delighting their private patrons, they have remained largely unseen by the wider public. The Fine Art Society helped put the record straight, however, with a retrospective which, although it was small, gave a real insight into his art. It showed it to be often poetic, sometimes witty and always very skilful. Examples of his tromp l’oeil painting, for instance, gave a hint of why he has been so successful as an architectural painter.