Alberto Morrocco was born to Italian parents in Aberdeen, Scotland in 1917, studying locally at Gray's School of Art. After the Second World War he spent the rest of his professional life in Dundee, becoming Head of Painting at Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art until his retirement in 1983. He produced portraits, landscapes, still lifes and interiors, but is best known for his vibrant Italian beach scenes, characterised by bright colours, simplified compositions and a touch of humour.
Painter and teacher, Alberto Morrocco was born to Italian parents in Aberdeen, Scotland on 14 December 1917. His father, Domenicantonio Morrocco, had come to Scotland from the rural town of Cassino, central Italy, as a young man; his surname was actually Marrocco, but the sign writer spelt it 'Morrocco' and so it stuck. His mother, Celesta Crolla, arrived in Scotland in 1890 as a young child. Consequently, Morrocco never really learnt to speak Italian though he made several attempts. The family lived above Domenicantonio’s café and ice-creamery at 35, Causewayend in Aberdeen and Morrocco retained fond memories of a particular blend of Scottish/Italian upbringing, sounding Scottish while celebrating special occasions in an Italian manner. From 1932–38 he studied at Gray's School of Art in Aberdeen. Aged 14, he was the youngest student ever accepted by the school and, in order to circumvent the age regulations governing enrolment, he was ‘hidden’ in the needle-work department for a year while secretly allowed to attend drawing classes in the painting department. During his time at Gray's he was influenced by his tutors, James Cowie and Robert Sivell, both dedicated to an almost classical approach to art, based on the importance of drawing. Morrocco himself became a talented draughtsman. Upon graduation in 1938, he was awarded both the Brough and Carnegie travelling scholarships, enabling him to paint in Switzerland and France until 1939, absorbing European modernist influences. In 1941 he married Vera Mercier with whom he had three children. At the outbreak of the Second World War he was detained in Edinburgh Castle as an ‘enemy alien’, but he was released and allowed to serve as a conscientious objector in the Royal Army Medical Corps. He spent the war making models of wounds for medical training, painting numbers on helmets and entertaining troops with caricatures.
In 1950 Morrocco visited Italy for the first time; thereafter he travelled there regularly, the Mediterranean light and colour greatly influencing his work. Returning to Scotland, he was appointed Head of Drawing and Painting at Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art in Dundee where he remained until his retirement in 1983. Under his direction the School adopted a characteristic approach to teaching, with the emphasis on observation and drawing. Morrocco became famous for his landscapes, still lifes, figure painting and interiors, but perhaps his best-known works were his Italian beach scenes and views of Venice, characterised by bright colours, simplified compositions and a touch of humour. Over time, these vibrant paintings became more and more imbued with a bold explosion of colour. Morrocco travelled to Italy with his family every year and enjoyed observing the Lido atmosphere and the local people who both worked and rested on the beaches. His interest was not only in the visual memory of the figures he saw, but also in the composition he could create from their shapes silhouetted against the background of the sea. He commented: 'These subjects that I used to see in Italy, which you don't see here - the human figure related to something that's happening either in their work or whatever. […] They live out of doors, so that one is able to use the human figure on beaches to begin with – almost the nude figure in all kinds of attitudes in relation to the eternal sea, the strip of blue or green that's in front against the sky […] because I'm of Italian origin and I react to the kind of lifestyle naturally, these subjects I've chosen to paint are the subjects which are near to my heart' (Young 2008, p. 99). Still-lifes were another of Morrocco’s life-long preoccupations, allowing him to explore the formal values of colour and shape in the studio environment. Morocco also experimented with mural painting, receiving a commission from the architect Sir Anthony Wheeler for St Columba's Church, Glenrothes in 1962.
Morrocco exhibited regularly, latterly with solo shows every two or three years, often at the Scottish Gallery , Edinburgh or the Thackeray Gallery, London. He was awarded the Guthrie and Carnegie Awards of the Royal Scottish Academy and was made Associate (1951) and Fellow of the Academy (1962). He was awarded an Honorary Doctorate from the University of Dundee in 1980 (painting portraits of all its principals and, in 1977, of the Queen Mother as Chancellor) and from Stirling University in 1987. He served on the Scottish Arts Council and the Royal Fine Art Commission for Scotland and was appointed OBE in 1993. He was also a member of the Royal Glasgow Institute of the Fine Arts and the Royal Scottish Society of Painters in Watercolours (RSW) and Fellow of the Royal Soiety of Edinburgh. Alberto Morrocco died at his home in Dundee, Scotland on 10 March 1998. His work is held in UK public collections including the Royal Scottish Academy and Aberdeen Art Gallery and Museums.
Consult items in the Ben Uri archive related to [Alberto Morrocco]
Publications related to [Alberto Morrocco] in the Ben Uri Library