George Wyllie papers

• Reference:GB 249 T-WYL
• Dates of Creation:c. 1960s - 2008
• Name of Creator:
  Wyllie, George Ralston, 1921-2012, artist and sculptor
• Language of Material:English
• Physical Description:
  10 metres

• 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.

• Administrative / 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.

• Access Information

  Open

• Note

  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.

• Other Finding Aids

  Item level typed list available in reading room.

• Archivist's Note

  Created by Victoria Peters, February 2012. Revised by VP April 2013. Revised by VP April 2015.

• Custodial History

  The papers were donated by George Wyllie to the University of Strathclyde between 2006 and 2009.

• Additional Information

  published

• Subjects

  Artists

  Sculptors