B.1920
Alan Davie is one of Britain's most internationally acclaimed artists and is Scotland's most important artist of the twentieth century.
Now in his late eighties Davie continues to produce paintings of startling originality, vitality and daring. Combining imagery derived from different world cultures with a love of music and language, Davie's paintings are a complex yet joyous celebration of creativity that combine the expressive freedom of abstraction with a wealth of signs, symbols and words.
Alan Davie
1920
Born Grangemouth, Scotland
1937
Edinburgh College of Art
1941-6
War Service, Royal Artillery
1946-7
Jazz musician
1947
Married Janet (Bili) Gaul
1948-9
Travelled in Europe
1948
Exhibitions in Florence and Venice, paintings bought by Peggy
Guggenheim
1949
Making jewellery and silverware, Jazz musician, birth of daughter
Jane
1950
First solo show at Gimpel Fils, London, subsequently every two years
to date
1956
First American show, Catherine Viviano Gallery, New York,
subsequently shown frequently throughout the USA. Gregory Fellowship, University of Leeds.
Public lectures
1959
Teaching, Central School of Arts and Crafts, London
1960-80
Gliding, 2000 hours in England, Switzerland, USA
1962
Solo show Bienal di S
Paulo, Brazil - prize for best painter
1963-70
Experiments in lithography
1971-5
Concerts and recordings of free music
1972
Awarded CBE
1974-91
Wintered in St. Lucia
1977
Lecturer, Royal College of Art, London
1979
Visit to Australia and Bali
1991
Senior Fellow, Royal College of Art, London
2002
Visiting Professor, University of Brighton School of Art
2003
Lives and works in Hertfordshire and Cornwall, England
Selected Solo Exhibitions
2008
Alan Davie: the Shaman's Enigma, Gimpel Fils, London and James Hyman Gallery, London, touring to Hillsboro Fine Art, Dublin and Galerie Gimpel & Müller, Paris
Alan Davie, Open Eye Gallery, Edinburgh
2007
Alan Davie: Paintings 1955-67, Thomas Dane Gallery, London
2006
Alan Davie: Paintings and Drawings 1948-2004, 108 Fine Art, Harrogate
2005
Alan Davie: Paintings from the Fifties and Sixties, Gimpel Filds, London
Alan Davie: A Game of Poetry, Galleria Morone, Milan
2004
Alan Davie: The Alchemical Journey, ACA Galleries, New York
Alan Davie, Open Eye Gallery, Edinburgh
Peter Scott Gallery, Lancaster University, Alan Davie
2003-4
Alan Davie: Retrospective, Tate St.Ives, St.Ives
2003
Alan Davie: Recent Paintings, Gimpel Fils, London
Davie Recent Paintings and Gouaches, James Hyman Fine Art, LondonAlan Davie and Tony Oxley jazz event, Galerie Nothelfer, Berlin (major works at Corneliustrasse site, and paintings at Uhlandstrasse site) in conjunction with Total Music Meeting, Free Music Production
2002
Alan Davie Small Paintings 1949-2000, Howard Gardens Gallery, University of Wales InstituteAlan Davie: Magical Symbolism, Mercer Art Gallery, HarrogateAlan Davie: Screenprints, Godfrey & Watt, Harrogate
2001-2
Alan Davie Small Paintings 1949-2000, Touring: Talbot Rice Gallery, University of Edinburgh, MAC Birmingham, Gimpel Fils, London Alan Davie: Il risveglio della conoscenza intuitiva, Galleria Morone, MilanAlan Davie Schilderijen Paintings 1950-2000, Cobra Museum for Modern Art, Amstelveen, The Netherlands
2000
Alan Davie, Gimpel Fils, London
Davie - Small Paintings 1949-2000, University of Brighton GalleryAlan Davie, Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art, Edinburgh
1998
Alan Davie Paintings 1993-1998, The Pier Arts Centre, OrkneyAlan Davie Works on Paper, Faggionato Fine Arts, London
1999
Alan Davie: New Work, Gimpel Fils, LondonAlan Davie: Works of the Nineties, UH Galleries, University of Hertfordshire
1997
