‘The compass for all of our lives’: tributes to gallery director

Died: September 24, 2025

Dr Ian McKenzie Smith, who has died aged 90, was a hugely influential figure in the arts in Scotland but especially in Aberdeen. He was an inspiring director of the Aberdeen Art Gallery from 1968 to 1989 and later acted as City Arts Officer and director of the arts and recreation department until 1996.

To all these appointments he brought a fresh vision and enthusiasm which, in turn, attracted much attention to the arts scene in Aberdeen. He curated many landmark exhibitions and, notably, held a retrospective exhibition devoted to Bill Gibb, the Aberdeen-born fashion designer shortly after his death in 1988.

He remained devoted to the traditions of Aberdeen – its arts, music, community and history – and confessed he was a north-east man and “didnae like to speak about himself too much”.

Ian McKenzie Smith was born in Montrose, the younger of two brothers to Mary (née Benzie) and James McKenzie Smith who worked on the railways. McKenzie Smith attended Robert Gordon’s College where he learnt the pipes. He remained a passionate piper all his life and competed at Highland Games around Aberdeenshire, including the Lonach Gathering in Strathdon, an annual highlight throughout his life. In later years, he would occasionally take the pipes out at family gatherings.

At school he had shown a keen interest in drawing and attended Gray’s School of Art in Aberdeen. He prospered there as a student and was much influenced by the principal Ian Fleming, the noted draughtsman, engraver and etcher.

Whilst at Gray’s, McKenzie Smith attended two summer schools at Hospitalfield in Arbroath and there he met Mae Fotheringham. They married in 1963, and had three children. They enjoyed a happy marriage and at her funeral he referred to her as “my great collaborator in everything we did”. His son, Justin McKenzie Smith, told The Herald, “My abiding memory is of a loving and proud father, who was the compass for all of our lives.”

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McKenzie Smith’s interest in painting was much broadened when he won a scholarship in the 1950s to visit the galleries in Europe with John Knox of the Glasgow School of Art. They witnessed both the new and the traditional: American abstract expressionism and ground-breaking abstracts from Japan and China. In Florence McKenzie Smith saw in the Uffizi Gallery the work of the Renaissance artist Piero della Francesca. The contrast of styles moulded his artistic style for life.

After a few years working at the Council of Industrial Design in Glasgow, McKenzie Smith was appointed director of Aberdeen Art Gallery in 1968 and it proved an inspiring appointment. The city itself was expanding rapidly with the oil business and he ensured the gallery was at the heart of the city’s development and that the displays were of an exceptional standard and a wide variety. He encouraged local and artists from all over Scotland to exhibit and made the gallery a central meeting place to discuss cultural and local matters. Significantly, when Aberdeen FC won the European Cup Winners Cup in 1983 it was proudly displayed at the gallery.

Ian McKenzie Smith (Image: Sasha McKenzie Smith)

The 1988 retrospective of the fashion designer Bill Gibb typified this imaginative and all-embracing view. It showed off much of Gibb’s most fantastic clothes but highlighted the inspiration he gained from his Scottish heritage. It went far to reestablish Gibb as a major force in Sixties design.

But his own art continued to flourish throughout these years of administration. His abstract paintings and expert eye invariably captured a zest and love of a subject. His keen sense of colour is seen in such works as A Quiet North (a dark blue contrasted with lighter, more hazy blue) which is currently hanging in the British Library, and Open Harbour is at the Aberdeen Art Gallery. Throughout, he drew much inspiration from Eastern traditions.

He retired from the gallery in 1996 but maintained his connections with numerous Scottish arts organisations: notably in 1998 as president of the Royal Scottish Academy, where he had exhibited since the 1960s and served as treasurer and secretary. He was a trustee of the National Galleries of Scotland and served on several charity foundations in an advisory capacity. He was awarded a CBE in 2009.

He retained a passionate interest in all brands of music, especially traditional Scottish. The renowned Scottish fiddler, Dr Paul Anderson, played at his funeral and has composed “Dr Ian McKenzie Smith CBE” in his honour.

McKenzie Smith was a much-respected and loved figure in the arts throughout Scotland. He had a cany modernising influence balanced with a clear-sighted and practical vision.

His wife predeceased him in 2023 and he is survived by their daughter and two sons.

At The Herald, we carry obituaries of notable people from the worlds of business, politics, arts and sport but sometimes we miss people who have led extraordinary lives. That’s where you come in. If you know someone who deserves an obituary, please consider telling us about their lives. Contact garry.scott@heraldandtimes.co.uk