Glasgow Gallivanting: August 2024

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Queen Victoria’s Coat of Arms presented by her to the Royal George Hotel after her stay in 1848

We’ve had a few good outings away from Glasgow this month – I’ve already written about Alloway and Bannockburn House: the third one was Perth. Perth Museum used to share a building with the Art Gallery but has recently moved, after a £27 million restoration, to the Edwardian former City Hall. As well as its permanent collection (free) and a small gallery for the Stone of Destiny (also free, but timed tickets must be booked) the museum has space for special exhibitions (ticketed, currently £11) and I wanted to catch the first one, Unicorn, before it closes next month.

Across four themed galleries, discover the unicorn’s enduring presence throughout history and its role as a symbol of Scotland’s changing heritage and identity, through iconic loans from around the world, interactive displays, and five newly-commissioned artworks exploring the unicorn as a modern symbol of the LGBTQI+ community.

The unicorn has been Scotland’s national animal since the 15th century. I often puzzled why a mythical animal was adopted, but this exhibition has helped me understand that belief in unicorns, based on ancient travellers’ tales, persisted in Europe as late as the 19th century. Confusion could have arisen by sightings of rhinoceros, narwhal tusks, or aurochs, an extinct type of wild cattle. An error by monks translating the Old Testament from Hebrew to Greek 2000 years ago also boosted the unicorn’s cultural significance as it appears throughout Christian imagery and texts as a symbol of chastity. So now I know!

One of the LCBTQI+ unicorns by Drew Taylor-Wilson and Kirsty Pickering
Luca Longhi: The Lady and the Unicorn 1535-40
Panel bearing the Royal Arms of James V c1540-1550

We spent most of the day in the museum and were very impressed with its layout and collections – to write about them would require a whole post. I liked the way that, as many museums are now doing, curators addressed the provenance of their collections which began to be amassed in 1784 with the formation of the Perth Literary and Antiquarian Society. The words loot and plunder figured prominently, as well as discussions of whose stories get told and whose don’t. A new piece of art, Untold Stories comprising six specially commissioned banners, also addresses this question: two examples below.

Damn Rebel Bitches by Nikkita Morgan
Damn Rebel Bitches by Nikkita Morgan
Joseph Knight by Nkem Okwechime

What else was going on in Perth? There was one of those lovely charity art trails which are so popular these days, this one raising funds for Children’s Hospices. We spotted a few of the Hairy Highland Coos around town. The one in front of the prancing unicorn is outside the museum.

Bull in a China Shop by Dana Leslie
Strawberry Fields for Heifer by Pauline Paterson
Tartan Army Coo by Craig Carnie
Wee coos in the museum café – decorated by local schools

I also spotted a nice gable-end mural, and we took time out from the museum to have a delicious lunch in Café Tabou. The only bad thing about the whole day was that the train home was late, but you can’t have everything!

Kelsey Montague: What Lifts You
French cuisine, yum!

Phew, maybe that should have been its own post! I’ll try to gallop through the rest. We are frequent visitors to Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum, where this month I wanted to see two small exhibitions, Craft Café Govan and No More Sheep: Margot Sandeman on Arran. The former “rejoices in the activity of making as we age” with drop-in creative workshops. I liked their embroidered panel Sunny Govan and honed in on the portrait of Mary Barbour.

Sunny Govan embroidery panel
Mary Barbour on Sunny Govan embroidery panel

Margot Sandeman (1922-2009) was a friend of one of my favourite painters, Joan Eardley. The Isle of Arran was a place of creative inspiration for her, and her series No more sheep mourns the passing of traditional ways of life. I loved these gentle images.

No more sheep I, 1981
No more sheep III, 1981

A bit of street art / sculpture next. The gin is on the wall of a bar, The Parlour, on Vinnicombe Street. The clock, Silent Agitator by Ruth Ewart, has recently appeared on the new part of Glasgow University’s campus. I first saw it on Facebook, and noted that the original poster must have spent many patient hours endlessly replying to pedants who objected to the American spelling of organiZe when British English normally (but not always) uses organiSe. The explanation is that the piece is inspired by a 1917 poster for Industrial Workers of the World Union, founded in the US, and was originally commissioned by New York Highline. Who cares about one letter? It’s great to see it in Glasgow.

The Parlour, Vinnicombe Street
Silent Agitator by Ruth Ewart

A  sculpture and ghost sign that I have never noticed before. Maybe some would object to the spelling of splendor!

City of Glasgow Friendly Society founded by John Stewart 1862
Splendor Lamp Company

I loved the National Gallery Art Road Trip, seen here outside Glasgow Women’s Library, and the Tartan Camper Company van.

National Gallery visits GWL
Tartan Camper Company van

And finally, a few shots from some of the cyclist’s escapades. Inverkip and the Cloch Lighthouse:

Kip Marina
Cloch Lighthouse

Near Fintry:

Near Fintry
Near Fintry

Coast to coast – train to Ayr and cycle to Musselburgh before getting the train back to Glasgow. The Douglas Bakery was very welcoming to cyclists – and there were a lot of them!

