Marking his immense contribution to the creative life of Scotland, a great outpouring of affection for the artist and playwright John Byrne followed the announcement that he had died at the age of 83 – fittingly perhaps – on St Andrew’s Day.
His impressive catalogue of outstanding works developed over the last 60 years has become synonymous with the Scottish cultural landscape, and garnered him international recognition.
His desire to create extraordinary pieces of work burned fiercely to the end. A cultural polymath, Byrne traversed a number of genres throughout his illustrious career, with successes as a playwright, painter, screenwriter, set designer, costume designer, illustrator, muralist and printmaker.