We all respect a classicist. So it’s hard not to be impressed by Ian Hamilton Finlay’s learned citing of the Aeneid, Book X, on a stone column in this exhibition marking the centenary of his birth. The poet, artist and creator of Little Sparta – his renowned art garden – revived the neo-classical style at a time when artists were more likely to quote Warhol than Virgil. He appeals to anyone who’s sick of illiterate pop culture – a defiantly archaic figure who made no apology for his erudition.
Unfortunately, under the marble veneer, Finlay was an idiot. He flirted – more than flirted, claim some critics – with Nazi imagery, apparently fascinated by Panzer tanks and the SS logo. His fans insist it was all very nuanced but the Little Sparta website acknowledges “letters in which Finlay had made ‘anti-semitic’ remarks”. (Their quote marks on antisemitic, not mine.)
