Two young men from Ayrshire met at Glasgow School of Art in 1933 and went on to become, for a short while, among the most celebrated artists in Britain. Now Robert MacBryde and Robert Colquhoun, the "Two Roberts", are coming home.

A free exhibition at the Dick Institute in Kilmarnock, which opened on 25 September, brings together more than 100 works by the pair, many of them never before seen by the public. It runs until 10 January 2027.

Who were the Two Roberts?

MacBryde and Colquhoun were partners in life and in art. According to the exhibition listing, the duo played a vital role in mid-20th century British art, influencing contemporaries including Francis Bacon, Lucian Freud and John Minton.

BBC Scotland reports that, at their peak, they were commissioned to make everything from book jackets to ballet costumes and were photographed for Vogue. Curator Damian Barr says they were nicknamed "MacBraque and McPicasso", and that they were "briefly, two of the most famous artists in the world".

Yet today they are, in Barr's words, "almost forgotten". This show aims to change that, rescuing the pair from the footnotes of history and celebrating what the listing describes as an alternative tradition of modernist art by two queer, working-class Scottish artists.

What can you see?

The exhibition features paintings, drawings, lithographs and monoprints, alongside archival objects including school records and photographs. Barr says the works range "from delicate sketches to monumental oils and dancing ballet figures".

It is the largest show of their work ever staged in Ayrshire, according to the BBC. Among the highlights is Colquhoun's Man Holding Stick, made in 1946, which was spotted in a municipal dump in New England in the United States before being identified with the help of auction house Lyon and Turnbull.

Barr, who first told the pair's story in his novel The Two Roberts before curating the exhibition for Charleston in Lewes, East Sussex, says other works are likely to surface. "It's a beginning, not an end," he told the BBC. "More work will turn up."

A genuine homecoming

Colquhoun was from Kilmarnock and MacBryde from Maybole in South Ayrshire, which gives the show real local resonance. "Each piece of text, each letter, each telegram has this extra emotional resonance because of that," Barr told the BBC.

He also hopes the show will inspire young people who feel they are different, see the world differently and want to make art about it. "This show is for that generation," he told the BBC. "They can see what the Two Roberts did in 1933 and ask, 'What can I do in 2026?'"

Visitor information

  • What: Robert MacBryde and Robert Colquhoun: Artists, Lovers, Outsiders
  • Where: The Dick Institute, Elmbank Avenue, Kilmarnock KA1 3BU
  • When: 25 September 2026 to 10 January 2027, during opening hours
  • Cost: Free
  • Contact: 01563 554300

The listing advises checking with the venue before travelling for any updates to opening times.

With entry free and the exhibition running for more than three months, there is plenty of time to see it. For anyone who loves Scottish art, or simply a good story of two talented lads from Ayrshire who took on the art world, this is well worth the trip.