Media Release
From
Gordon Boag
Phone 0141 287 6418 Mob 07825 904 240
Email
gordon.boag@csglasgow.org
16 June 2010
GLASGOW BOYS EXHIBITION WILL SET KELVINGROVE RECORD
Around 40,000 people have visited the biggest ever exhibition of paintings by The
Glasgow Boys opens at the Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum on April 9. Pioneering
Painters: The Glasgow Boys 1880–1900 features more than 140 works making it the
biggest exhibition Kelvingrove has staged since it re-opened in 2006. It’s the most
significant collection of their works ever displayed in the city.
Pioneering Painters: The Glasgow Boys 1880–1900 is the definitive retrospective of the
works of artists such as Joseph Crawhall, Sir John Lavery, Sir James Guthrie, George
Henry and Edward Atkinson Hornel. It opened at Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum
on 9 April and runs until 27 September. Highlights of the show then move onto the Royal
Academy in London in October, the first time a Glasgow Museums exhibition has toured
to the Royal Academy.
Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum is by far, Scotland’s most popular visitor attraction.
Entry to the museum, in common with all the museums and galleries operated on behalf
of the city by Glasgow Life, remains free. It is home to more than 8000 objects from
Glasgow’s collection of 1.4 million items.
Several of the best known works by some of The Glasgow Boys are regularly displayed
there along with works by Titian, Rembrandt, Botticelli and Van Gogh to name these few.
From July this year Titian’s Diana and Acteon will also be on display at Kelvingrove.
The period 1880-1900 specifically focuses on a time when the group was influencing
artists not just in Scotland, but across Europe and the world. Among the iconic works
that will be on show include The Tennis Party, Old Willie – the Village Worthy, A Funeral
Service in the Highlands and Schoolmates. Tickets for Pioneering Painters: The
Glasgow Boys 1880-1900 are on sale from the shop at Kelvingrove Art Gallery and
Museum and will cost £5 and £3 for concessions. Under 16’s will be allowed in free.
Lord Macfarlane of Bearsden said: “I’ve long admired the work of The Glasgow Boys
and consider it a wonderful accolade for them that this definitive retrospective of their
work at Kelvingrove will then be shown at The Royal Academy. This exhibition of
Glasgow Boys paintings will show their enormous talent in a new way for another
generation to appreciate."
Lord Macfarlane of Bearsden led the Kelvingrove Refurbishment Appeal which was
established in 2002 to raise £5 million. By the time it closed it had raised well over
double the original target. Lord Macfarlane also led the group which brought Pioneering
Painters: The Glasgow Boys 1880 – 1900 to Kelvingrove.
Ends
Notes to editors
Pioneering Painters: The Glasgow Boys 1880-1900 opens at Kelvingrove Art
Gallery and Museum on 9 April and runs until 27 September
Tickets will cost £5 for adults and £3 for concessions and free for under 16’s.
For further information please go to www.glasgowmuseums.com
Pioneering Painters: The Glasgow Boys 1880-1900 is sponsored by First Group
For further information about the exhibition please contact Gordon Boag.