Alan Davie, Recent Gouaches, Gimpel Fils, LondonAlan Davie, ACA Galleries, New YorkAlan Davie Drawings, Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art, Edinburgh
Alan Davie, University of Brighton Gallery, Sussex
Alan Davie, Art Jonction, France
Alan Davie: The First Years, Gallery of Modern Art, Glasgow
Davie, a microcosm, Pallant House, Chichester
1995
Alan Davie, Gimpel Fils, London
1994
Alan Davie: The Quest for the Miraculous, University of Brighton Gallery, subsequently touring to Hastings Museum and Art Gallery, Ramsgate Gallery
Davie, The University Gallery, University of Northumbria at Newcastle, The University Gallery, Nottingham, The Smith Art Gallery and Museum, Stirling; Barbican Art Gallery, London
Davie, Bineth Gallery, Tel Aviv, Israel
Davie, ACA Galleries, Munich, Germany
Davie, Galeria Fernando Santos, Porto
1993
A Retrospective, The Butler Gallery, Kilkenny, Ireland Alan Davie, Chicago Eva Cohon Gallery
Alan Davie, New York ACA Galleries
1992
The Alan Davie Retrospective - 1937 to the present, McLellan Galleries, Glasgow, touring to Royal West of England Academy, Bristol
Alan Davie, Talbot Rice Art Gallery, Edinburgh and British Council, touring to Brussels and South America
1991
Alan Davie in the 70's, Galleri G, Heidelberg, Germany
Alan Davie: Recent Paintings, Wolf At The Door, Penzance, Cornwall
Alan Davie: Recent Works, Gimpel Fils, London
Alan Davie, Galerie Bork, Copenhagen
Alan Davie: Works on paper 1960-1985, Gimpel Fils, LondonAlan Davie, Galleri G, Helsingborg, SwedenAlan Davie: Drawings, Kunsthandel Steinek, ViennaAlan Davie: Works on paper, Galerie Louis Carre, ParisAlan Davie: Major Works of the Sixties, Gimpel Fils, London
1988
Alan Davie: Magic Fountains, Gimpel Fils, London
Davie: Paintings from 1956-1988, South West Galleries Association, touring eight cities in Scotland
1987
Alan Davie: Major Works of the Fifties, Gimpel Fils, LondonAlan Davie, Moray House Gallery, EdinburghAlan Davie, Galerie Louis Carre, Paris
Alan Davie, Gimpel & Weitzenhoffer Gallery, New York
1985
Alan Davie, Galerie Apicella, BonnAlan Davie, Galerie Peccolo, Livorno
Alan Davie, Gimpel Fils, LondonAlan Davie, Yares Gallery, Scotsdale, Arizona
1984
Alan Davie, Bath Festival Gallery
Davie, Windsor Community Arts Centre
Davie, Galerie Van Loe, Frankfurt
Davie, Bede Gallery, Jarrow
Davie, Loft Gallery
Alan Davie, Galerie d'Eendt, Amsterdam
Davie, Gimpel Fils, London
Alan Davie, Rosenberg Fine Arts Ltd, TorontoAlan Davie, The Scottish Gallery, EdinburghAlan Davie, The Arcade Gallery, Harrogate
Alan Davie, Hong Kong Arts Centre, Hong Kong
Davie, Galerie de Raam, Breda, Netherlands
Alan Davie, Gimpel Fils, LondonAlan Davie, Galerie Van Loe, Frankfurt, Germany
1980
Alan Davie, Gimpel & Weitzenhoffer Gallery, New YorkAlan Davie, Gimpel & Hanover, ZurichAlan Davie, Lister Gallery, Australia
1979
Alan Davie, Galeria Ado, Bonheiden, Belgium
Davie, Ray Hughes Gallery, Brisbane, Australia
Davie, Carone Gallery, Fort Lauderdale, USA
Davie, Gimpel Fils, London
Davie, Australia, Lister Gallery, Perth, Australia
Davie, Art of Man Gallery, Sydney, Australia
1978
Alan Davie, Galerie Brinkman, Amsterdam, The NetherlandsAlan Davie, Galeria am Palmengarten, Frankfurt, GermanyAlan Davie, Gimpel Fils, LondonAlan Davie, Galerie Maercklin, Stuttgart, Germany
Davie, Gimpel & Hanover Galerie, Zurich, Switzerland
Alan Davie, City of Aberdeen Art Gallery and Museum, AberdeenAlan Davie, Zoumboulakis Gallery, Athens, GreeceAlan Davie, Carone Gallery, Fort Lauderdale, USAAlan Davie, Gimpel & Weitzenhoffer Gallery, New YorkAlan Davie, La Demeure, ParisAlan Davie, Galerie Le Dessin, Paris
1976
Alan Davie, Hokin Gallery, Chicago, USA
Alan Davie, Galleria La Medusa, Rome, ItalyAlan Davie, Royal Oak Rubiner Gallery, Michugan, USA
1975
