He is one of Scotland’s most celebrated artists and the man behind famous creations such as the Straw Locomotive and Paper Boat.
George Wyllie’s ambitious public art achieved international acclaim and attention, with the Straw Locomotive hanging from the Finnieston Crane for six weeks before being set alight, and his Paper Boat sculpture sailing from the Clyde to New York’s Hudson River.
The artist, who died in 2012 at the age of 90, used his work to raise awareness of the industrial demise of his home town of Glasgow, as well as to highlight environmental issues.
And now – to mark the 50th anniversary of Earth Day – one of his pieces will be sold on special release to help raise money for a Scottish environmental charity.
Prints of Mr Wyllie’s Original Earth Guarantee from his multi-award winning play, A Day Down a Goldmine, are being sold by his family, with a donation going to Keep Scotland Beautiful.
Mr Wyllie’s eldest daughter, Louise Wyllie, said: “My father was always concerned about the way in which the Earth was at risk from climate change brought about by humanity. It was a key driver behind a lot of his late work in particular.
“Dad was always ahead of his time and this particular piece of work resonates now, more than ever.
?He would have been delighted that young people are leading the campaign to preserve the planet.
?The Original Earth Guarantee stresses the Earth has been ?made from the best materials available?. It?s our duty to look after it.
?Every household should have an Original Earth Guarantee as a reminder.?
The print, which outlines a contract guaranteeing the Earth, is stamped with Mr Wyllie’s playful nature and mimics an official legal document while setting out a number of dire warnings about the future of the planet.
The last line reads: “If the terms of this Guarantee are not complied with, a WARNING is hereby given that the Guarantee, AND the product known as Earth, will be rendered VOID.”
Mr Wyllie became a full-time artists later in life in his late-50s after serving as a sailor in the Royal Navy and as a ustoms and excise officer in Inverclyde for 30 years. Best-known for the Straw Locomotive in 1987 and the Paper Boat in 1989, his other artistic pieces include The Running Clock outside Glasgow’s Buchanan Bus Station and the Monument to Maternity, a huge nappy pin on the site of the city’s former Rottenrow Maternity Hospital.
Born in Glasgow in 1921, he continued making art at his home overlooking the Firth of Clyde in Gourock until he was in his eighties.
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