Ian Hamilton Finlay
About this artwork
Alexander Moffat’s artistic output consists chiefly of portraits, which are often of his family and friends. As an influential teacher and writer on art, Moffat’s sitters have included many prominent Scottish figures, such as John Bellany, Alan Bold and Norman MacCaig. In this portrait of Ian Hamilton Finlay, Moffat has shown the sitter in a natural and relaxed pose, looking as if he is thinking or listening to a conversation. By the late 1960s, Moffat had abandoned his palette of earthy colours to use bright colours, influenced by Matisse. In this work, the soft, bright pastels combine with Moffat’s confident sense of linear form to make a striking portrait of Finlay.
Updated before 2020
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artist:Alexander Moffat (born 1943) Scottish
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title:Ian Hamilton Finlay
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date created:1975
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materials:Coloured chalk on paper
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measurements:54.00 x 40.10 cm
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object type:
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credit line:Presented by Mr Philip Wright 1976
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accession number:GMA 1591
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gallery:
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depicted:
Alexander Moffat
Alexander Moffat
Born in Dunfermline, Moffat studied at Edinburgh College of Art from 1960 to 64. Alongside his friend John Bellany, Moffat emerged as one of the Scottish Realists, so-called because of their social awareness and rejection of the decorative principles that defined much Scottish art during the first...