James Cairns – Save this unique artist studio from the shifting sands of Buckie

Words and images by Duncan Harley with additional reporting by April McGinty

Some 43 years after his death, the studio once inhabited by Aberdeenshire artist James Cairns is at risk of collapse. The largely forgotten painter spent his later life transforming the old coastguard cottage at Buckie into a place of colour, scent and spiritual rebirth. He named the place Parody in the Sands and a local charity – The Cairns Poppies Initiative, has been tasked with preserving his heritage.

Born in 1921, James’s artistic career was blighted by his association with both the scions of London gang life and an unfortunate alignment with an emerging National Socialist Party.  Having travelled to Austria in 1938 as part of a Friendship Through Strength international youth initiative funded by the Boy Scout Association of Silesia, he attended several Nazi youth rallies and was present at an early Nuremburg Rally where both Hitler and Goering addressed an admiring crowd.
He was later to claim that on the way home to his native Stonehaven, he was approached then seduced by none other than Unity Valkyrie Mitford who, he claimed asked him to speak at a British Union of Fascists meeting in London’s West End. Nothing seemingly came of this although Cairns, who was bisexual, was subsequently detained and interrogated by the UK security services.

Post war, James was befriended by Lord Boothby – then MP for East Aberdeenshire and an Honorary Burgess of Peterhead, Fraserburgh and Turra and a prominent advocate of decriminalizing homosexual acts between men. Both were Old Etonians and the unlikely pair frequented clubs owned by the now disgraced Kray brothers. An affair with Boothby and the younger Kray twin soon followed.
It was April 1963 and homosexuality between consenting adults was illegal. So, the association with the Krays was doubly dangerous. Known for extreme violence, Ronny and Reggie Kray were at the time above the law and, although both brothers were eventually imprisoned for various infractions, all did not go well for James’s career as an artist.

Various themes emerged. In March 1963, his Sandend Bloody Mary caricatures were exhibited in an obscure Manchester gallery. In July 1963 his Pigs and Trotters series was chosen for the Venice Triennial and the V & A hosted his Here I am in Astroland exhibition that same year. There followed a period of frantic creation. Pacific Fittie, Lordy of Torry and Mysticmystic Stolen Knock Signpost were exhibited in touring exhibitions in both Reykjavik and Bratislava. Paris, Vienna and even an obscure country and western gallery in Albuquerque featured his work. But, in the big scheme of things, his art was eclipsed by his association with London gangmasters.

In the fall of 1969 James was convicted of extreme money laundering – a charge that he denied to his dying day. Sentenced to four years imprisonment, he became a jailhouse lawyer and counted the likes of Walter Pinkman and Jesse White amongst his clients. ‘White deserved to die. I mean, would you really want to trust your kids to a cancer ridden serial killer chemistry teacher?’ …  ‘But I had some sympathy for Jesse to be honest. He was a good Southern lad despite all of the murders.’

Then came a period of obscurity, even depression. The money had dried up as had the short-lived fame. Friends deserted him and agents plundered the profits. Finally, the tax authorities took what was left in a move described by his life-long friend Max Bialystock as ‘Abject and bland. What did that gain the nation? The man had given his all already. And, if truth be told, he still owes me for a latte. Such a loss for Aberdeen.'
A year before his death Cairns was admitted to both the RSA and the ARI in a move criticised by his contemporaries. But despite the venom of fellow artists, he painted with a vengeance until the very end. Quoted as saying that ‘these silly fuckers should go live in a cave’ James launched a vitriolic attack on the clubishness of contemporary art in which he blamed the establishment for his downfall:


‘It’s all right if you are or are not an Etonian.
But, in the big scheme, where would we be without a decent establishment education. Elitist is where it’s at. And there is no getting away from it. I blame the Tories!’

In April 1977, the artist passed following a short  but painful illness. In his final months he had converted to an extreme form of Catholicism and a Vatican epistle records that Pope John Paul had agreed to his request to share holy communion with him in St Peter’s Square in the August of that year. But, of course, it was not to be.

Long-time partner John De Baptiste – a fellow Etonian, died just 4 months later, probably of a broken heart. And the seafront cottage and garden at Buckie then began a descent into wind-blown obscurity.
The once lovingly tended flowerbeds nowadays suffer from over-salting and only the most tenacious plants survive the blast from the sea. Some years on, the foxgloves and geraniums have been overtaken by waves and only a peppering of sweet peas survive amongst the sand and seaweed to mark the once splendid seafront garden.
Over the succeeding years, a volunteer association: The Cairns Poppies Association charity have maintained both the seafront garden and the artist’s seaside studio but in recent times funding has become an overriding concern.

Committee chairperson Mandy Rice Keeler said ‘The house and studio are at extreme risk unless something can be done to save them. I am afraid that this may be the end of the road for the Cairns heritage. We have no ongoing public funding and the outlook looks bleak to be honest. Surely something can be done to save this unique piece of Aberdeenshire heritage. It would be so tragic to see James’s studio and his shoreside garden lost to the nation.’

The Cairns Poppies Beach Clearance volunteer group intend to set up a crowdfunding site for those who wish to save James’s house and his seaside garden.

In the meantime, please share this appeal to save this Scottish national treasure. And, if it resonates, please lobby Aberdeen Art Gallery and Aberdeen City Council with a view to them promoting a retrospective of the artist’s work. You couldn't make it up!

Words and images © Duncan Harley with additional reporting by April McGinty

 Duncan Harley is a writer and blogger living in the Garioch. His books are available from Amazon. Just search for Duncan Harley in the Amazon search box. Signed copies are available @ Inverurie Whisky Shop.

Location: Aberdeen, UK

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