AS the “John Buchan Story” Museum in Peebles starts its third season, the museum is delighted to have been lent for this season a recent painting by the distinguished Canadian artist, Dennis Geden.

Many Sots will have seen his pictures in the MacLaurin Gallery in Ayr.

John Buchan’s last, and some say his best, novel was called Sick Heart River and published posthumously. The painting, also called Sick Heart (oil on canvas), depicts John Buchan, Lord Tweedsmuir as his character and alter ego Edward Leithen in the uniform of a private soldier, with the mythical Sick Heart River behind him.

The artist writes: “Reading Sick Heart River after John Buchan’s other books, I was struck by the dark seriousness of this adventure story set in Canada.

“It is a most powerful book. Buchan choosing to terminate his protagonist Sir Edward Leithen, and then himself dying unexpectedly almost at the same chronological time, was an unusual twist of fate I wanted to work with. The painting’s acceptance for the Royal Academy’s Summer Exhibition in 2014 was an honour and I have been pleasantly surprised by the attention it received.” Ian Buckingham, the museum’s chairman, said: “We are delighted to have received this painting for our exhibition. We also have a cabinet displaying some new '39 steps’ material, so we are looking forward to showing these to visitors over the coming season.” The museum is open until the end of October. Full details can be found on our website at www.johnbuchanstory.co.uk