69 Notable alumni of Glasgow School of Art
Updated: June 03, 2026 EliteDegrees
Glasgow School of Art is ranked #2,721 in the world and #130 in United Kingdom by aggregated alumni prominence. Below is the list of 69 notable alumni from Glasgow School of Art sorted by their wiki pages popularity. The directory includes famous graduates and former students along with research and academic staff. Many individuals affiliated with Glasgow School of Art won Nobel Prizes for Peace, in Physics, Chemistry, Physiology or Medicine, and Economics.
1. Alexander Akerbladh
1886-1958 (aged 72)
painter
comics artist
graphic artist
draftsperson
Alexander Akerbladh (25 April 1886 – 1958) was a Swedish-born comics artist who drew for the Amalgamated Press in the UK from the 1900s to the 1950s. Born in Sundsvall, Sweden on 25 April 1886, he studied architecture at Glasgow School of Art, and became an apprentice to Sir John James Burnet for seven years, before studying art at the...
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2. Agnes Middleton Raeburn
1872-1955 (aged 83)
painter
Agnes Middleton Raeburn was a Scottish member of the informal group of artists known as "The Immortals".
3. Theodore Fyfe
1875-1945 (aged 70)
architect
David Theodore Fyfe, known simply as Theodore Fyfe, was a Scottish architect. He is widely known as Arthur Evans’s architect during the first five excavations at the Palace of Knossos from 1900 to 1904.
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4. Willie Miller
1977-. (aged 49)
basketball player
Willie Miller was a designer and urbanist based in Glasgow, Scotland. He was Principal of Willie Miller Urban Design (WMUD), a design practice based in the West End of Glasgow. Miller studied at Glasgow School of Art, then at the Scott Sutherland School of Architecture and The Built Environment in Aberdeen, and was assistant director of Planning at Monklands District...
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5. James Hoey Craigie
1870-1930 (aged 60)
architect
James Hoey Craigie TD FRIBA was a Scottish architect. He studied at the Glasgow School of Art. In 1894 he won the Alexander Thomson travelling scholarship which he spent in France and Italy. In 1905 he was made a partner in the firm Clarke & Bell, its name changing to Clarke & Bell & J H Craigie.
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6. Homa Vafaie Farley
ceramicist
potter
Homa Vafaie Farley is an Iranian-born potter and ceramics designer. She lives in Abu Dhabi.
7. Sandy Smith
1983-. (aged 43)
artist
Sandy Smith is a Scottish visual artist based in New York City.
8. Niall Macdonald
1980-. (aged 46)
contemporary artist
Niall Macdonald is a Scottish visual artist. He graduated in 2008 from the Glasgow School of Art.
9. Ancell Stronach
1901-1981 (aged 80)
painter
Ancell Stronach was a Scottish artist born in Dundee.
10. Elsa Stansfield
1945-2004 (aged 59)
university teacher
video installation artist
television producer
video artist
sound artist
Elsa Stansfield was a Scottish artist, known for her video art and installations. She was born in Glasgow on 12 March 1945, and died in Amsterdam in 2004.
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11. Jessie Keppie
1868-1951 (aged 83)
artist
Jessie Keppie was an artist from Glasgow, Scotland, described as one of the "leading women proponents of the Glasgow Style".
12. Michelle de Bruin
1967-. (aged 59)
painter
Michelle de Bruin is a British sculptor and artist, working primarily in stone. She has been based in the Scottish Borders since 1993.
13. Helen Paxton Brown
1876-1956 (aged 80)
painter
Helen Paxton Brown also known as "Nell", was an artist associated with the Glasgow Girls. Born in Hillhead, Glasgow to a Scottish father and English mother and she spent most of her life in Glasgow. Best known for her painting and embroidering she also worked in a range of mediums such as leather, book binding and also painted china.
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14. Janet Aitken
1873-1941 (aged 68)
painter
Janet Macdonald Aitken CBE was a Scottish portrait and landscape painter. She was described by Jude Burkhauser as "one of the leading women proponents of the Glasgow Style."
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15. Moira Gemmill
1959-2015 (aged 56)
curator
Moira Gemmill was head of design and exhibitions at the Museum of London and director of design at the Victoria and Albert Museum from 2002 until early 2015. She had recently been appointed to the job of director of capital programmes at the Royal Collection Trust. Gemmill died after being in a collision with a lorry at the Millbank roundabout,...
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16. Ciara Phillips
installation artist
Ciara Phillips is a Canadian-Irish artist based primarily in Glasgow, United Kingdom. Phillips was born in Ottawa, Canada. Her higher education was completed, first, at Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario, Canada (Bachelor of Fine Art — 1996/2000). Subsequently, she studied at the Glasgow School of Art, obtaining a Master in Fine Art (2002/2004). Her work exploits the traditional use of...
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17. Thomas Corsan Morton
1859-1928 (aged 69)
painter
Thomas Corsan Morton was a Scottish artist, known as one of the Glasgow Boys.
