Dr. Alexander Moffat OBE RSA Biography

Dr. Alexander Moffat, commonly referred to as Sandy Moffat, is a painter, author, philosopher, teacher and master of the fine arts. A Royal Scottish Academician and holder of an OBE (Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire). Sandy’s works can be viewed in numerous galleries and public space including The National Portrait Gallery in Edinburgh, The Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art, Arts Council of Great Britain and in The Yale Centre of British Art. On the 15th of June 2018, in conjunction with David Harding RSA and Sam Ainsley RSA, Sandy received an honorary Doctorate from Glasgow School of Arts

Sandy is the current president of the Essential School of Painting, a  former Head of Painting and Printmaking at the Glasgow School of Art who is highly credited with encouraging and steering the resurgence of figurative painting at The GSA. He has been a visiting lecturer and external examiner to several schools of art including The Winchester School of Art, Croydon School of Art, Canterbury College of Art, Chelsea College of Art & Design, Gray’s School of Art and The University of Highlands and Islands.

Ian Hamilton

He has had solo exhibitions in numerous places including “A View of the Portrait” at the Scottish National Portrait Gallery, an exhibition at The Press Club Warsaw, “Images from Three Decades” at The Open Eye Gallery in Edinburgh and very recently “Paintings as Arguments” at The Peacocks Visual Arts Gallery in Aberdeen.

He has over his long and illustrious career written, contributed to and edited numerous books and publications including the critically acclaimed ‘Arts of Resistance: Poets, Portraits and Landscapes of Modern Scotland’ and its sequel published in 2014 ‘Arts of Independence’

Alexander “Sandy” Moffat in Detail

Honours & Education:

Doctor of Letters (PhD Fine Arts) University of Glasgow- Glasgow School of Arts 2018

The Poet’s Pub

Order of the British Empire (OBE) & Royal Scottish Academician (RSA)

Daniel Stewart’s College Edinburgh

Edinburgh College of Art (Andrew Grant scholar, Dip Art)

Publications:

Facing the Nation: The portraiture of Alexander Moffat By Bill Hare (2018)

Arts of Independence

The Cultural Argument and why it matter most

By Alexander Moffat & Alan Riach

Arts of Resistance

Poets, Portraits and Landscapes of Modern Scotland

By Alexander Moffat & Alan Riach

With Linda MacDonald-Lewis

Sandy is also a writer of numerous art papers, catalogue texts, forwards and publications including the “Angels Wear Silver” and the “Tongues of Diamonds” Exhibitions.

Career:

Poet and Writer Christopher Murray Grieve

Photographer Scottish Central Library 1966-74

Director New 57 Gallery Edinburgh 1968-78

Visiting lecturer:

Winchester School of Art 1973-74

Croydon School of Art 1974-75

Royal College of Art 1986-88

Glasgow School of Art:

Historical Landscape with Gatehouse

Lecturer in Painting Studios 1979-88

Senior Lecturer in Painting Studios 1988-92

Head of Painting and Printmaking 1992-2005

Chair School of Fine Art 1998-2000

External Examiner:

Canterbury College of Art (Kent Institute) 1988-91

North Staffordshire Polytechnique Stoke 1989-92

Chelsea College of Art & Design (London Institute) 1997-2000

Gray’s School of Art (RGU) Aberdeen 2002-05

University of Brighton 2003-07

Ian Hamilton Finlay By Alexander Moffat, 1975

Ian Hamilton Finlay
By Alexander Moffat, 1975

Senior External Examiner University of the Highlands and Islands Project 2000-02

External expert University of London 1993-98

Scottish Arts Council 1982-84 (Member Council, Member Art Committee, Chairman’s Awards Panel)

Member Bd Fruitmarket Gallery Edinburgh 1986-92

Chairman Bd ALBA magazine 1988-92

Member Edinburgh Festival Society; Honorary Research Fellow University of Glasgow 2006

Honorary Fellow Association for Scottish Literary Studies 2011

RSA 2004 (chair Exhibitions Ctee 2007)

Solo Exhibitions:

2014-08-03 Moffat in AberdeenA View of the Portrait (Scottish National Portrait Gallery) 1973

Gallery of the Press Club Warsaw 1975

Seven Poets (Third Eye Centre Glasgow and tour) 1981-83

Portrait Drawings (N E of Scotland Library and Museums Service) 1984

Portraits of Painters (Scottish Nat Gallery of Modern Art) 1988

Glasgow Art Gallery & Museum 1990

Pittencrieff House Museum Dunfermline 1991

Images From Three Decades (Open Eye Gallery Edinburgh) 2008

Town Hall Gallery Langholm 2012

Paintings as Arguments, Peacocks Visual Arts Gallery, 2014

2018 ‘Poets, Portraits And Landscapes Of Modern Scotland’ Lille Art Gallery Glasgow

2018 Alexander Moffat OBE RSA: A View of the Nation – Open Eye Gallery Edinburgh

Group Exhibitions:

Scottish Realism (Scottish Arts Council tour) 1971

Archie Hind By Alexander Moffat, 1968

Archie Hind
By Alexander Moffat, 1968

The Human Clay (Hayward Gallery London and Scottish Nat Gallery of Modern Art) 1976 Three Painters (Midland Gp Gallery, Nottingham) 1978

Narrative Paintings (Arnolfini Bristol and ICA London) 1979

Private Views (Arts Cncl of GB and tour) 1982

In Their Circumstances (Lincoln Usher Gallery) 1985-86

Picturing People: Figurative Painting from Britain 1945-89 (Far East tour) 1989

Scottish Art since 1990 (Scottish Nat Gall of Modern Art) 1989-90

Turning the Century (Raab Gallery London & Berlin) 1990

The Discerning Eye (Mall Galleries London) 1990

The Line of Tradition (National Galleries of Scotland) 1993

The Scottish Renaissance (Hong Kong Land Co Hong Kong) 1996

Scotland’s Art (City Art Centre, Edinburgh) 1999

Expressions (Aberdeen Art Gallery) 2000

Dame Muriel Spark By Alexander Moffat, 1984

Dame Muriel Spark
By Alexander Moffat, 1984

Collections:

Scottish National Portrait Gallery

Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art

Arts Council of Great Britain

Yale Centre for British Art

Dr George Elder Davie 1999

Tom Fleming 2000

Robin Jenkins (Saltire Society) 2002

Alasdair Gray 2010

References and sources:

  1. GSA Media Centre
  2. BBC Your paintings
  3. The Herald (Scotland)
  4. The National Galleries Scotland
  5. Yale Centre for British Art