St. Malo Harbour by John McNairn (1910-2009) captures in loose detail ships in a harbour at low tide, with some resting on the seabed, with the impression of a townscape on the horizon line. McNairn uses thick, dry brush strokes of vibrant colours to capture the overall shape of each ship and structure. The strokes become softer and slightly blended in the sky, with a bright colour palette of purple, red, yellow, and blue making up the cloudy sky and adding to the liveliness in the work. 

Beyond the influence of Raoul Dufy's work, influences of his admiration for Cézanne are present in this work through the vibrant colour palette and the slighlty Cubist and Impressionist way the elements of the work are captured, with the geometric buildings and the softer details layered to capture the overall appearance rather than explicit details. The bright colour palette and Cubist influences are present throughout McNairn's work.

John McNairn, 1910-2009

McNairn was born in Hawick, Roxburghshire, the son of John McNairn, a newspaper publisher and amateur printer. From 1926 to 1930 he trained at Edinburgh College of Art under D.M. Sutherland and William Gillies. In the early 1930s he was deeply impressed by the work of Cézanne and Munch. The latter had taught for a while at the Académie Scandinave in Paris, and in 1933 McNairn went to study at that school, where he was greatly encouraged by his teacher, Othon Friesz, a close associate of the Fauves in the years around 1905. During the 1930s Matisse's paintings and Raoul Dufy's watercolours were further major stimuli to McNairn's art, as is seen in this oil of the Breton port of St Malo, with its high viewpoint, strong colouring and dramatic presentation. After war service in India, McNairn moved to Selkirk.