The collection is comprised of Lewis Ballantine's own works of art such as life drawings, self portraits, design work and sketchbooks, and photographs, as well as sketchbooks and notebooks that belonged to his mother and father.
The work in the collection by Lewis Ballantine forms a valuable record of his time at the Glasgow School of Art. They show the development of his work as an artist, and provide an example of the type of work that Drawing and Painting students were required to produce during this period.
Lewis Ballantine's mother, Alice Longmuir Nisbet was herself at Glasgow School of Art in the 1930s, and was involved in the Socialist Art Circle. The sketchbooks in this collection also contain works by other members of the group such as Stuart Henderson, Jimmy Morton, James ("Jimmy") Ogilvie, W. C. Thompson and John McLean. The photographs in the collection picture Alice Longmuir Ballantine and John ("Jack") Hendry Ballantine, and Lewis Ballantine's maternal grandfather, Robert Dow Nisbet.
Collection includes:
- Notebooks belonging to Robert Dow Nisbet, 1930s
- Sketchbook belonging to Robert Dow Nisbet, 1930s
- Sketchbook of Jack Hendry Ballantine, 1930s
- Sketchbook of Alice Longmuir Nisbet, includes sketches from other members of the Socialist Art Circle, 1936
- "Dun Breatann" Sketchbook of Lewis Ballantine, 1966
- "History of Costume" Sketchbook of Lewis Ballantine, 1967
- Photographs of Robert Dow Nisbet, Alice Nisbet, c1945, Jack Hendry Ballantine c1970, Alice and Jack Ballantine, June 1995.
- Correspondence to Alice Nisbet, 4 letters, 1938-1995
