The Scottish Gallery is delighted to present an exhibition to mark the centenary of the birth of Earl Haig. The Duke of Edinburgh, an old friend of the artist, noted in his foreword to Haig’s ninetieth birthday show ten years ago, that “A prison of war camp is not the most likely place to start a career as a painter, but it led to studies at Camberwell Art School, it was obviously more than a way of passing the time at the notorious Colditz Castle in Germany. His first show at The Scottish Gallery was of work done in captivity, but then he went on to exhibit regularly; this is his fifteenth.”
Sadly all too soon we hosted his Memorial show, at the Gallery in Edinburgh in 2010. These shows helped to secure his reputation as a significant artist, finally seeing off the taint of dilettantism, the sense that his aristocratic heritage somehow disbarred him from serious consideration. The Gallery was always a champion and our sixty-five years of and representation can have few parallels in the annals of the art world. This special exhibition marks the 100th birthday of this influential artist with artworks from across Earl Haig’s career, some of which have never been publically exhibited before.
