Ian Hamilton Finlay

About

Ian Hamilton Finlay was one of Scotland's most distinguished artists: a poet, philosopher and gardener whose ideas have influenced a generation of artists both at home and abroad. He was a resolutely international figure, his work frequently exhibited in the great museums of the world despite the paradox of Finlay himself rarely leaving the home in the Pentland Hills where he lived from 1966 until his death in 2006. Finlay is probably best known for Little Sparta, the classical garden he built in the midst of a bleak Scottish moor - a fusion of so many of his artistic ideas and principally of his concern with man's relationship to nature. This garden is now in the hands of the nation, under the care of the Little Sparta Trust, and will re-open for the summer following the opening of our exhibition on 19 June. We worked closely with Ian for the last 10 years of his life and it is a privilege to continue that relationship with his executor Pia Maria Simig to present this major sculptural installation. The exhibition will occupy both our upper and ground floor spaces, Gallery I and Gallery II.