Description
Book SynopsisA major reappraisal of the life, works and legacy of Scottish painter William Gillies. Presents new evidence and looks at unseen paintings to reveal his connections to British and European modernism.
Trade Review"Published to celebrate both the 125th anniversary of his birth and the 50th of his death, this is a revelatory account of the life and art of the Scottish painter William George Gillies (1898-1973). Until now he has been considered a ruralist, a Neo-romantic and a traditionalist. This detailed biography dispels the myth of such interpretation and for the first time places him securely within the modernist canon. In his persuasive analysis Andrew McPherson reveals the tight relationship of Gillies's art to personal experience from the trauma of family history to the 'theatre' of war, both of which were counterbalanced by the attraction of new European art. McPherson reveals how Gillies's grief at the early death of his artist sister Emma became formalised through his art. A thorough and skilful analysis of selected art works identifies many signifiers of remembrance over time. This is a compelling book which closely interrogates art and in so doing not only repositions a modest and sensitive artist but also illuminates the nature of Scottish art in the central decades of the twentieth century." -Elizabeth Cumming, Edinburgh College of Art, University of Edinburgh
