Running for George

I went to a private view tonight at The Lighthouse in Glasgow ahead of an auction tomorrow night of the studio contents of two very different Scottish artists, George Wyllie and John Cunningham.

This picture shoes my daughter running into the sale room past a set of footballers which George made for Euro 96.

Link here to the auction catalogue

George Wyllie (1921-2012) was the former Customs and Excise officer turned self-taught artist who gave the world the astonishing social scul?tures, The Straw Loco and The Paper Boat.

The question mark lay at the heart of all his work because, he said, it was too important to leave to the end.

John Cunningham (1926-1998) in contrast, was a classically trained painter who taught generations of artists at the Glasgow School of Art.

As his nephew, the eminent academic Professor Alan Riach, put it, his paintings 'give pleasure to the eye and thinking mind.'

For the last few years, I've been working closely with George Wyllie's family promoting and protecting the legacy of this extraordinary artist. It's not easy art, that's for sure.

A well-to-do looking lady was wandering around looking at George's work and looking a bit puzzled.

'It's a bit odd,' she said to me.

'Do you like it?' she asked my nine-year-old daughter, who is one of George's biggest fans (children get George...)

'Oh yes,' she replied and proceeded to tell her exactly what she liked about it.

That's my girl...

I have never actually been to an auction before so it's been a learning curve for me.

Lyon & Turnbull, who are selling the work, have been fantastic and very supportive to the Wyllie family. It's a nerve-wracking prospect for a family selling their relative's work.

Here is what The Herald wrote about the auction of George's work on Saturday past. I think this sums up what lies beneath:

"An auction of works by such an influential artist can be an anxious moment; certainly it would be a great loss if Wyllie's best-known works were to disappear into private collections or leave the country, but thanks to the establishment of the George Wyllie Foundation, a large number of his most important pieces are being kept for ongoing exhibition. An artist's influence does not pass away when he or she does; through the enjoyment of his unique works by new audiences, Wyllie's is set to grow."

(Comment section of The Herald newspaper 24.08.13)