Identity area
Reference code
Title
Date(s)
- 1864, 1928, 1955-2009 (Creation)
Level of description
Extent and medium
10 metres
Context area
Name of creator
Biographical history
George Wyllie was born in Glasgow in 1921. Initially a sailor and then a customs officer, he rapidly acquired a national and international reputation as an artist and sculptor, working in regenerative, performance and public art. The underlying principle of his work was that art can change ideas and is an essential force in society. There was always a question at the heart of his work. He called his art Scul?ture.
Wyllie exhibited widely in the United Kingdom, Europe, India and the United States. His best known works are ‘The Straw Locomotive,’ ‘The Paper Boat,’ ‘A Day Down a Goldmine’, ‘Equilibrium of Spires’ and ‘The Cosmic Voyage.’ He also worked in theatre, writing, installations and film. He lived and worked in Gourock, Scotland.
Wyllie had a long association with the University of Strathclyde, staging his first ever solo exhibition in the University’s Collins Gallery in 1976. In April 1990, the University awarded him the honorary degree of Doctor of Letters.
In 2005, he was awarded an MBE for service to the Arts. He died in 2012.
Archival history
Immediate source of acquisition or transfer
The papers were donated by George Wyllie to the University of Strathclyde between 2006 and 2009.
Content and structure area
Scope and content
Sketches, travel diaries, notebooks, slides, photographs, reviews, press cuttings and scrapbooks relating to all of Wyllie's art projects and exhibitions. Also includes correspondence with other artists, Wyllie's lectures and writings, biographical information and publications about Wyllie.
Appraisal, destruction and scheduling
Accruals
System of arrangement
Conditions of access and use area
Conditions governing access
No access restrictions.
Conditions governing reproduction
Language of material
- Dutch
- English
- French
- German
- Greek
- Polish
- Scottish Gaelic