Alan Davie

Painter, born in Grangemouth, Stirlingshire. He studied at Edinburgh College of Art, 1937-40. After serving in the Army in World War II Davie worked for a time as a professional jazz musician.

Influences on his work include: the American Abstract Expressionists such as Pollock and Gorky, Oriental mysticism including Zen Buddhism, gliding and swimming and Indian mythology. Davie views art as a way of gaining spiritual enlightenment. His later work is less expressionistic, more full of symbolism.

From 1950 he was having solo shows with Gimpel Fils and had his first New York exhibition in 1956. In 1962 Davie had a retrospective in Amsterdam. He consolidated his international reputation with a number of overseas retrospectives.

The Tate holds examples of his work.

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  Cosmic Signals No 1. 2001. Ed of 30. H56 W 69 cm.

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  'Tresor Fone (Variation IX)', 2000, ed of 30, screenprint, signed, 70 x 58 cm

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  'Cosmic Signals No.3', 2001, ed of 30, screenprint, signed, 56 x 69 cm

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  'Cosmic Signals No.2', 2001, ed of 30, screenprint, signed, 56 x 69 cm

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  'Rune Reader II', 2001, ed of 30, screenprint, signed, 57 x 69 cm

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  'Free Wheeler (Variation II)', 2000, ed of 30, screenprint, signed, 58 x 70 cm

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  Cosmic Signals No. 5. 2001. Ed of 30. H 69 W 56cm.