A major exhibition of works by the artists known as The Glasgow Boys is to be staged in Glasgow and London. About 150 pieces by artists, including Sir James Guthrie, John Lavery and George Henry, will be on display from Easter until August 2010.

It will be the first large exhibition staged by Culture and Sport Glasgow, a charitable company set up to run the city’s museums.

Kelvingrove Art Gallery and London’s Royal Academy will host the works.

The Glasgow Boys were a group of 25 young artists who worked in the late 19th Century.

Kelvingrove Art Gallery is to develop what they claim will be the definitive collection of works by the artists.

About 150 pieces will be selected, some from private collectors and previously unseen, before 75 works are sent to London.

Culture and Sport Glasgow said it is the first exhibition from a Scottish Gallery to be shown at the Royal Academy.

Lord MacFarlane of Bearsden led the group which decided to put the exhibition together.

‘Attract tourists’

He said: “I consider it to be a wonderful accolade for Glasgow and the Glasgow boys that they will appear in their own right in what I think is the greatest visual arts institution in the world.

“The definitive exhibition of Glasgow Boys paintings will restore their reputation and show their enormous talent in a new way for another generation to appreciate.”

Baillie Liz Cameron, chairwoman of Culture and Sport Glasgow, said the exhibition would help to boost Glasgow’s tourism industry.

She said: “I’m certain that when the exhibition is shown in London it will attract tourists with a huge knowledge and appreciation of art to Glasgow to see the collections the people here currently enjoy so much.”

Works by the Glasgow Boys can currently be seen at the Kelvingrove Art Gallery, the Hunterian Museum, the Burrell Collection and Broughton House, Kirkcudbright.

Posted on March 14th, 2008 under Exhibitions • Tags: art, exhibition, gallery, Glasgow Boys. • RSS 2.0 feed • Leave a response, or trackback