Item NMC/1614 - Fake Ophelia

Steven Campbell studied Drawing & Painting at The Glasgow School of Art, graduating in 1982 with a Fulbright Scholarship which he used to travel to New York. His first solo show was held at the Barbara Toll Gallery in 1983, and he quickly became well-known. Campbell returned to live in Glasgow in 1986, and emerged as the leading figure of a group of Scottish figurative painters known collectively as 'The New Glasgow Boys'. The group consisted of Campbell alongside fellow GSA alumni Ken Currie, Peter Howson and Adrian Wiszniewski. Campbell's distinctive painting style often has a surreal and mysterious quality, alongside a strong literary element and recurring motifs such as skulls, birds, and the paisley pattern. His work is held in collections such as the Tate and National Galleries of Scotland, and his last major exhibition was 'The Caravan Club' in 2002, at the Talbot Rice Gallery in Edinburgh. He died on 15 August 2007.