ALASDAIR Gray has revealed his dream of establishing a new gallery in the library that inspired and educated him as a youth.
The author of landmark novel Lanark and painter of celebrated murals and portraits has offered to help establish a new art gallery in the library in the north east area of Glasgow, Riddrie, where he grew up.
Gray, 80, was born in Riddrie and attended Riddrie Primary School, and often visited the "splendid" library where he relished reading stories of "fantastic lands".
Gray visited the library four or five times a week as a boy, and would sometimes read a book a day.
The artist now would like to see the library given the ability to become a new "public gallery for north east Glasgow."
The writer and painter has now suggested to Glasgow Life, the arms-length trust that runs the city's libraries, museums and galleries, that he could install around 20 of his works in the building.
Gray has suggested a hanging rail be installed above the bookshelves in the library where he could suspend his own work, with "colourful prints well glazed and framed, with a few smaller original paintings able to be appreciated by folk looking up at them."
One of the suggested works is a well-known image of 'Cowcaddens In The 1950s', which is owned by a private collector who has previously offered to loan the work to the library.
Gray believes the proposal would cost little, would not interfere with its work as a public library and "would make it a small public art gallery of a kind all but the centre and West End of Glasgow notoriously lack."
Gray, whose paintings were recently the subject of a major retrospective at the Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum, said he would not charge for the loan of his works and is willing to pay for their insurance.
The artist said that the display could form the basis of a exhibition which will change over time, including work by other artists that he owns or knows - as well as local artists and schoolchildren.
He said: "It would the aim to have it as an art gallery for the east end, open freely to the public. I think it could be an interesting idea.
"I would imagine the first exhibition could involves twenty paintings or more."
After a series of communications between Gray and Glasgow Life, the body is now considering the idea.
A spokesman said: "Alasdair's connections to Glasgow and to the east end are very well known and have formed a part of the hugely successful retrospective of his work at Kelvingrove and GoMA.
"Building on that successful relationship, Alasdair has made a generous offer to house some of his works at Riddrie Library and we are working with him to assess the feasibility of such a loan.
"As this would be out with a normal museum or gallery environment, there are a number of practical considerations which we are reviewing and these will form the basis of discussions moving forward."
Gray once said of the library: "Other Glasgow boys of my age played outdoors by kicking balls about. I did not enjoy that. Stories about fantastic lands became my obsession.
"I visited Riddrie Public Library four or five times a week, never taking much more than a day to finish a book."
The Riddrie housing scheme was built between 1920 and 1927 on open fields to the west of Cumbernauld Road.
Riddrie Library is believed to be the first permanent purpose-built branch library to be built in one of Glasgow's outlying estates.
It is a one-storey building of sand-faced brick and stone and cost £10,000 to build in its time.
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