A Fine Line – The Art of Alasdair Gray

*PLEASE NOTE THAT OWING TO ADVERSE WEATHER CONDITIONS THIS AUCTION, ORIGINALLY SCEDULED FOR 4 MARCH, NOW TAKES PLACE ON 11 MARCH

Ahead of the Scottish Contemporary Art Auction on Sunday 11 March, Specialist, Jenny Macleod, talks us through one of the star lots of the sale. 

There isn’t much Alasdair Gray hasn’t turned his hand to; he’s a poet, playwright, novelist, scholar and a visual artist.  His prolific output ranges from paintings, murals, printmaking, watercolours and drawings, and this month we are delighted to offer for sale a fine example of Alasdair Gray’s figurative work. 

After graduating from the Glasgow School of Art in 1957, Gray worked as a muralist and painter before the publication of his first critically acclaimed novel Lanark in 1981.  From Oran Mor’s stunning auditorium to the panorama at Hillhead subway station, his artistic vision is woven intrinsically into Glasgow itself, and his contribution to Scottish art and literature is undeniable.

The subject of lot 10 has been confirmed as Danielle O’Shaughnessy, who was drawn and painted sometime between 1970 and 1972.  Gray often painted his sitters on brown paper, employing the use of felt-tipped pens, inks, watercolours, oils and acrylics for the surroundings so the paper appeared like skin.  Never one to shy away from the reality of human anatomy, this is an honest and intimate portrait with a linear beauty that is unmistakably Gray’s.

Lot 10 will be offered on Sunday 11 March with an auction estimate of £4,000 – 6,000. 

To view the catalogue in full, click here >>

We are still inviting entries for our Scottish Contemporary Art auction until Monday 19 February at 10am.  If you have high-quality Scottish paintings you are thinking of selling please contact pictures@mctears.co.uk