GB 0000 Ian Hamilton Finlay Archive - FINLAY, Ian Hamilton (b 1925)

approximately 1000 items

GB 0000 Ian Hamilton Finlay Archive [1971-1996] Collection (fonds) approximately 1000 items Finlay , Ian , Hamilton , b 1925 , poet and sculptor
Born in Nassau, Bahamas, 1925; returned to Scotland as a child; educated at boarding school; poverty in Glasgow; education ended at the age of thirteen with the outbreak of war and evacuation to the Orkneys; briefly attended Glasgow School of Art; army service, 1942-1945; sergeant in the RASC, saw service in Germany; became friendly with the artists Colquhoun, MacBryde, Hohn Minton; worked as a shepherd in the Orkneys, 1945; agricultural labourer; wrote short stories and plays, some broadcast by the BBC; moved to Edinburgh, 1950s; labourer in the Orkneys, working on rhyming poems; founded the Wild Hawthorn Press with Jessie McGuffie, 1961; produced the periodical Poor. Old. Tired. Horse., 1962-1968; produced the broadside Fishsheet for concrete poetry, 1963; publication of Rapel, collection of concrete poems, and of Standing Poem I, 1963; Canal Stripe Series 3, first published booklet-poem, 1964; settled at Stonypath, 1966, and began work on the 4 acre garden; Scottish representative on the Comité International of the concrete poetry movement, 1967; contributor to the International concrete poetry exhibition, 1967 Brighton Festival; first one-man exhibition at the Axiom Gallery, London, 1968; published the Weed Boat Masters Ticket booklet, first question booklet, 1971; retrospective exhibition, Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art, 1972; started a series of works for the Max Planck Institute Garden, Stuttgart, 1974; ceramic works in collaboration with David Ballantyne, 1975-1976; Collaborations exhibition, Kettle's Yard, Cambridge, 1977; exhibited at the Silver Jubilee Exhibition of Contemporary Sculpture, Battersea Park, London, 1977; exhibited at the Serpentine Gallery, London, 1977; cancelled exhibition in Edinburgh as a protest against actions of Scottish Arts Council officials, 1978; Stonypath renamed Little Sparta, 1978; corresponded with Albert Speer, 1978; beginning of the 'Free Arts' project, 1978; worked on Japanese Stacks with John R Thorpe, 1978-1979; Nature Over Again After Poussin travelling exhibition, 1980-1981; exhibited at the Sculpture Show, Hayward Gallery, London, 1983; collaboration with the architect Andrew Townsend, 1983-1984; garden and temple at Little Sparta reopened to visitors, 1984; exhibitions at Merian-Park, Basel, Graeme Murray Gallery, Edinburgh and British Council's British Show in Australia; touring exhibition organized by Southampton Art Gallery, 1984; exhibitions with Sarkis at the Espace Rameau-Chapelle Sainte-Marie, Never, France and at the Eric Fabre Gallery, Paris; outdoor sculpture exhibitions at Geneva, and Wageningen, Holland, 1985; shortlisted for the Turner Prize, 1985; exhibited Osso in Paris, 1987; honorary professorship, University of Dundee, 1999.

Papers relating to Ian Hamilton Finlay, [1971-1996], comprising guides and booklets for sculpture exhibitions and poetry readings, 1969-1992; press cuttings and articles relating to Finlay's work, 1983-1993; artist's books by Finlay, [1971-1996], published by Wild Hawthorn Press; postcards produced by Finlay, [1968-1996], many published by the Wild Hawthorn Press.

The papers are unsorted.

By written application to the Site Librarian, Manresa Road, London, SW3 6LS. Researchers from the London Institute may visit by appointment.

Photocopying is permitted at the discretion of the Librarian.
English

The material is uncatalogued. Published material relating to the collection is catalogued on the Library TALIS system.

Published material by Finlay is available in the Library's main collection.

Correspondence and papers (5091 items), 1953-1973, held by Indiana University, Lilly Library; correspondence and papers, 1948-1993, held by the Getty Research Institute for the History of Art and the Humanities; photocopied files of correspondence relating to his disputes with Fulcrum Press and Coracle Press, 1974-1979, held by the Tate Gallery Archive (reference: TGA 824); letters to H S Ede, held by Cambridge University, Kettle's Yard Museum and Art Gallery; letters to Duncan Glen, 1968-1974, held by the National Library of Scotland, Manuscripts Division (reference: Acc 7125 7147); letters to E W Marwick, 1955-1959, Orkney Archives; letters to Stuart Mills, 1971-1979, held by the Tate Gallery Archive (reference: TGA 823); letters to Robert Nye, 1969-1971 and correspondence with Derek Stanford, 1944-1971, held by the National Library of Scotland, Manuscripts Division; papers held by the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art.

Sources: Historical Manuscripts Commission On-line National Register of Archives; website of the Stuart Collection, University of California: http://stuartcollection.ucsd.edu/finlay/bio.html. Compiled by Julie Tancell as part of the RSLP AIM25 project. Compiled in compliance with General International Standard Archival Description, ISAD(G), second edition, 2000; National Council on Archives Rules for the Construction of Personal Place and Corporate Names 1997. July 2002 Communications media Books Fine arts Finlay , Ian Hamilton , b 1925 , poet and sculptor Literary forms and genres Literature Poetry Publications Sculpture Information sciences

Papers relating to Ian Hamilton Finlay, [1971-1996], comprising guides and booklets for sculpture exhibitions and poetry readings, 1969-1992; press cuttings and articles relating to Finlay's work, 1983-1993; artist's books by Finlay, [1971-1996], published by Wild Hawthorn Press; postcards produced by Finlay, [1968-1996], many published by the Wild Hawthorn Press.

The papers are unsorted.

By written application to the Site Librarian, Manresa Road, London, SW3 6LS. Researchers from the London Institute may visit by appointment.

Photocopying is permitted at the discretion of the Librarian.

• English

• Latin

English

Published material by Finlay is available in the Library's main collection.

The material is uncatalogued. Published material relating to the collection is catalogued on the Library TALIS system.

Correspondence and papers (5091 items), 1953-1973, held by Indiana University, Lilly Library; correspondence and papers, 1948-1993, held by the Getty Research Institute for the History of Art and the Humanities; photocopied files of correspondence relating to his disputes with Fulcrum Press and Coracle Press, 1974-1979, held by the Tate Gallery Archive (reference: TGA 824); letters to H S Ede, held by Cambridge University, Kettle's Yard Museum and Art Gallery; letters to Duncan Glen, 1968-1974, held by the National Library of Scotland, Manuscripts Division (reference: Acc 7125 7147); letters to E W Marwick, 1955-1959, Orkney Archives; letters to Stuart Mills, 1971-1979, held by the Tate Gallery Archive (reference: TGA 823); letters to Robert Nye, 1969-1971 and correspondence with Derek Stanford, 1944-1971, held by the National Library of Scotland, Manuscripts Division; papers held by the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art.

Compiled in compliance with General International Standard Archival Description, ISAD(G), second edition, 2000; National Council on Archives Rules for the Construction of Personal Place and Corporate Names 1997.

• English