Original Mixed Media Work
Ian McCulloch RSA (1935-2026) - Mixed Media on Paper
“Boy With Dove”
A striking modernist composition exploring innocence, peace and transformation.
Key Details
Artist: Ian McCulloch RSA (1935-2026)
Title: Boy With Dove
Date: 2002
Medium: Mixed media on paper
Signature: Signed and dated lower right
Artwork Size: 14 × 21 cm (5.5 × 8.3 in)
Framed Size: 30 × 37 cm (11.8 × 14.6 in)
Condition: Excellent condition
Framing: Gilt frame with mount and glazing
Description
Boy With Dove is an original mixed-media work by the Scottish artist Ian McCulloch RSA. Created in 2002, the composition demonstrates McCulloch's ability to reduce a subject to its essential forms.
A stylised figure and dove emerge from a warm terracotta ground through the use of negative space, creating a striking image that is both simple and sophisticated.
The work displays strong influences from modernist traditions including Cubism and Surrealism, movements that informed much of McCulloch's artistic practice. The dove introduces themes of innocence, peace and transformation, subjects which recur throughout the artist's work.
Executed with confidence and economy, the composition relies on shape, line and contrast rather than detail, resulting in a highly distinctive and memorable image.
Presented behind glass in an elegant gilt frame with mount, the work displays beautifully and is ready to hang.
About the Artist
Ian McCulloch RSA was a distinguished Scottish painter, printmaker, muralist and mixed-media artist. Born in Glasgow, he studied at Glasgow School of Art between 1953 and 1957 before receiving the Royal Scottish Academy Travelling Scholarship.
Throughout a career spanning more than six decades, McCulloch developed a highly individual visual language influenced by Cubism, Dada and Surrealism. His work explored mythology, symbolism, transformation and human identity through painting, printmaking, collage and mixed-media construction.
He received Scottish Arts Council awards, worked as Artist-in-Residence at the University of Sussex, won First Prize at the Stirling Smith Biennale and became a member of the Society of Scottish Artists. He was elected Associate of the Royal Scottish Academy in 1989 and a full Royal Scottish Academician in 2005.
In addition to his paintings and prints, McCulloch completed major public commissions including murals for the Italian Centre in Glasgow and the Glasgow International Concert Hall. His work is represented in public, corporate and private collections.
Provenance and Notes
The reverse bears a handwritten inscription identifying the artist as Ian McCulloch, dating the work to 2002 and recording the title Boy With Dove.
Also recorded are a stock reference number and an original retail price of £275. This work was acquired alongside other Ian McCulloch works originating from Roger Billcliffe Gallery, one of Scotland's leading contemporary art galleries.