18. John Tweed
1869-1933 (aged 64)
sculptor
John Tweed was a Scottish sculptor.
19. Gerard M. Burns
1961-. (aged 65)
painter
Gerard M. Burns is a Scottish painter and musician. One of Scotland’s best known portrait artists, Burns has been heralded as one of the country’s leading artists of the human condition, playing a pivotal role in promoting the genre.
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20. Kate Robinson
sculptor
Kate Robinson is a sculptor and writer.
21. Abram Belskie
1907-1988 (aged 81)
painter
sculptor
Abram Belskie was a British-born sculptor who did his best-known work in the US. He is known for his 1939 collaboration with Robert Latou Dickinson on the Dickinson-Belskie Birth Series Sculptures.
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22. David Gauld
1865-1936 (aged 71)
painter
David Gauld was an important Scottish artist who worked in both oils and stained glass and was regarded as being one of the innovators within the Glasgow Boys group. Some of his works, such as St Agnes and Music are seen as precursors of the Art Nouveau movement. His works were seen as having both a Japanese and Pre-Raphaelite influence...
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23. David Murray
1955-. (aged 71)
clarinetist
saxophonist
composer
jazz musician
film actor
Sir David Murray RA was a Scottish landscape painter.
24. James Nairn
1859-1904 (aged 45)
painter
James McLauchlan Nairn was a New Zealand painter who (along with G. P. Nerli) strongly influenced New Zealand painting in the late 19th century. He believed in en plein air or painting outdoors.
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25. Katherine Cameron
1874-1965 (aged 91)
painter
artist
Katharine Cameron RWS RE was a Scottish artist, watercolourist, and printmaker, best known for her paintings and etchings of flowers. She was associated with the group of artists known as the Glasgow Girls.
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26. Gareth Hoskins
1967-2016 (aged 49)
architect
Gareth Dale Hoskins OBE was a Scottish architect.
27. James Kay
1858-1942 (aged 84)
painter
James Kay was a Scottish artist notable for his paintings of the landscapes and shipping around the River Clyde. Born on the Isle of Arran, Kay spent much of his working life with a studio in Glasgow and living at Portincaple on Loch Long in Argyll and Bute. He was elected to the Royal Scottish Society of Painters in Watercolour...
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28. Harrington Mann
1864-1937 (aged 73)
painter
Harrington Mann was a Scottish portrait artist and decorative painter. He was a member of the Glasgow Boys movement in the 1880s.
29. Richard Learoyd
1966-. (aged 60)
photographer
Richard Learoyd is a British contemporary visual artist and photographer.
30. David Young Cameron
1865-1945 (aged 80)
painter
exlibrist
etcher
printmaker
Sir David Young Cameron RA was a Scottish painter and, with greater success, etcher, mostly of townscapes and landscapes in both cases. He was a leading figure in the final decades of the Etching Revival.
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31. Edward Arthur Walton
1860-1922 (aged 62)
painter
Edward Arthur Walton RI was a Scottish painter of landscapes and portraits, associated with the Düsseldorf school of painting.
32. Nick Ede
1974-. (aged 52)
businessperson
Nick Ede is a Scottish public relations, popular culture expert and television presenter. He runs the London-based PR agency East of Eden and he lives in Hackney.
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33. Franklin Azzi
1975-. (aged 51)
interior designer
architect
Franklin Azzi, is a French architect. He is a graduate from the École Spéciale d'Architecture, and the Glasgow School of Art. He is the founder of Franklin Azzi Architecture, an agency based in the 2nd arrondissement of Paris.
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34. Ewan Morrison
1967-. (aged 59)
screenwriter
director
writer
Ewan Morrison is a Scottish author, cultural critic, director, and screenwriter. He has published eight novels and a collection of short stories, as of 2021. His novel Nina X won the Saltire Society Literary Award for Fiction Book of the Year 2019. Irvine Welsh described Morrison as "the eminent fiction writer of our times".
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35. Francis Dodd
1874-1949 (aged 75)
painter
Francis Edgar Dodd RA was a British portrait painter, landscape artist and printmaker.
36. Karla Black
1972-. (aged 54)
installation artist
sculptor
Karla Black is a Scottish sculptor. She creates abstract, three-dimensional artworks that explore the physicality of materials as a way of understanding and communicating the world around us.
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37. Jessie Newbery
1864-1948 (aged 84)
embroiderer
designer
Jessie Newbery was a Scottish artist and embroiderer. She was one of the artists known as the Glasgow Girls. Newbery also created the Department of Embroidery at the Glasgow School of Art where she was able to establish needlework as a form of unique artistic design. She married the director of the Glasgow School of Art, Francis Newbery, in 1889.
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38. Alfred East
1844-1913 (aged 69)
painter
visual artist
graphic artist
Sir Alfred Edward East was an English painter.
39. Alexander Mann
1853-1908 (aged 55)
visual artist
painter
Alexander Mann was a Scottish landscape and genre painter. He was a member of New English Art Club and Royal Institute of Oil Painters.
