William Gillies: Modernism and Nation is a touring exhibition from the Royal Scottish Academy (RSA), exhibiting in Taigh Chearsabhagh from 22 March – 12th July 2025. The exhibition and the book that accompanies it seek to give wider recognition to Gillies, his practice and his life, within the story of British Modernism.
Andrew McPherson, author of the biography William Gillies: Modernism and Nation in British Art, has been researching the life, times and works of William Gillies for over twenty years, finding both an explanation and a corrective for the recognition Gillies lacks. Through exploring the life and work of William Gillies, this biography shows that his art originates in his personal traumas and awareness of human fragility in a century of world wars, change and uncertainty.
Andrew will present a talk in Taigh Chearsabhagh on Friday 16th May, at 7pm, where he will speak about his remarkable account of Gillies, which uncovers paintings not seen before and reveals new meanings among his portraits, still lifes and landscapes. This event is free and all are welcome to join us. The biography William Gillies: Modernism and Nation in British Art, which accompanies the touring exhibition, is available in the Taigh Chearsabhagh shop and through our online shop.
More information on William Gillies: Modernism and Nation is available on Taigh Chearsabhagh’s main exhibition page. An opening preview of the exhibition will be held on Friday 21st March at 7pm, free and open to all.
Sandy Wood, Head of Collections at the Royal Scottish Academy, will give an insightful in-person guided tour of the exhibition on Saturday 22nd March, from 2pm – 3.30pm. This tour of Galleries 1 + 2 will be free of charge and open to all. See the exhibition gallery tour page for more information.
Born in Haddington, Sir William George Gillies RSA (1898-1973) studied at Edinburgh College of Art. He served in the First World War and travelled to France and Italy after graduating, returning to the college as an accomplished artist and tutor, where he taught for more than forty years until his retirement as Principal in 1966. Throughout his career Gillies explored and developed different approaches to his painting, eventually settling on a Modernist aesthetic. Gillies suffered particular personal traumas throughout his life, and Modernism gave him the creative freedom to address them through his art.
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