The Glasgow School of Art

John Morrison
'Autonomy and Identity : Independent art in Glasgow 1955 - 1965' watch video

The Glasgow Group was founded in 1957 by three students from GSA, frustrated by what they perceived to be the conservative policies of the Royal Glasgow Institute exhibitions and by the lack of  outlets for artists in the City. The Group's first exhibition took place in 1958 in the McLellan Galleries. It included the work of a further ten invited young Glasgow artists, most of whom were students. This lecture will explore the origins, foundation and early history of the Glasgow Group in the context of the artistic environment of the City in the late 1950s and early 1960s.

John Morrison is Senior Lecturer in the Department of History of Art, University of Aberdeen. Prior to that he worked at the Yale Center for British Art in Connecticut and at Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art, Dundee. His writings on landscape, nationalism and identity have been published in numerous collected writings. His major publications include Particles of Light: A History of Aberdeen Artists' Society 1827-2000, (RGU Press, Aberdeen) 2000; Painting the Nation: Identity and Nationalism in Scottish Painting 1800-1920, (Edinburgh UP, Edinburgh), 2003; and Land, Labour and Landscape in nineteenth century Scotland (forthcoming).

Presented with GSA Exhibitions, in relation to the exhibition The Two Alasdairs, Mackintosh Museum,Nov 2008 - Jan 2009

Hosted by The School of Fine Art, The Friday Event Lecture Series is The Glasgow School of Art's flagship public lecture series, and brings major international speakers (including artists, architects, designers, historians and cultural theorists) to the city of Glasgow.