Julia Alexandra Mee - Artist and Art Historian

Drawing on the inspiration of Phoebe Anna Traquair, one of the leading artists of the arts and crafts movement, and colleague and friend of Sir Robert Lorimer who remodelled Marchmont House (1914-1917), Julia Alexandra Mee is reviving nineteenth century Scottish mural painting techniques whilst incorporating the knowledge of the Italian fifteenth century bottega method, to create an original mural cycle in the Cupola Hall at Marchmont House.  The four large panels depict the Four Seasons, with views of the local landscape of Marchmont Estate.  There are several other underlying themes, including the mythological subject matter, such as the Goddesses Flora and Fauna and the various nymphs as personifications of nature.  Among those depicted are the Hesperides, the Hamadryads, notably Balanis, the nymph of the acorn tree who holds aloft the acorn with wings, the symbol of Marchmont House. To follow the progress of the mural cycle, please visit Twitter @ArtistJuliaMee and Instagram @artist_juliaalexandramee (link below) 

For Julia's article 'Pre-Raphaelite Influences and Techniques in the Marchmont Mural Cycle: ‘A Variant of Spirit Fresco', see Pre-Raphaelite Society Review, Vol. XXVII, No. 3, Autumn, 2019, pp. 10-16.  She discusses the mural cycle in a webinar accompanying the exhibition Modern Masters Women at The Scottish Gallery in Edinburgh (30 July - 29 August 2020), which is available to view on The Scottish Gallery website and YouTube channel. 

The preview of the short film "The Making of the Marchmont Mural Cycle', produced by Duncan Parker of Falcon Productions for Marchmont House, shows the early stages in the mural cycle and is available to view on Vimeo. The ITV Borders Life programme on Marchmont House includes a short interview with Julia whilst painting the mural cycle, see www.itv.com.