Latest news with #KelvingroveArtGallery
Scottish Sun
10-07-2025
- Scottish Sun
Popular Scots museum named among best in world and it's the perfect place to take kids this summer
The collection includes artefacts from across Europe, Asia, Africa, and Oceania MUST SEE Popular Scots museum named among best in world and it's the perfect place to take kids this summer Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) AN iconic Scottish museum has been named among the best in the world. An estimated 197 million of us supported the arts by visiting the world's top 100 museums in 2024. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 3 An iconic Scottish museum has been named among the best in the world Credit: Alamy 3 The collection includes artefacts from across Europe, Asia, Africa, and Oceania Credit: Getty 3 Kelvingrove Art Gallery came in at second place in the 'Least Disappointing' category Credit: Getty With this in mind, researchers at Radical Storage analysed 82,445 visitor reviews of 100 of the most visited museums (including galleries) in the world, to discover the most and least disappointing museums. The study used 102 keyword indicators for positive and negative experiences, such as "beautiful" or "boring", to find the percentage of reviews which indicated a positive experience and negative experience. The percentage of positive reviews was then divided by the percentage of negative reviews in the study, to give an overall score out of 100, with 1 being the most disappointing and 100 being the least disappointing. Glasgow's famous Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum came in at second place in the 'Least Disappointing' category, with a score of 75.9. Housing 8,000 objects, it started life in 1870 as a City Industrial Museum. The collection includes art and artefacts not only from Scotland but across Europe, Asia, Africa, and Oceania. The museum has double the proportion of words mentioning diversity than average (1.2% compared to the average of 0.5%). The intitution also has double the mentions of friendliness (5% of positive mentions compared to the average of 2.4%). The National Portrait Gallery in Washington DC came out on top in the survey with a score of 76.9. We told how another Scottish museum famed for its panoramic views has also been named among the best in the world. National Railway Museum Celebrates 50th Anniversary It ranked number seven in the list, ahead of London's Natural History Museum and New York's American Museum of Natural History.
Scottish Sun
17-06-2025
- Scottish Sun
Cop lawyer slams art gallery over ‘highly misleading' Sheku Bayoh exhibit
Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) A COP lawyer has slammed an art gallery after claiming it showcased a 'biased' exhibit saying Sheku Bayoh was the victim of 'racist police brutality.' Kelvingrove Art Gallery in Glasgow unveiled the item with a sign called 'Sheku Bayoh Street' next to a painting showing white cops chasing after black locals - with one of them lying dead. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 3 The exhibition, titled 'Glasgow - City of Empire' features a 'Sheku Bayoh Street' sign 3 Police federation lawyer Professor Peter Watson said the exhibit was "highly misleading" Bayoh, 31, was drunk and on drugs and had been seen armed with a knife in Kirkcaldy, Fife in May 2015 when six officers were dispatched to the scene to restrain him. He died a short time later in custody and a long-running probe into the death is still ongoing to decide if race was a factor in the death. But lawyer for the Scottish Police Federation (SPF), Professor Peter Watson, complained to Kelvingrove bosses about the 'highly misleading' exhibit. He wrote: "The suggestion that Mr Bayoh's interaction with the police was primarily or solely a matter of police violence or that it was motivated by an attempt to control individuals of ethnic backgrounds is both misleading and unsupported by the evidence. "We must formally complain that both the exhibition and its explanatory materials present a one-sided and biased account of the circumstances surrounding Mr Bayoh's death. "We request a detailed explanation from the gallery as to how and why this exhibition has been curated and presented in such a biased and artificial manner, and what steps will be taken to ensure that the public is provided with a balanced and factually accurate account of the events in question." The row blew up earlier this week after the SPF were made aware of the controversial piece which is part of a bigger exhibit called 'Glasgow - City of Empire.' This exhibition examines the legacies of colonialism, slavery, and present-day issues such as racial violence and police brutality. It uses a 'Sheku Bayoh Street' sign which was put up by the Celtic ultras group the Green Brigade and a 'Black Lives Matter' placard. The narrative further references brutal policing as an integral part of the maintenance of the Empire. I was left with a fractured skull and brain damage after 'random' attack on night out… then I got a chilling message Prof Watson addressed his letter from not just the federation, which represents rank and file officers in Scotland, but also specifically their members who are witnesses to the current inquiry. He wrote: 'A female police officer was seriously assaulted by Mr Bayoh during the incident, resulting in her early retirement from the force on medical grounds and ongoing receipt of therapeutic support for her mental health. She lost her career.' The inquiry is currently in crisis after the SPF said five secret meeting between the chair Lord Bracadale and Sheku's family raised questions about his 'impartiality.' So far, the probe has cost the public purse £23.7million and counting. A spokesperson for Glasgow Life said; 'The museum scripted interpretation makes no mention of Sheku Bayoh or the circumstances surrounding his death. 'Some of the items in the Legacies of Slavery and Empire display including the sign, a placard from a Glasgow Green demonstration and newspaper headlines from the time relate directly to the Black Lives Matter Movement. 'The street sign in the exhibition was created by activists as part of the 2020 protests and was mounted in Cochrane Street by The Green Brigade. It is included in the display to reflect this act of protest.'
