Obituary: Alex Main. artist

Alex Main, artist and sculptor. Born: 16 November, 1940, in Edinburgh. Died: 27 March, 2010, in Tain, Ross-shire, aged 69.

ALEX Main was a critically-acclaimed sculptor and artist whose work has been exhibited across the United Kingdom and internationally, and whose talent has been championed by, among others, The Scottish National Portrait Gallery, where several pieces of his work are permanently housed.

Main was born in Edinburgh to James and Margaret (Peggy). He lived with them, his grandmother and elder brother Jack, first in Stockbridge and later in the Drylaw area of the city. He left school at 14.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

He married Winifred Bigwood in 1963 and they had two children. At the time he was apprenticed as a printer/compositor for the Daily Mail. In 1965, the family moved to Bungay in Suffolk.

Having worked as a printer for Richard Clays (Chaucer Press) for several years, Main returned to education in the 1970s. After gaining A levels at night school, he took a year's foundation course at Lowestoft School of Art where he was nominated "most promising student of the year" and awarded a sponsorship prize by the Halesworth Gallery.

Main then achieved a BA in Fine Art from Loughborough College of Art in 1979 and completed his teacher training in 1980 at Goldsmiths College, London.

His subsequent career as an art teacher took the family to Thurso in the northern Highlands, and it was in the far north that his artistic career began in earnest. The area's unique light and landscapes profoundly influenced his drawing and painting, but it was portrait sculpture that was to earn him his greatest acclaim.

While in Thurso, the couple separated but he continued to enjoy teaching art until a heart attack brought about his premature retirement. This, however, allowed him to concentrate on his art, and he began to develop the distinctive impressionistic style that would become his trademark. He sought to capture the essence of the sitter rather than present a photorealistic impression, and his work became immediately recognisable.

Main later moved to Tain in Ross-shire with his new partner Cathy Shankland. The thriving arts community here was the perfect environment for him and he entered the most prolific and successful period of his art career.

His work became a permanent fixture in Brown's Gallery in Tain alongside some of the country's finest artists such as John Byrne, John Bellany and Neil MacPherson. He was also gaining national coverage and acclaim. His work was displayed at the Royal Scottish Academy and annually at the Glasgow Art Fair and was once hailed as "the best thing at the Art Fair" by The Scotsman's art critic Duncan McMillan. He was also described as "possibly Scotland's greatest living portrait sculptor".

Many commissions came his way. One of the most high-profile of these was a life-sized bronze sculpture, Boy With A Salmon, inspired by Neil M Gunn's novel Highland River. The sculpture was erected in Gunn's birthplace at Dunbeath, Caithness, by the Neil Gunn Society, to celebrate the writer's centenary.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Main was more recently commissioned to sculpt the portrait of Scots poet Tom Leonard. This was by no means new territory for him, as he had already sculpted many literary figures such as George Mackay Brown, Norman McCaig and his friend, John Byrne.

However, the recognition that most pleased Main was the cementing of his place in Scottish art history by having works held in the national collection. Julie Lawson, chief curator of the Scottish National Portrait Gallery, says: "Alex Main was a sculptor of great skill and originality. His remarkable portraits of George Mackay Brown and Norman McCaig are among the most important recent additions to the Scottish National Portrait Gallery.

"He achieved a vividness and immediacy that was remarkable, seemingly grasping form by thunder-flash. He was a most kind and engaging man who will be greatly missed, but his work will remain for future generations to learn from and admire."

The gallery currently has three of his sculptures in its permanent collection, and in February he was "artist of the month" on its website.

Alex's prolific work and lust for life reflected his refusal to let himself be limited by continuing problems with his heart. He travelled widely with Cathy, and doted on his grandchildren, as well as passionately pursuing many interests, including history, archaeology, and an obsession with bonsai that became legendary among those who knew him.

His warmth and humour made him many friends, and both he and his work touched the lives of many. Alex Main is survived by Cathy, children Katherine and Iain, and grandchildren James, Rachel, Ruairidh, Ross and Beth. He also leaves a legacy of uncompromising and challenging but uplifting artwork.