Collections: Alasdair Gray

These works are one of 4 prints by Alasdair Gray commissioned by Edinburgh Printmakers in 2011 for the exhibition ‘The Writing on Your Wall’. These bold and colourful prints were developed from a series of black and white drawings previously published in Gray’s books. Produced with Edinburgh Printmakers, they were made in August, coinciding with the Edinburgh Festival so Gray would regularly have to ‘nip out to give a talk’ or attend an event.

Aladair Gray is an artist, writer, illustrator and muralist; most notable for inspiring audiences with his epic novel Lanark (1981). Gray is celebrated as “the father figure of the [late 20th century] renaissance in Scottish literature and art”(1) and regularly created portraits of fellow writers and his friends and children.

Gray was known locally for his eccentricity and internationally as a central figure of the literary world. He passed away in December 2019.

(1) James Campbell, The Guardian, 29th December 2019