STV News
13-06-2025
- Entertainment
- STV News
Nine Alasdair Gray works to go on display at Glasgow museum for first time
Nine works by Alasdair Gray, including the original cover design for Poor Things, will be displayed in Glasgow for the first time. The works were gifted to Glasgow Life Museums by Gray over a decade ago in memory of his wife, and will go on display at Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum from June 14. The display, entitled Alasdair Gray: Works from The Morag McAlpine Bequest, marks the first time the works have been on display since they were gifted to the city. The collection includes nine works, including the original art for his 1992 novel Poor Things, which was made into a major feature film in 2023. Glasgow Life Four Folk in Glasgow Publishing 1977: Simon Berry and Bill McLellan, Glasgow Publishers, Jim Taylor, Australian Writer and Printer, Shelley Killen USA Artist (1977/2004) by Alasdair Gray. It also includes the wrap-around jacket for Old Negatives, artwork in progress for the jacket design of Agnes Owens' People Like That, and A Working Mother, among others. Exhibited in the Fragile Art Gallery, the display opens in what would have been Gray's 90th year, in the very place where he credited a weekend art class with sparking his early love of painting. Born in Riddrie, in the east end of Glasgow in 1943, Gray was a prolific poet, playwright, novelist, painter, and printmaker. The artist died in 2019 at the age of 85, but his work continues to be celebrated annually on February 25, also known as Gray Day. Katie Bruce, producer curator with Glasgow Life, said 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,' she said. 'Among them is the original cover design for Poor Things, which many will now recognise from the recent film adaptation.' She added: '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.' Get all the latest news from around the country Follow STV News Scan the QR code on your mobile device for all the latest news from around the country
Glasgow Times
13-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Glasgow Times
Famous Glasgow artist's works to go on show in city for first time
Alasdair Gray generously donated The Morag McAlpine Bequest to Glasgow Life Museums following the death of his wife in 2014. Now, a selection of pieces from this significant collection will be on show at Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum, from Saturday (June 14).Alasdair Gray: Works from The Morag McAlpine Bequest celebrates 10 years since this treasured gift was donated to the city that meant so much to the legendary artist. Poor Things by Alasdair Gray, 1992 (Image: Glasgow Life Museums/The Estate of Alasdair Gray) The exhibition opens in the Fragile Art Gallery in what would have been Gray's 90th year. The artist, who died in December 2019, credited a weekend art class at Kelvingrove with sparking his early love of painting. Works on display include the original design artwork for Poor Things – his novel published in 1992, made famous by the 2023 movie starring Emma Stone. Emma Stone in Poor Things (Image: Searchlight Pictures) Others include the wrap-around jacket for Old Negatives, artwork in progress for the jacket design of Agnes Owens' People Like That, and A Working Mother, among others. This display offers insight into key aspects of Gray's artistic practice, tracing the creation of artwork for publications from inception to print and explores how he reused imagery, and reimagined the influence of historical artworks in his own distinctive style. It also highlights Gray's innovative and resourceful approach, including his willingness to use whatever was close at hand, such as Tippex and sticky labels, to make instant changes to his work. It was a process that echoes the idea of erratum, where errors or alterations become a meaningful part of the creative act, explains Katie Bruce, producer curator with Glasgow Life. 'Alasdair Gray showed great generosity when he gifted The Morag McAlpine Bequest to the city, following the passing of his wife,' she said. '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. 