Published in Scotland Magazine Issue 28 on 20/09/2006.

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An extraordinary and enderrated hero

I now realise that I have known Professor Richard Demarco OBE for more than 40 years, a startling thought which came to mind when I attended his 76th birthday party at Fingask Castle, a 16th century Jacobite stronghold located off the road between Perth and Dundee.

It was an unforgettable occasion taking the form of a picnic lunch in the castle grounds, famous for its exotic topiary and woodland walks. But then there have been many unforgettable occasions associated with Scotland’s longest serving impresario.

In the early 1970s, the Demarco Gallery with its basement restaurant in Edinburgh’s Melville Crescent was a beacon for anyone interested in the visual arts in Scotland. Among those who exhibited there alongside Scottish artists such as Robin Phillipson, Elizabeth Blackadder, Pat Douthwaite and Ian Hamilton Finlay, the concrete poet, were David Hockney, Fleur Cowles and John Piper. But that was not enough for its flamboyant owner.

In 1970, he arranged for 40 Dusseldorfbased avant-garde artists to take over Edinburgh’s College of Art for three weeks, turning the conservative Edinburgh arts establishment on its head. In 1972 and 1975 he brought the Polish theatre director Tadeusz Kantor to the Edinburgh Festival. His friendship and regular collaborations with the great German conceptual artist Joseph Beuys, until his death in 1986, proved inspirational.

In 1980, he used his Scottish Arts Council funding to charter a sailing ship, engaging George Mackay Brown to steer it.....

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By Roddy Martine

Section : Roddy Martine's World

Page number : 7