Born 1942

Fishermen, boats and fish populate Bellany’s works and, over the years, they have been joined by puffins, gannets, young women. The result is an iconography which Bellany defines as ‘the whole core of my work. I’ve learnt over the years that it’s very, very stupid to talk about the content of the paintings because once the artist says ‘this means x or y’ that’s it forever and it doesn’t give the viewer any scope for their imagination.’

Bellany’s reluctance to provide dictionary definitions of his iconography is canny, forcing viewers back to the paintings and into their own imaginations. Signs, like any linguistic system, are readable and definable (‘this means X or Y’) but symbols are not. Symbolic meaning is largely emotional and intuitive in nature and Bellany has successfully exploited the tension between signs and symbols throughout his creative life.

John Bellany was born in Port Seton, a fishing village in East Lothian on the east coast of Scotland, in 1942. As a child Bellany spent a great deal time with his grandparents in Eyemouth in the Scottish Borders, which later informed much of his work. Bellany attended Edinburgh College of Art (1960-5) and the Royal College of Art in London (1965-8).

The underlying themes of his painting have remained consistent throughout his life. From his earliest work he has portrayed the environment of his youth using potent images of fishermen, the sea and the myths and characters populating the tight-knit fishing communities of Scotland. His Calvinistic upbringing instilled a reverence for religious belief that is apparent in compositions exploring mortality and the nature of good and evil.

Bellany survived a liver transplant operation in 1988 that became necessary as a consequence of years of self destructive behaviour. Subsequent work reveals a renewed zest and vitality that celebrates a spiritual, physical and artistic rebirth in vibrant watercolours, bright canvases and lyrical etchings and drawings. Allegorical diptychs and triptychs recur in Bellany’s later work which explore the artists voyage through life.  His works are housed in many public and private collections.