Welcome
The Roger Billcliffe Gallery is Scotland's largest private gallery, occupying five floors of an early 19th century building in the heart of Glasgow.

Our History
The Gallery opened in 1992, taking over the building formally occupied by the Fine Art Society plc where Roger Billcliffe had been Director since 1979. The Gallery now specialises in exhibiting the best of Scottish contemporary and 20th century painting and also displays a wide range of contemporary applied arts - ceramics, jewellery, metalwork, silver and glass.

Exhibitions change monthly and are primarily solo shows although group exhibitions are usually presented during the summer months. The Gallery represents many of Scotland's leading painters including Mary Armour, David Donaldson, John Bellany, Duncan Shanks, Leon Morrocco, David Martin, Gordon K. Mitchell, Christine McArthur, James D. Robertson, Glen Scouller, John Boyd, George Devlin, Ethel Walker and James Fullarton as well as supporting younger artists such as Geoff Uglow, Chris Bushe, Sandy Murphy, Mhairi McGregor, Saul Robertson, Barry McGlashan and Sheila McInnes.

The Roger Billcliffe Gallery is a Craft Council selected gallery. Contemporary UK and European designers include, Hester van Eeghen, Erik Urbschat, Yasunori Watanuki, Alan Craxford, Liz Tyler, Catherine Hough, Katharine Morling, Gareth Mason, Kevin O' Dwyer, Mark Nuell and Richardson & Ottewill.

The Roger Billcliffe Gallery is a participant in the Scottish Arts Council's "Own Art" interest free loan scheme for loans up to £2,000.

In addition, Roger Billcliffe's own interests in the work of Charles Rennie Mackintosh, the Glasgow Boys and the Scottish Colourists, on whom he has published widely, are reflected in the many private and public sales and consultancies which the Gallery undertakes.

Valuations and Restoration
The Gallery also undertakes valuations, restoration and framing and is able to act as adviser to individual and corporate collectors on the development of their collections.

Corporate Commissions
The Gallery has an outstanding reputation for organising unique corporate commissions of paintings and important design pieces. Corporate clients include Scottish Power, Unilever, Highland Park and Glasgow Caledonian University.

Contact Information
The Billcliffe Gallery
134 Blythswood Street, Glasgow, G2 4EL.
Tel: 0141 332 4027
Fax: 0141 332 6573

e-mail info@billcliffegallery.com

Location
The Roger Billcliffe Gallery is located just off the corner of Sauchiehall Street at Blythswood Street in the heart of Glasgow, (just a couple of hundred metres from the Glasgow School of Art).

If you are planning to visit the gallery please call 0141 332 4027 for opening times and advice about parking or click on the MultiMap link below.

Opening Hours
Monday to Friday - 9.30am to 5.30pm
Saturday - 10am to 1pm (December 10am - 4pm)
Sunday - Closed

The Glasgow Boys' Republished
Roger Billcliffe's award-winning The Glasgow Boys', first published in 1985 has just been republished by Frances Lincoln of London.

The text has been revised to bring it up to date but the major change is the complete re-design, allowing the use of colour where possible.

Over 150 extra colour illustrations have been included (in a total of 285 illustrations), adding both to the understanding of the story of the Glasgow Boys and giving immense pleasure in the continuing use of the book.

Review from The Sunday Times
November 9, 2008

The Glasgow Boys Find Fame Again
It’s time to re-examine the legacy of a key group of Scottish artists as a travelling exhibition of their work is planned.

Back in ’85, a group of Glasgow artists caused a sensation with their first group exhibition. The opening night was the social event of the year, the critics were beside themselves and everyone agreed: these painters were the coming thing.

That would be 1885, and it was James Guthrie, John Lavery, Arthur Melville and E A Hornel’s daring take on perspective, bold use of colour and refusal to stay in their studios painting stags that had the art world in such a lather. Although the Glasgow Boys, as they later became known, knew each other and had been painting together for a few years, it took this show to turn them into a phenomenon.

“They arrived with a bang,” says Roger Billcliffe, the art historian who has single-handedly recorded and protected the group’s reputation. His 1985 book, The Glasgow Boys, has now been expanded and reprinted. “And then, almost as soon as they had arrived, they disappeared again.”

Their reappearance has been slow and patchy, but in 2010, a key exhibition should finally put them up where they belong. Billcliffe’s book has been reissued in a larger format, with lavish colour reproductions, for the run-up to the show, which will start at Kelvingrove Art Gallery in Glasgow before moving to London’s Royal Academy.

This will, says Billcliffe, confirm the Boys’ contribution to late 19th-century painting, the ground they broke and the younger artists they inspired. “It will be a revelation. People will have seen a lot of these pictures in reproduction but not in the flesh. I think it will firmly cement them into the niche they are in.”

It has taken the Scottish establishment longer to recognise the legacy of the Glasgow Boys’ work. Kelvingrove has a strong collection but it could have been stronger.

In 1962 Playmates by Henry came up for auction. The curator of paintings wanted to buy it but had a budget of only £60. A Norwegian dealer outbid him with £62. Earlier this year, the painting reappeared, selling for £400,000.

Besides charming us with images of girls herding ducks and clouds scudding across Ayrshire skies, do the Boys have anything else to contribute to the 21st century? Billcliffe laughs. “You should stick by your guns. There’s no harm in wanting to be successful, but you can see what happens when you sell yourself out. Money can be a powerful factor in taking the sharp edge off your art.”

The Glasgow Boys by Roger Billcliffe is published by Frances Lincoln, £40.

Link to the article on-line