Alexander Milligan Galt (1913–2000)
McLean Museum and Art Gallery – Inverclyde Council
Painter of colourful works, draughtsman and teacher, born in Greenock, Renfrewshire, seventh child of a Clydeside brass-founder. At Glasgow School of Art from 1930 Galt was teased by other students about a poverty that forced him to make his own paints and use his hair to make brushes. His tutors termed Galt “the human camera” and his fellow-student David Donaldson said that he could “out-Orpen Orpen”. On graduation, Galt won the Torrance Award and his diploma work toured Scotland’s art schools as an example for students to follow. When Galt’s painting The Stable Boy was bought by the Caird Museum bequest in Greenock he came to the attention of the theatre critic James Agate who proved a valuable patron, introducing him to the Redfern Gallery, in London.
Text source: 'Artists in Britain Since 1945' by David Buckman (Art Dictionaries Ltd, part of Sansom & Company)
