‘Landmarks: Hugh MacDiarmid’s Brownsbank’ brings together portraits by Sandy Moffat, landscapes by Ruth Nicol and poems by Alan Riach.

Hosted by the University of Glasgow, with Biggar and Upper Clydesdale Museum and MacDiarmid’s Brownsbank, the show centres on Hugh MacDiarmid, who lived with his wife Valda in Brownsbank Cottage, in the South Lanarkshire hills, from 1951 until his death in 1978. The cottage is an A-listed building and a cultural treasure house. A live exhibition is proposed for Biggar and Upper Clydesdale Museum in 2021.

The artists will be in discussion about their work and MacDiarmid’s significance. The narrative of MacDiarmid’s later life and work is central to the show, including his encounters, friendships and flytings with some of his contemporaries (such as Dmitri Shostakovich, Ronald Stevenson and Hamish Henderson), his domestic and countryside environment, and the companionship, support, fierce dedication and love of his wife Valda. Poems will be read. Paintings will be shown. Fireworks, flames and ferocities will follow.

IMAGES: ‘Hugh MacDiarmid: Brownsbank’ by Sandy Moffat; ‘Brownsbank: The Blue Door’ by Ruth Nicol.