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Scottie Wilson spent much of his childhood in Glasgow. He ran away from school at the age of nine, unable to write anything more than his name. At sixteen he joined the Scottish Rifles and fought on the Western Front during the first world war. In 1931 Wilson moved to Toronto where he ran a junk shop and where he first began to draw. 'One day I was listening to some music by Mendelssohn', he recalls, 'and I was looking at one of my pens looking like a bulldog, with a nib as thick as my finger - I dipped it into a bottle of ink to try it out, doodling on the surface of the table'. He did this for two days until the tabletop was completely covered in designs. His pictures are characterized by their intricacy, and are filled with strange, mythical creatures. André Breton and Picasso were great admirers, and Wilson is represented in most major museum collections around the world.

Scottie Wilson 1943 Courtesy of Tate Archive view larger image		Victor Musgrave's drawings of the patterns in Wilson's work about 1983 Courtesy of Tate Archive view larger image		Victor Musgrave's drawings of the patterns in Wilson's work about 1983 Courtesy of Tate Archive view larger image		Scottie Wilson's design for Royal Worcester tableware about 1960 Courtesy of Tate Archive view larger image
Private view card for Scottie Wilson exhibition at the Third Eye Centre, Glasgow 1986 Courtesy of Tate Archive Photo credit: Collection of Mr R Lewin view larger image		Private view card for Scottie Wilson's exhibition in memory of Victor Musgrave 1986 Courtesy of Tate Archive view larger image		Poster for Scottie Wilson exhibition in Aberdeen undated Courtesy of Tate Archive view larger image

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