John Bellany

John Bellany, 1942 - 2013. Artist (Self-portrait) (with Alan Davie, 1920 - 2014)

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About this artwork

During the mid-1980s, Bellany increasingly focused on portraiture as a creative outlet. Rather than achieving as close a likeness as possible, Bellany’s portraits are vibrant visual statements that often say something about himself as well as the sitter. Not surprisingly, the self-portrait is central to the artist’s oeuvre. In this image, the artist – on the right – and fellow artist Alan Davie seem compressed by magical symbols, which play a large role in both men’s work. This double portrait is the homage of one artist to another; just as Bellany's paintings have inspired the younger generation of Scottish artists, so did Davie's before that inspire Bellany's generation. Yet it is also a painting where the two artists, side by side, watch us, the public, inspect their work.

Updated before 2020

  • artist:
    John Bellany (1942 - 2013) Scottish
  • title:
    John Bellany, 1942 - 2013. Artist (Self-portrait) (with Alan Davie, 1920 - 2014)
  • date created:
    Dated 1983
  • materials:
    Oil on canvas
  • measurements:
    213.30 x 165.00 cm
  • object type:
  • credit line:
    Purchased 1984
  • accession number:
    PG 2632
  • gallery:
  • depicted:
  • subject:
  • artwork photographed by:
    Antonia Reeve
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John Bellany

John Bellany