John Bellany

JOHN BELLANY (RA CBE) (1942–2013)

Born in Port Seton, near Edinburgh, into a family of fishermen and boatbuilders, John Bellany was a pioneering figure in modern Scottish painting. Deeply influenced by his maritime heritage, Bellany’s work blends personal symbolism with religious and nautical imagery, often exploring themes of mortality, identity, and resilience. A graduate of Edinburgh College of Art and the Royal College of Art in London, Bellany broke from traditional Scottish landscape painting, developing a bold, expressive practice in which he often depicted himself and his family as different characters. The image of the boat runs throughout Bellany’s work, both as a mainstay of Scottish fishing-village life, and as a metaphor for inner voyages. His practice fostered a profound engagement with themes of loss, survival and redemption. Bellany was made a Royal Academician in 1991 and was appointed a CBE in 1994. A prolific painter, his works are held in many major public collections including Tate, National Galleries of Scotland, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the Museum of Modern Art, New York. 

A major exhibition surveying Bellany's autobiographical work, John Bellany: A Life in Self-Portraiture, is presented at the City Art Centre, Edinburgh in summer 2025.