ARTWORKS bringing to life the Clyde’s rich history have been unveiled in a remarkable new exhibition.

From shipbuilding to holidays ‘doon the watter’, Glasgow’s river through the years is showcased in the major new collection capturing the grit and glory of life along Scotland’s coastline.

Maritime Perspectives: Collecting Art of a Seafaring Nation includes works by a diverse range of artists, from FCB Cadell and Ian Hamilton Finlay to Muirhead Bone, Kate Downie and John Bellany.

From the oldest painting acquired to date, On the Clyde, created by James Francis Williams in 1830, to 21st century pieces, the works comprise oil painting, watercolour, sketching and photography plus sculpture and mixed media.

Striking scenes from the heavy industries of oil and shipbuilding sit side by side with tranquil scenes of fishing boats and travel posters promoting days out at the seaside, while haunting memorials to lives lost on dangerous seas in both war and peacetime join beautiful island seascapes.

The exhibition, at The Scottish Maritime Museum in Irvine, features more than 80 works gathered over the last three years through SMMart, an ambitious project to create a nationally significant art collection for the venue.

SMMart was made possible by a grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund’s Collecting Cultures programme, with further support from Art Fund and the National Fund for Acquisitions.

It is being led by the Museum’s first Curator of Art, Fiona Greer.

Fiona explains: “A vivid portrayal of life for those living and working around Scotland’s coastline, this exhibition will evoke a host of emotions.

“The beauty and brutality of life in the shipyards of the west of Scotland is writ large, for example, with Building a Liner at Greenock by Muirhead Bone; Figure of a Shipbuilder by Benno Schotz; and The Hole Borer by Tom McKendrick.

“And who couldn’t be moved looking upon the last remnants of Paper Boat, George Wyllie’s monumental sculptural memorial to Glasgow’s lost shipbuilding industry?”

The exhibition also includes John Bellany’s The Dawn Pearl at Port Seton Harbour, and, drawn from rare female residencies on oil platforms in the North Sea, Aberdeen Harbour by Sue Jane Taylor and Mural Design No.1 by Kate Downie, which capture the elemental energy of life on the rigs.

Fiona adds: “The world-renowned sailing waters off the west of Scotland are captured beautifully by FCB Cadell in The Pier at Cove - Loch Long, a rare example of his works to feature a boat, and a series of expressive travel posters.

“Altogether, the exhibition is a unique and rewarding voyage on Scottish waters.”

David Mann, Director of the Scottish Maritime Museum, says: “The new art collection adds great depth, colour and interpretation to our fascinating maritime heritage collection here at the Museum. We look forward to developing the new collection over coming years.”

Lucy Casot, Head of the Heritage Lottery Fund in Scotland, says: “It’s thanks to players of the National Lottery that these diverse artworks have been brought together to form a new national collection. Not only are they individually important pieces, but together they tell a fascinating story of coastal life around Scotland which is sure to delight visitors from near and far.”

The exhibition, which runs until October, is on show across the Scottish Maritime Museum’s vast A-listed Linthouse, itself a former shipyard building.

The exhibition follows ‘Shipyard’, a major exhibition by Scottish artist and broadcaster Lachlan Goudie, which ran at the museum until February this year.

*Share your memories of the River Clyde in days gone by – did you work on the river? Do you remember the old shipyards? Perhaps you recall holidays ‘doon the watter’?

Email ann.fotheringham@heraldandtimes.co.uk or call 0141 302 6555 to share your stories.