A GROUP of independent Glasgow painters staged a series of weekend open-air art shows in Queen Margaret Drive in September 1956.

“A taxi-rank promised, at Saturday morning’s opening, a solid core of middle-of-the-road spectatorship”, wrote this newspaper’s art critic. “Out from the BBC across the road swarmed a succession of television cameramen and recording-machine operators like bees to a herbaceous border on their doorstep.

“Bus stop queues swelled the throng. Beards and blue jeans proliferated. Press photographers fed small children with sweets preparatory to posing them cutely before the canvas-covered railings of the Botanic Gardens”.

There was, however, a modicum of affectation; it was hard to understand why one artist’s “bright, streaky footballers should have the head of Martians”. Among the other artists taking part that Saturday were T. Macdonald, Bet Low, A. Fletcher, Charles Boyle (the youngest exhibitor), W. Rennie, and P. Lavalle.

But one artist, Drew MacDonald, was missing. The organisers had felt his 9ft by 2ft nude might be rather a shock for visitors, and asked him to withdraw it. He responded by withdrawing all five paintings he had intended exhibiting – even though he had won the draw for places and was entitled to the best site in the show.

“When I was told on Thursday that my picture could not be displayed I was very disappointed, especially when there was no selection committee”, he said. “By Saturday I had decided that as a form of protest I would not exhibit the other four pictures I had done for the show”.

With a smile he conceded that “although I am supposed to be sulking at the moment I think that move was probably a mistake”.

Read more: Herald Diary