GEORGE WYLLIE M.B.E., R.S.A., R.G.I. (SCOTTISH 1921-2012)
SCULPTURE OF AN EAGLE (ON TOILET PAPER-LINED PLINTH) - 1982
Bronze with orange spray paint, on a plinth lined with toilet paper ; this piece is sold accompanied by ‘A Day Down a Goldmine’, signed and dated '82 and numbered 10/50 lower right, screenprint (2)
Sculpture: 205cm x 71cm x 48cm (80.75in x 28in x 19in), including base; Print: 50cm x 35cm (19.75in x 13.75in)
Exhibited: Lloyd Jerome Gallery, GlasgowGifted by the artist to the present owner. 
Wyllie is pictured with this artwork in his obituary in the Guardian.George Wyllie first came to prominence as an artist in the early 1980s, by this point already in his late fifties having already worked a long career in the Navy and on the Clyde. Friendships with leading artists Jospeh Beuys and George Rickey and support from art world luminaries Barbara Grigor and Richard Demarco helped to establish Wyllie, whose work encompassed sculpture, poetry and prose. His work is characterised by an ironical and at times surreal sense of humour, but also possesses a political undertone and philosophical message.  To quote Moira Jeffrey, the author of his obituary: “Wyllie's sense of humour, his mischievous persona and his insistence that art was a public rather than private matter had a subtle but enduring influence on subsequent generations of artists in Scotland…. His work often had a deliberately modest quality. Among his favoured forms were bird life and the symbolism of stones, ships and crystal.”A new museum, The Wyllieum, dedicated to this ever popular artist is opening in April 2024 in the heart of Greenock. They will show the largest collection of work by George Wyllie in the world, alongside a rolling programme of temporary exhibitions, events and workshops.