Artworks by Alasdair Gray are on show for the first time at Kelvingrove, including pieces gifted in memory of his late wife and the original art for Poor Things
For the first time ever, artworks by the celebrated artist and writer Scottish Alasdair Gray are being exhibited at Kelvingrove Gallery, the very place he credited with inspiring his lifelong passion for art.
The display features nine pieces from the Morag McAlpine Bequest, gifted to Glasgow Life Museums ten years ago in memory of Gray’s late wife.
Among the highlights is the original artwork for his 1992 novel Poor Things, recently adapted into a major feature film in 2023.
These personal works, including portraits that later became characters in his stories and framed drawings for his own and others’ book covers, were originally given to Glasgow Museums in 2014 following Morag’s passing.
This exhibition coincides with what would have been Gray’s 90th year. The multi-talented Glaswegian, who died in December 2019 aged 85, was not only a novelist and poet but also a prolific playwright, painter, and printmaker.
His creative legacy continues to thrive through books, exhibitions, conferences, and the annual Gray Day held every 25 February.
The Morag McAlpine Bequest enriches the existing Alasdair Gray collection at Glasgow Life Museums, which already includes his City Recorder series from the late 1970s, some of which are displayed at the Gallery of Modern Art.
The new exhibition, housed in the Fragile Art Gallery, marks a decade since the donation. Alongside Poor Things, visitors can view the wrap-around jacket for Old Negatives, artwork in progress for Agnes Owens’ People Like That, and the piece A Working Mother.
The display offers a fascinating glimpse into Gray’s artistic methods, highlighting how he reused imagery and drew from historical artworks to shape his distinctive style.
Katie Bruce, producer curator with Glasgow Life, said: “Alasdair Gray showed great generosity when he gifted The Morag McAlpine Bequest to the city, following the passing of his wife.
“These personal gifts for anniversaries, birthdays, and Christmas, include portraits later transformed into characters in his work and framed drawings for book covers and dust jackets, both for his own publications and those of fellow writers.
“It is fitting and wonderful to display this collection in a place that meant so much to Gray, and to offer audiences a deeper understanding of his innovative practice and extraordinary talent.”
Visitors to Kelvingrove can also admire Cowcaddens Streetscape in the Fifties, painted in 1964. This evocative work, which Gray described as “my best big oil painting,” captures life in a Glasgow neighbourhood deeply changed after the war.
It stands as a significant example of his painting during the decade following his graduation from Glasgow School of Art in 1957.
This painting captures the changes in landscape and community life in Cowcaddens, one of Glasgow’s oldest districts. It is an important reminder of the city’s past, reflecting the post-war transformation that shaped modern Glasgow.
The combination of this artwork alongside the Morag McAlpine Bequest creates a rich and diverse showcase of Gray’s talents, allowing visitors a rare insight into the breadth of his artistic career and the influences behind his work.
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