Busts Of Twelve Scottish Poets To Be Unveiled

An exhibition of twelve sculpted portrait busts of Scottish poets opens this weekend at Inverness Museum and Art Gallery.

The mounted bronze heads, or herms, depict poets who have made a significant contribution to the canon of Scottish literature.

The Twelve Poets are Sorley MacLean, Hamish Henderson, Jackie Kay, Liz Lochead, Tom Leonard, Norman MacCaig, Hugh MacDiarmid, Douglas Dunn, Edwin Morgan, Naomi Mitchison, Ian Crichton-Smith and W.S. Graham.

The works were produced by sculptors Michael Snowdon, Bill Scott, Alex Main, Tony Morrow, Archie Forrest, Vincent Butler and David Annand. 

The dozen busts are the generous gift of New Edinburgh Limited to the Scottish National Portrait Gallery, who commissioned them for Edinburgh Park at the Gyle where the original sculptures may be seen in their landscaped setting. A second bronze cast of each of the portraits was made especially for the national collection.

The Scottish National Portrait Gallery was delighted to accept the gift of these twelve portrait sculptures representing major twentieth-century Scottish poets and is touring the exhibition to Inverness in partnership with The Highland Council’s Exhibitions Unit.

The choice of which poets should be represented was not an easy one and the selection was done with the assistance of the Scottish Poetry Library.

Ian Wall, the Director of New Edinburgh Limited and the driving force behind the project said:  “‘No such group of poets could be considered definitive and any one of us would want to bring in other poets. If others are encouraged by this exhibition to commission sculptures of the poets we have missed, we will be very pleased for the sculptors and the poets.”

One of the twelve Edinburgh Park heads depicts Raasay poet, Sorley MacLean, or in Gaelic, Somhairle MacGill-Eain. Born in Osgaig on October 1911, he was enchanted by the musical quality of Gaelic story and song which strongly influenced his work.
Iain Crichton Smith was raised in Lewis and learned English as a second language after Gaelic and always had a passionate interest in highland life.
The head of Glasgow poet Tom Leonard was sculpted by Highland artist Alex Main, who lives in Tain.

The exhibition runs from 10th January – 7th February in the Small Gallery at Inverness Museum & Art Gallery

Also running at the same time in the Museum is a Scottish Printmakers Exhibition featuring a print portfolio produced by student of Gray’s School of Art and invited artists Robin Wilson, Anna Mitchell, William Moulding and Gordon Burnett.

Dean Melville, Exhibitions Co-ordinator at The Highland Council, said: “We’re delighted to host an exhibition of such high quality that’s so well suited to our touring exhibitions remit. It’s also great to help raise the profile of Gray’s School of Art and expose the first-class work of its students.”

For further information or to arrange media photos of the exhibits please contact: Cathy Shankland, Area Cultural Officer 01463 663821 Cathy.Shankland@highland.gov.uk