Bikes galore!
Cyclists welcome
Fisherrow, Musselburgh

A ferry adventure to Bute. The splendid gents toilets are in Rothesay.

Historic gents toilets, Rothesay
Ferry from Bute to Colintraive
Ferry from Hunter’s Quay to Gourock

I’m publishing a little early this month, which means I’m not allowed to do anything interesting in the next three days 😉 ! Becky is back with her Squares challenge in September, and I have a post lined up for that on Sunday so I need to get this one out of the way. Have a good month – I’ll leave the last word to one of the penguins.

Keep going!
Scotland, UK , , ,

61 Comments »

  1. Gosh so many interesting items in this post it’s hard to know where to start. The fiber art in those two museums I totally appreciate for the work and the story. The whimsical coos and dancing unicorn are so cool! The street art amazing but the bike trip has me curious. Would love to know more about that.

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  3. Love the Highland Cow trail and very interesting to read about the unicorns. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if they really did exist , perhaps some wander the remotest Scottish Highlands, you never know! X

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  5. Over 75 years old and so much still to learn! I had failed to fully connect the unicorn as Scotland’s national animal with its position on the coat of arms, not to mention the nursery rhyme about fighting with the lion for the crown. This has started me wondering about the origins of Wee Willie Winkie. To English ears he sounds Scottish to me.

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  6. Good post. I visited a couple of museums there but probably the old building. Was impressed by the number of Unicorn statues and names in Inverness, where they are really abundant and noticeable and even the old name Albion has strong Scottish roots though England claims it as well. Football teams etc. Bob. BSS.

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  7. Perth Museum sounds like an interesting place to visit. I love the gin and Organize street art/sculptures, they’re very eye catching. And those toilets are fabulous! The Victorians certainly knew how to build attractive spaces.

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  10. oh wow what a busy but glorious month you have had. So many wonderful treats – I am going to need a month to properly digest this fabulous post!

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  12. There is some gorgeous textile work in this post. I like the banners and appreciate the work which went into their creation. Unicorns are all the rage here at the moment with little girls. Our little step granddaughter loves them and I crocheted her a unicorn hat for her birthday earlier in the year. It was a big hit.

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  13. Once again, I take my hat off to your willingness to get out and about and to the cyclist’s obvious intention to cycle every road and track in Central Scotland.

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  14. Another great adventure and write-up, Anabel. Once again, I’ve learned a great deal. I totally should have known that the unicorn is Scotland’s national animal, but somehow I either never knew this or completely forgot. (Shhh, don’t tell anyone). 😀

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  15. Oh so much going on! Those gents toilets are quite fabulous.

    I remember years ago when I was teaching in Denmark and a student said to me ‘I love Scotland and Wales because their national emblems are mythical creatures’ – well….I wasn’t sure what to say but now I know what I should have said!

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  17. Are you telling me that unicorns aren’t real, Anabel? That’s it- I’m off to sulk!

    On the other hand, thanks for the nudge about Squares. I must have missed Becky’s post and I know she was struggling with Internet. Good it’s resolved.

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  18. I very much appreciate that more museums and galleries and places of historic interest are reframing their histories, explaining the problematic aspects of some of their exhibits, and are also highlighting the people who have been too often pushed to the margins of history. Progress!

    I love to see the response people have when I tell them that Scotland’s national animal is a unicorn. People often think I am kidding at first.

    I will need to tell my family about the Highland cattle. They love doing trails like that as a new way to wander around a familiar place.

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  19. Ah, so these are the Highland Cows you told me about in a comment on my latest post. Great aren’t they. I like a decent pun as much as the next sad old man, and I have to confess that Strawberry Field for Heifer has brightened up my day!

    And thank you for the background on Scotland’s national animal. I have to confess that this fact about unicorns had totally passed me by until about a week ago, when it cropped up on a TV quiz show. I was flummoxed at the time, but now I understand (sort of, anyway), although I have to say I’m baffled by the fact that the unicorn is a symbol of chastity – that’s 100% contrary to what my squalid little brain would have expected!

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  20. A lovely surprise to find your post today with another exciting visit to enjoy! The visit to the museum sounds really interesting especially finding out about the history of the unicorns and seeing those amazing panels. Perth looks a lively town …another place to visit when we eventually arrive in Scotland! The cyclist sure gets around! I’m taking on board the penguin’s sign!

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  21. What an enjoyable month for you! I was fascinated by the history behind the unicorn iconography and the story of Joseph Knight. The hairy coos are fun (but not very hairy!) as is the gin mural 😀

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  22. Love the Strawberry fields for Heifer! You sure do her about. I really enjoy the cultural and city photos followed by the tranquil, country scenes. I feel like I have just had a wonderful holiday.

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