 Duncan also acted as director of Geddes's short-lived Old Edinburgh School of Art, and was commissioned by him to design The Witches' Well, Edinburgh, in 1894.In 1897 Duncan returned to Dundee and exhibited Celtic and symbolist paintings at the Graphic Arts Association as well as the Royal Scottish Academy and the Royal Glasgow Institute among others.It was at this time that he painted The Glaive of Light now in the University of Dundee's collection.