Interviews of John Corrie

This interview forms part of the Kirkcudbright Artists Remembered project. This project was active during the refurbishment of the Kirkcudbright Town hall into the Kirkcudbright Galleries centre and was undertaken as a partnership between the Kirkcudbright Harbour Cottage Trust and the EERC.

John Corrie was born in 1935 and could trace his family connections to the area back to the year 835. He recounts a little of his family history before focussing on his memories of the Kirkcudbright artists. Particular memories of Tim Jeffs, Jack Hastings and Tommy Lochhead demonstrate how the artists and the community were interlinked and illustrate the links John and his family had with individual artists. John recalls going on fishing trips with Jack Hastings, who would always be sketching. There is a discussion here about the anti-submarine base and how many local artworks serve to illustrate and preserve aspects of the material history of the area. John also talks about how his own family have travelled around the globe and reflects that Kirkcudbright is connected through emigration to many places.

Towards the end of the interview, John returns to his youth and shares further memories of artists such as Jack Hastings. He also talks about his hopes for the future of Kirkcudbright, although he was less enthusiastic about the town hall being refurbished as the galleries space and would have preferred this the Johnston school.