National Galleries of Scotland

This work is part of a series of portraits of Scottish poets commissioned by the Scottish Arts Council. At this time in Scotland there existed an outstanding generation of poets which included Edwin Morgan, one of the most important Scottish poets of the twentieth century. From 1999 to 2002 he served as Glasgow?s Poet Laureate before being made the first ever `Scots Makar? or Scotland?s national poet, in 2004. In this vibrant portrait, Moffat shows Morgan not only as a poet but also as a professor and critic. Moffat notes: ?the Paolozzi print, the modernist chair, are literally there in his study. I?ve used these items to pay tribute to his surrealism and his use of scientific imagery?.