About this artwork

James Maxton was a prominent figure in the Independent Labour Party and was known as an eloquent speaker. The dockyard seen here refers to pivotal events in his life and politics. He refused to fight in the First World War and this position led him to work on the Clyde College in Glasgow; he became closely associated with the radical socialist politics of the Red Clydeside era (a period of political radicalism in Glasgow between 1910 and 1930). In 1916 he was imprisoned for encouraging workers to strike. He went on to author the Cook-Maxton Manifesto of 1928 with A.J. Cook (1883–1931), a prominent miners’ leader and trade unionist, calling for ‘an unceasing war against poverty’.

Updated March 2024

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Sir John Lavery

Sir John Lavery