Craigie Aitchison

Craigie Aitchison (1926-2009), Artist.

Craigie Aitchison usually painted visionary and religious subjects, as well as rendering motifs such as trees, birds and dogs in radiant colours. At the height of his career, shortly after having been elected a member of the Royal Academy of Arts, Aitchison slashed through the face on this self-portrait when a studio visitor remarked that the portrait was flattering. Aitchison subsequently had it restored, but ensured that the marks left by the lacerations remained. Obviously sensitive to the scrutiny of others, perhaps he felt that his actions had improved the portrait by presenting a more fallible human being.