Artist of Newburgh

James McBey

BEAUTIFUL DREAMERS: The Art of James & Marguerite McBey exhibition (brought to you by The James McBey Project) in numbers:

 

 

✨18 artworks on display✨

✨300 plus visitors✨

✨ 7 copies of SHADOWS & LIGHT: The Extraordinary Life of James McBey sold✨

✨2 artworks (Portrait of a Lady and Margot as Lopokova) sold✨

Thank you Udny Arms Hotel, Newburgh, Aberdeenshire, for hosting us!

In a bid to link his Aberdeenshire birthplace to his spiritual home of Aberdeen Art Gallery where many of his artworks reside, the James McBey Project installed road signs in Newburgh and a plaque on his former childhood home in the village, and unveiled a James McBey tourist trail.

James McBey Trail App – Student Designs Unveiled at RGU

On 25 November 2025, students from Robert Gordon University (RGU) presented their final designs for the James McBey Trail mobile app: an innovative project celebrating the life and legacy of renowned artist James McBey and his deep connection to Newburgh, Aberdeenshire.

This initiative was made possible through a unique collaboration between Newburgh & Ythan Community Trust and RGU’s School of Computing, Engineering and Technology (SOCET), facilitated by DEV4 Online Ltd and Interface. The project gave the Trust the opportunity to work directly with SOCET students, who were tasked with designing and prototyping an app for a real-world community project.

For the Trust, this partnership provided access to fresh ideas, digital skills, and innovative thinking, helping to bring local heritage to life in a modern, accessible way while minimising risk and cost for a volunteer-run organisation. For the students, it offered invaluable experience working on a live brief, applying their technical and creative skills to a meaningful project with real community impact.

The event was made even more special by the presence of Alasdair Soussi, author of Shadows & Light: The Extraordinary Life of James McBey. For Alisdair, it was a unique experience to see how his research and storytelling have inspired a new generation of digital designers, and how the story of James McBey is being brought to life through technology for the local community and beyond.

See the full article in the Aberdeen & Grampian Chamber of Commerce News

Newburgh Exhibition September 2025 & March 2026

The JAMES McBEY: HIS ART, HIS WORLD exhibition took place at Newburgh’s Udny Arms Hotel in September 2025.

Showing his original artworks, including the showstopper Zorah: Moroccan Girl Sleeping for the first time since 2023 in New York. 

Alasdair Soussi, Author of  SHADOWS & LIGHT: The Extraordinary Life of James McBey was present and sold 20 copies of his book.

Another exhibition will be taking place in March 2026.  Further details will be posted here and on our social media pages soon.

The James McBey Tourist Trail

Visitors are encouraged to explore six local points of interest in relation to James McBey:

(1) His birthplace of Newmill, today the site of Wilkie Engineering where there is a James McBey interpretative board attached at the gable end of the office building.
(2) Foveran Parish Church, the family’s local place of worship where McBey’s mother and grandmother, Annie and Mary Gillespie, are buried in its kirkyard.
(3) Newburgh Village Hall where a bronze plaque donated by McBey’s widow Marguerite in 1961 to Foveran Parish Chruch in memory of her husband is currently held.
(4) Newburgh Mather’s School which McBey attended until 1899.
(5) 80 Main Street, the site of McBey’s former childhood home.
(6) Knockhall Castle, the 16th century ruin, which inspired McBey’s love of art as a child.

1 December 2024

“December 1st marks the 65th anniversary of the death of the artist James McBey. During his lifetime he was routinely referred to as “the heir to Whistler and Rembrandt” such was the quality of his work.
McBey lived an extraordinarily adventurous life: born in Newburgh, Aberdeenshire, in 1883, by 1917 he was the official war artist with the Egyptian Expeditionary Force. His reputation and professional stature grew during the interwar period. He spent the Second World War in the United States before heading back to North Africa, specifically Morocco, in 1946. Although he spent much of his life overseas, he maintained a strong affection for North East Scotland and would regularly return to his native Newburgh where he had spent his formative years.” (Aberdeen Archives, Galleries and Museums (20+) Facebook)

Signs

Three threshold signs celebrating McBey’s ties to his boyhood home mark the entrances to Newburgh village on the A975 and B9000 roads.

Tourist Leaflets

McBey tourist information leaflets, which include the tourist trail map and more information about the artist, are available to pick up from the Newburgh Inn, the Udny Arms Hotel and the Trellis Cafe.
Or please use our contact page to request a copy and we will send it you.

Visit Newburgh

Start the James McBey Tour on the edge of Newburgh.  Starting at his birthplace of Newmill, today the site of Wilkie Engineering

Find out more

Get in touch with the Newburgh & Ythan Community Trust if you would like to learn more.

Contact Us