A painting by one of the leading Glasgow Boy paintings is on public display for the first time in sixty years.

The Pergola, by Sir John Lavery, has not been on display in public since the 1940s, but is now being exhibited at Duff House, near Banff.

The painting was completed by Lavery (1856-1941) in 1906, the same year that Duff House was gifted to the towns of Banff and Macduff.

The painting has been loaned to the A Listed house from a private collection.

The house is now in the care of heritage body Historic Environment Scotland and open to the public.

Hugh Morrison, collections registrar at Historic Environment Scotland, said: "We are thrilled to receive this important masterpiece on loan at Duff House and very grateful to the private lender for the opportunity of putting it on public display for the first time since the 1940s.

"The quality of this painting is sure to attract many fans of The Glasgow School to see it in its new setting.

“The Pergola by Sir John Lavery is a welcome addition to the wealth of artworks on loan from the National Galleries of Scotland and other lenders.

"The painting will join works by El Greco, Gainsborough and Raeburn and the collection of paintings belonging to the Erskines of Torrie, a wealthy 18th century Scottish family from Fife."

Belfast-born painter Lavery spent some time in Glasgow and was associated with The Glasgow School, a circle of influential artists and designers that flourished from the 1890s to around 1910.

Painted in 1906 and first exhibited in 1908 at the Paris Salonne d’Automne, The Pergola depicts Lavery’s favourite German muse, Mary Auras, and his teenage daughter Eileen.

They are enjoying a breakfast in the dappled sunlight terrace of the artist’s residence in Tangier.

Sir John became interested in the Moroccan port in 1891 - later purchasing the small villa in the painting known as Dar-el-Midfah or the House of the Cannon in 1903.

The identity of the young man in the painting is unknown, however it is said that the man could be one of Mary’s suitors.

The Pergola can be viewed as part of general admission to Duff House.

Duff House was designed by Scottish architect William Adam (1689-1748).

It is considered to be an Adam masterpiece and is one of the most important buildings of its kind in the north of Scotland.

The house was commissioned by William Duff, Lord Braco, later 1st Earl Fife, as a family home to replace a smaller more modest residence nearby, on the present site of Airlie Gardens in Banff.