Ian Hamilton Finlay

Even Gods have Dwelt in Woods

About this artwork

This work refers to a long-running battle that Finlay was involved in with Strathclyde Regional Council. The carving was first purchased by the Scottish Arts Council and subsequently 'kidnapped' by the artist's associates. It was then inscribed on the reverse with the names of the 'guilty' who were involved in the feud about the rateable status of a Garden Temple on the artist's property. The piece is one in a series of 'heroic emblems' in which Finlay combines a motto and an image. The line is from Virgil and the picture is based on a photograph of the American heavy cruiser 'Minneapolis' in camouflage.

Updated before 2020

  • artist:
  • title:
    Even Gods have Dwelt in Woods
  • date created:
    1976
  • materials:
    Stone
  • measurements:
    23.00 x 28.10 x 7.40 cm
  • object type:
  • credit line:
    Scottish Arts Council Collection; presented 1997
  • accession number:
    GMA 4180
  • gallery:
  • subject:
  • artwork photographed by:
    Antonia Reeve
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Ian Hamilton Finlay

Ian Hamilton Finlay