Acrylic on paper
From a series of 10 studies of this volcanic spur overlooking Edinburgh, visible from the artist’s studio, painted between 2016-19.
The artist reflected on these ‘late style’ works of a departure from his famous portraiture: ‘The landscapes, or landmarks I‘m attracted to usually have some kind of emblematic potential…from my studio window I can see Arthur’s Seat, Salisbury Crags, Calton Hill. The crags and rocks of Edinburgh speak of history and therefore confer identity….In Sutherland, Suilven…and in Italy, the Apuan Alps. These are perhaps my most pure landscapes…they don’t need people. And it is possible to make a landscape painting that carries additional meaning, as Poussin and Caspar David Friedrich demonstrated.’ – Alexander Moffat
See Alexander (Sandy) Moffat speaking about the Radical Road on a new film, released in celebration of the artist’s 80th birthday this year (2023). Click here to view.
Literature:
Facing the Nation: The Portraiture of Alexander Moffat, Bill Hare (Edinburgh: Luath, 2018)
Arts and the Nation, Alan Riach with Alexander Moffat and John Purser (Edinburgh: Luath, 2017)
Arts of Independence, Alexander Moffat and Alan Riach (Edinburgh: Luath, 2014)
Arts of Resistance: Poets, Portraits and Landscapes of Modern Scotland, Alexander Moffat and Alan Riach with Linda MacDonald-Lewis (Edinburgh: Luath, 2008)