'Among them is the original cover design for Poor Things, which many will now recognise from the recent film adaptation.' Alasdair Gray (Image: Newsquest) Katie added: '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 Museum can also see Cowcaddens Streetscape in the Fifties, which shows life in an area of Glasgow where the landscape and community radically changed post-war. Painted in 1964, it is one of Gray's best-known works and what he referred to as 'my best big oil painting.' It represents a significant example of his painting within the decade following his graduation from the renowned Glasgow School of Art in 1957. Born in Riddrie in 1934, Gray and his family were evacuated from Glasgow during World War II but he later returned to attend Whitehill Senior Secondary School and Glasgow School of Art. He went on to work as a part-time teacher and a scene painter for local theatres. Throughout the 1960s and 70s he wrote plays for television, radio and the stage. (Image: Newsquest) He worked on his first novel, the highly-acclaimed Lanark, for decades and when it was finally published in 1981, it was hailed as a landmark of Scottish literature. In 2001 he became a professor of creative writing at the University of Glasgow. Gray was a prolific poet, playwright, novelist, painter and printmaker, whose work continues to be celebrated in books, exhibitions, conferences and the annual Gray Day on February 25. The Morag McAlpine Bequest enriches the Alasdair Gray collection held by Glasgow Life Museums, which includes the City Recorder series (1977–78), some of which can be viewed at the Gallery of Modern Art.
The Herald Scotland
12-06-2025
- Entertainment
- The Herald Scotland
Nine works by Alasdair Gray go on display at Kelvingrove
Gray gifted The Morag McAlpine Bequest to Glasgow Life Museums following the death of his wife Morag McAlpine in 2014. Nine works from the collection will be on show at Kelvingrove from Saturday, June 14. Alasdair Gray: Works from The Morag McAlpine Bequest celebrates 10 years since the collection was donated to the city. READ MORE: Exhibited in the Fragile Art Gallery, the new display opens in what would have been Gray's 90th year, in the very place where he credited a weekend art class with sparking his early love of painting. Works on display include the original design artwork for Poor Things – his novel published in 1992, the wrap-around jacket for Old Negatives, artwork in progress for the jacket design of Agnes Owens' People Like That, and A Working Mother, among others. The display offers insight into key aspects of Gray's artistic practice, tracing the creation of artwork for publications from inception to print and explores how he reused imagery, and reimagined the influence of historical artworks in his own distinctive style. It also highlights Gray's innovative and resourceful approach, including his willingness to use whatever was close at hand, such as Tippex and sticky labels, to make instant changes to his work, a process that echoes the idea of erratum, where errors or alterations become a meaningful part of the creative act. Poor Things (1992) by Alasdair Gray. Glasgow Life Museums' collection. (Image: The Estate of Alasdair Gray) 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. Among them is the original cover design for Poor Things, which many will now recognise from the recent film adaptation. '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 Museum can also see Cowcaddens Streetscape in the Fifties, which shows life in an area of Glasgow where the landscape and community radically changed post-war. Painted in 1964, it is one of Gray's best-known works and what he referred to as 'my best big oil painting'. It represents a significant example of his painting within the decade following his graduation from Glasgow School of Art in 1957. Kelvingrove Art Gallery & Museum (Image: NQ) The work was also a key part of Gray's retrospective – From The Personal To The Universal – which ran at Glasgow's Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum from late 2014 to early 2015. Cowcaddens shows life in an area of Glasgow where the landscape and community changed radically post-war. The work captures the look and feel of daily life in Cowcaddens and is a powerful way of engaging with Glasgow's past. It highlights how buildings, streets and people give the place its character. Alasdair Gray was one of Scotland's most multi-talented artists. Born in Riddrie, in the east of Glasgow, he was also a prolific poet, playwright, novelist, painter, and printmaker whose work continues to be celebrated in books, exhibitions, conferences, and the annual Gray Day (February 25). Gray's most acclaimed work is generally considered to be his first novel, Lanark. Published in 1981 and written over a period of almost 30 years, the book is seen as a landmark of Scottish fiction. The Morag McAlpine Bequest enriches the Alasdair Gray collection held by Glasgow Life Museums, which includes the City Recorder series (1977–78), some of which can be viewed at the Gallery of Modern Art.
