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Alan Davie was born into art in Grangemouth in 1920, Davie become one of Scotland's most internationally recognised artists.
His father, James William Davie, was a well-known painter of the 20th century who exhibited at the Salon des Artistes Français in 1925.
From 1938-1940 Alan Davie studied art at Edinburgh College, where he was selected to exhibit his work through the Society of Scottish Artists.
In his early years, Davie expressed himself through poetry and also played the saxophone in a jazz band. In 1945 he was inspired by two exhibitions, Picasso at the V&A and Klee at the Tate. Not long after, while on a trip to Venice he visited the Peggy Guggenheim Collection where he was introduced to the paintings of Jackson Pollock.
Back in Edinburgh in 1947, Davie married partner Janet Gaul, a potter, artist, and designer of the time before having their first and only child together, Jane, born in 1949.
From 1953-1956 Davie taught at the Central School of Arts and Crafts in London, over his time there he became evermore interested in African and Pacific art.
Davie’s developed his own unique form of expression through combining mythic imagery and enigmatic symbols, he later went on to take inspiration from African and Oceanic Art as well as Zen Buddhism.
In 1956 Davie ventured out to the United States for the first time where he held a solo exhibition at the Catherine Viviano Gallery. While in the States he was introduced to the likes of Robert Motherwell, Jackson Pollock, Willem de Kooning, Franz Kline and Mark Rothko.
Over the years to follow Davie displayed his work all over the globe, in 1957 Davie held his second solo exhibition at Catherine Viviano Gallery after the success of his first. Davie then went to hold his event ‘Alan Davie - Retrospective’ at Wakefield City Art Gallery in Liverpool while touring back in the UK
Between 1961-1972 Davie’s work was displayed in Los Angeles, New York, Amsterdam, São Paolo, Edinburgh, Texas and Deli.
After visiting St Lucia in 1971 for the first time Davie decided to spend his winters there between 1974-1991. While in the Caribbean Davie would paint gouaches, he often included their vibrant colours into his work.
While returning to the UK in 1972 for one of his exhibitions at the Royal Scottish Academy, Davie was awarded a CBE.
In 1977 Davie returned to teaching, he began lecturing art at the Royal College of Art in Grangemouth before moving on to teach at Emily Carr College of Art in Vancouver in 1982.
Davie received the century-old, Order of the Southern Cross in Brazil in 1987,
Over the years to follow Davie spent his time working all across the UK with various art schools and colleges, helping to inspire the next generation artists. In 1991 he became an elected member of the Royal West of England Academy and a senior fellow of the Royal College of Art.
Durning 1993 Davie became a Visiting Professor at the University of Brighton School of Art before being awarded an Honorary Degree of Doctor of Letters in 1994. Between the years 1993 - 2002, we saw 8 exhibitions from Davie, mainly in the UK, spanning from the Gallery of Modern Art in Glasgow to the University of Wales Institute Cardiff.
In 2002 Brighton saw the return of Davie, once again as a Visiting Professor.
2003 was a massive year for Davie, he held his first exhibition at the Tate in St Ives in Cornwall, titled Jingling Space’, this was the first of two Tate exhibitions there have been of his work. The second was held at the Tate London in 2014 shortly after his passing.
Alan Davie lived a very full life, he touched many people through his paintings. He was a very well-respected artist who shared his character through the vibrant tones of his artwork.
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