Alan Davie, Gimpel Fils, LondonAlan Davie, Comsky Gallery, Los Angeles
Alan Davie, Gimpel & Weitzenhoffer Gallery, New YorkAlan Davie, Galerie de France, ParisAlan Davie, Youngstown Kilcawley Center, Youngstown University, Ohio, USAAlan Davie, Gimpel & Hanover Galerie, Zurich, Switzerland
1972
Alan Davie: Retrospective 1952-1972, Edinburgh International Festival, Royal Scotish Academy, touring to Braunschweig & Karlsruhe, GermanyAlan Davie, Gimpel & Weitzenhoffer Gallery, New York
1971
Alan Davie, Galerie Lambert Monet, Geneva, Switzerland
Davie, Gimpel Fils, London
Davie, California College of Arts and Crafts, Oakland CCAC Gallery, San Francisco, USA
Davie, Gimpel & Hanover Galerie, Zurich, Switzerland
Alan Davie: USA Retrospective, Austin Texas, Montreal Canada, Oakland CA
1970
Alan Davie, Gimpel Fils, London
Davie, Galerie Stangl, Munich, Germany
Davie, Gallerie La Medusa, Rome, Italy
1969
Alan Davie, Kunstmuseum, Basel, Switzerland
Davie, Gimpel Fils, London
Davie, Gimpel & Weitzenhoffer Gallery, New York
1968
Alan Davie, Hudson Gallery, Detroit, USA
Davie, Kunstverein fur die Rheinlande Westfalen, Dusseldorf, Germany
Davie, Richard Demarco Gallery, Edinburgh
1967
Alan Davie, Arts Club of Chicago, USA
Davie, Hannover, Kestner-Gesellschaft, Germany
Davie, Gimpel Fils, London
Davie, Galerie de France, Paris
Davie, Gimpel & Hanover Galerie, Zurich, Switerzland
1966
Alan Davie, Commonwealth Institute Gallery, Edinburgh
Davie, Queen's Gallery, Leeds
Davie, Usher Gallery, Lincoln
Davie, Gimpel Fils, London
Davie, Norwich Castle Museum, Norwich
Davie, Haaken Gallery, Oslo, Norway
Davie, Rotterdamsche Kunstring, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
Alan Davie, Galerie d'Aujourd'hui, Brussels, Belgium
Davie, Galerie Rudolf Zwirner, Cologne, Germany
Davie, Court Gallery, Copenhagen, Denmark
Davie, Gimpel Fils, London
Davie, Martha Jackson Gallery, New York
Davie, Graves Art Gallery, Sheffield
Davie, Galerie Bleue, Stockholm, Sweden
1963
Retrospective: Alan Davie, Kunsthalle, Baden-Baden, Germany
Davie: Retrospective, Kunsthalle, Bern, Switzerland
Davie, Gimpel Fils, London
Davie: Retrospective, Kunstnernes Hus , Oslo, Norway
Davie: Retrospective, Pforzheim Kunstgewerbeverein, Germany
Davie, Galleria La Medusa, Rome, Italy
Davie, Museo de Bellas Artes, Caracas, Venezuela
Davie, Museu de Arte Moderna, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Davie, Gimpel & Hanover Galerie, Zurich, Switzerland
1962
Alan Davie: Retrospective, Stedelijk Museum , Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Davie: Retrospective, RBA Galleries, London
1961
Alan Davie, Gimpel Fils, London
Davie, Esther Robles Gallery, Los Angeles
Davie, Galleria del Naviglio, Milan, Italy
Davie, Martha Jackson Gallery, New York
Davie, Galerie Rive Droite, Paris
Davie, Museum of Art, Carnegie Institute, Pittsburgh, USA
1960
Alan Davie, Gimpel Fils, London,
Davie, Galerie Charles Leinhard, Zurich, Switzerland
1958
Alan Davie: Retrospective, Liverpool Walker Art Gallery & Whitechapel Art Gallery, London, Nottingham University & Wakefield Art Gallery
1956-7
Alan Davie, Catherine Viviano Gallery, New York
1950-6
Alan Davie, Gimpel Fils, London
1946
Alan Davie, Grant's Bookshop, Edinburgh
1948
Alan Davie, Galleria Michelangelo, Florence, Italy
Alan Davie, Galleria Sandri, Venice, Italy
Selected Collections
Australia:
Art Gallery of South Australia, Adelaide
Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney
Austria:
Museum des 20. Jahrhunderts, Vienna
Brazil:
Museum of Modern Art, Rio de Janeiro
Museu de Arte Contemporanea, SPaulo
Canada:
Musée d'Art Contemporain, Montreal
National Gallery of Canada, Ottowa
France:
Fondation Maeght, St.-Paul-de-Vence
Germany:
Staatliche Kunsthalle, Baden-Baden
StKunstgalerie, Bochum
Ireland:
Arts Council of Ireland, Dublin
Trinity College, Dublin
Israel:
Museum of Tel Aviv
Italy:
Peggy Guggenheim Collection, Venice
Netherlands:
Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam
Stedelijk Van Abbemuseum, Eindhoven
Gemeentemuseum, The Hague
Museum Boijmans van Beuningen, Rotterdam
New Zealand:
City of Aukland Art Gallery
Norway:
Kunstnernes Hus, Oslo
National Gallery, Oslo
South Korea:
National Museum of Contemporary Art, Seoul
Switzerland:
Kunsthaus, Zurich
Kunstmuseum, Basel
Kunsthalle, Berne
United Kingdom:
British Council, London
Tate Gallery, London
Victoria and Albert Museum, London
Ulster Museum, Belfast
Arts Council of Northern Ireland, Belfast
Bristol City Art Gallery
University of Brighton
University of Cambridge
University of Edinburgh
University of Manchester
Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art, Edinburgh
United States
Museum of Modern Art, New York
Boston Museum of Fine Arts
Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo
Dallas Museum of Fine Arts
Detroit Institute of Arts
Yale University Art Gallery, New Haven
Princetown University
Carnegie Institute, Pittsburgh
San Francisco Museum of Modern Art
Washington University Museum
PublicationsA., Alan Davie, Lund Humphries, 1967.
Davie, A., Alan Davie, Gimpel Fils, 1971.
Davie, A., Alan Davie Drawings, Booth-Clibborn Editions, 1997.
Davie, A., Alan Davie - Drawings, Basel 1969, Gimpel Fils, 1969.
Davie, A., Alan Davie: Gouaches, Gimpel Fils, 1973.
Davie, A., Alan Davie Magic Fountains, Gimpel Fils, 1988.
Davie, A., Alan Davie Major Works of the Fifties, Gimpel Fils, 1987.
Davie, A., Alan Davie: Major works of the sixties, Gimpel Fils, 1989.
Davie, A., Alan Davie: Paintings 1952-72, Royal Scottish Academy, 1972,
Davie, A., Alan Davie: Paintings 1973: A series of small oils, Gimpel Fils, 1974.
Davie, A., Alan Davie Paintings and Hus Music, Gimpel Fils, 1970.
Davie, A., Alan Davie Peintures des Annes 80, Gimpel Fils, 1987.
Davie, A., Alan Davie Towards a Philosophy of Creativity, a Lecture Delivered By Alan Davie on the Occasion of the Retrospective Exhibition, Alan Davie Drawings, Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art & University of Brighton Gallery, 1997.
Davie, A., Alan Davie: Village myths and other recent paintings, Gimpel & Weitzenhoffer, 1984.
Davie, A., Alan Davie;: A travelling exhibition of recent oils and watercolors exhibited London, Zurich, Geneva and New York, Gimpel & Weitzenhoffer, 1971.
Davie, A., Solo, Glasgow Museums, 1992.
Elliott, P., Alan Davie: Work published in the Scottisj National Gallery of Modern Art, Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art, 2000.
Gimpel, Fils, Alan Davie: Magic Fountains, Gimpel Fils, 1988.
Gimpel, Fils, Alan Davie - Recent Work, Gimpel Fils, 1991.
Gimpel, Fils, Alan Davie: Water Colours and Brush Drawings, Gimpel Fils, 1963,
Hall, D., (ed. & intro), Alan Davie, Lund Humphries, 1992.
Horovitz, M., Alan Davie (Art in progress series), Methuen, 1963.
Hyman, J., Alan Davie: Recent Paintins and Gouaches, James Hyman Gallery, 2003.
Macmillan, D., Alan Davie: Works on Paper, Talbot Rice Gallery, 1992.
Patrizio, A., & McElroy, S.D, Alan Davie: Jingling Space, Tate Publishing, 2003.
Robertson, A., Alan Davie, Whitechapel Art Gallery, 1958.
Rose, A., Alan Davie: Works on Paper, The British Council (Visual Arts Publications), 1996.
Saul, M. & Glasman, J. (ed.), Alan Davie: Works of the Nineties, University of Hertfordshire, Faculty of Art & Design, 2005.
Tucker, Michael, Alan Davie: The Quest for the Miraculous, Lund Humphries, 1993.
Wood, C. P., Magic Symbolism: The Paintings of Alan Davie, Harrogate Museums & Arts, 2002.