Robert Colquhoun, 1914 - 1962. Artist (Self-portrait)

Colquhoun was born in Kilmarnock. He studied at Glasgow School of Art from 1933 to 1938, where he met Robert MacBryde. They became life-partners and were known as ‘the two Roberts’. In 1944 they moved to London, where they were drawn into the Neo-Romantic group. Their studio, which they shared with the painter John Minton, became a meeting place for the British avant-garde. By the mid-1940s Colquhoun’s style had turned towards a bleak, almost existential view of the world, reflecting the conditions and concerns of post-Second World War Britain. While he is best known for his angst-ridden pastorals, he also designed the costumes and scenery for ballet productions.

Credit: Purchased 1990