THE first retrospective of the work of Alasdair Gray is to be held at Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum next year to mark the artist's 80th birthday.

Charting his earliest work from Glasgow School of Art until the present, it is expected to feature a major new commission, a painting of St Mungo, Glasgow's patron saint, which will go on display in the city's St Mungo Museum of Religious Life and Art.

The retrospective is expected to open next September and will run for six months. One of Scotland's most celebrated artists and writers, Gray will exhibit more than 100 works, including unfinished pieces from the 1960s. Many will come from his own collection, along with items on loan from public and private owners.

Gray, a supporter of independence for Scotland, will also publish a book next year on the subject.