Peter Howson: A Retrospective

Peter Howson has established a formidable reputation as one of his generation's leading figurative painters. Many of his paintings derive inspiration from the streets of Glasgow, where he was brought up. He is renowned for his penetrating insight into the human condition, and his heroic portrayals of the mighty and the lowly. His experiences of abuse - whether self-inflicted and substance-related or the traumatic events of his childhood - have moulded his view of the world and afforded him an affinity with those individuals who are classed as somehow 'on the edge'. His ability to speak to those on the margins is proof of his enduring skill at capturing the maverick, the excessive and the non-conformist. In 1992 he was commissioned by the Imperial War Museum to record the conflict in the former Yugoslavia. He was appointed official British war artist for Bosnia in 1993 and in 1996 was awarded Doctor of Letters at The University of Strathclyde. His work is in numerous international private and public collections.This publication is the first major statement about Howson’s work for almost twenty years and accompanies a major retrospective at Edinburgh City Art Centre. It illustrates his consummate skill in a range of media and documents his religious work as well as his graphic responses to recent global events.

About the Author :
Susan Mansfield is a writer and journalist who has been writing widely about the arts and literature in Scotland for nearly thirty years. A features and arts writer for The Scotsman from 2001 until 2013, she was shortlisted for Interviewer of the Year at the Scottish Press Awards. Susan has been an art critic for The Scotsman since 2007. Her books include The Great Tapestry of Scotland: The Making of a Masterpiece (2013), and Victoria Crowe: 50 Years of Painting (2019).  Matthew Flowers is a London-based contemporary art dealer, directing Flowers Gallery since the 1980s. Representing international living artists and estates through its London, Hong Kong and New York bases, his gallery has staged more than 900 exhibitions and is a publisher of artist editions and monographs David Patterson is Curatorial and Conservation Manager with Edinburgh Museums and Galleries, based at the City Art Centre. He was formerly curator of fine art, responsible for the management and development of the City of Edinburgh’s ‘Recognized’ collection of Scottish art. He has over thirty years of exhibition curation experience, and has originated and toured exhibitions throughout the UK, Europe and to New Zealand.

Review :
Maverick Glasgwegian painter Peter Howson is a towering figure of the contemporary art landscape, as a retrospective celebrating 50 years of his work proves[.]