40. George Henry
1858-1943 (aged 85)
painter
George Henry RA was a Scottish painter, one of the most prominent of the Glasgow School.
41. Norah Neilson Gray
1882-1931 (aged 49)
painter
Norah Neilson Gray was a Scottish artist of the Glasgow School. She first exhibited at the Royal Academy while still a student and then showed works regularly at the Paris Salon and with the Royal Academy of Scotland. She was a member of The Glasgow Girls whose paintings were exhibited in Kirkcudbright during July and August 2010.
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42. Elizabeth MacNicol
1869-1904 (aged 35)
painter
Elizabeth MacNicol was a Scottish painter and member of the Glasgow Girls group of artists affiliated with the Glasgow School of artists.
43. Ross Sinclair
1966-. (aged 60)
performance artist
artist
Professor Ross Sinclair is a Scottish visual artist, musician and writer. He lives and works in Kilcreggan, Argyll and is currently Reader in Contemporary Art Practice at The Glasgow School of Art, whilst also maintaining his professional practice. Sinclair was one of the key figures in the movement of contemporary artists in Glasgow in the 1990s, dubbed the 'Glasgow Miracle'...
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44. Muirhead Bone
1876-1953 (aged 77)
painter
graphic artist
etcher
artist
Sir Muirhead Bone was a Scottish etcher and watercolourist who became known for his depiction of industrial and architectural subjects and his work as a war artist in both the First and Second World Wars.
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45. Herbert MacNair
1868-1955 (aged 87)
painter
designer
artist
architect
James Herbert "Bertie" MacNair, also spelt as McNair, was a Scottish artist, designer and teacher whose work contributed to the development of the Modern Style (British Art Nouveau style) during the 1890s. He formed the Glasgow-based artist group The Four together with his wife, Frances MacDonald, and his in-laws; Margaret MacDonald and Charles Rennie Mackintosh.
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46. Peter Howson
1958-. (aged 68)
painter
artist
printmaker
Peter Howson OBE is a Scottish painter. He was a British official war artist in 1993 during the Bosnian War.
47. Ian Hamilton Finlay
1925-2006 (aged 81)
illustrator
visual poet
writer
artist
playwright
Ian Hamilton Finlay CBE was a Scottish poet, writer, artist and gardener.
48. Harry Benson
1929-. (aged 97)
fashion photographer
photographer
photojournalist
Harry James Benson CBE is a Scottish photographer. His photographs of celebrities have been published in magazines. He has published several books and won a number of prominent awards.
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49. Liz Lochhead
1947-. (aged 79)
playwright
poet
writer
Liz Lochhead Hon FRSE is a Scottish poet, playwright, translator and broadcaster. Between 2011 and 2016 she was the Makar, or National Poet of Scotland, and served as Poet Laureate for Glasgow between 2005 and 2011.
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50. Frances MacDonald
1873-1921 (aged 48)
textile artist
painter
designer
illustrator
watercolorist
Frances Macdonald MacNair was a Scottish artist whose design work was a prominent feature of the Modern Style (British Art Nouveau style) during the 1890s.
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51. Alexander Stoddart
1959-. (aged 67)
sculptor
Alexander "Sandy" Stoddart FRSE is a Scottish sculptor, who, since 2008, has been the Queen's Sculptor in Ordinary in Scotland and is now the King's Sculptor in Ordinary. He works primarily on figurative sculpture in clay within the neoclassical tradition. Stoddart is best known for his civic monuments, including 10-foot (3.0 m) bronze statues of David Hume and Adam Smith,...
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52. Jessie M. King
1875-1949 (aged 74)
illustrator
university teacher
designer
jewelry designer
exlibrist
Jessie Marion King was a Scottish illustrator known for her illustrated children's books. She also designed bookplates, jewellery and fabric, and painted pottery. King was one of the artists known as the Glasgow Girls. She was described in 1927 in the Aberdeen Press and Journal as "the pioneer of batik in Great Britain".
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53. Fran Healy
1946-. (aged 80)
baseball player
Francis Healy is a Scottish musician. He is the lead singer and lyricist of the band Travis, having written nearly all of the songs on their first six studio albums along with their ninth and tenth, with the seventh and eighth containing material written by other members of the band. Healy released his debut solo album, titled Wreckorder, in October...
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54. Norman McLaren
1914-1987 (aged 73)
film director
cinematographer
animator
director
comics artist
William Norman McLaren, CC CQ was a Scottish-Canadian animator, director and producer known for his work for the National Film Board of Canada (NFB). He was a pioneer in a number of areas of animation and filmmaking, including hand-drawn animation, drawn-on-film animation, visual music, abstract film, pixilation and graphical sound. McLaren was also an artist and printmaker, and explored his...
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55. Margaret MacDonald
1865-1933 (aged 68)
painter
visual artist
artist
Margaret Macdonald Mackintosh was a British artist who worked in Scotland, and whose design work became one of the defining features of the Glasgow Style during the 1890s to 1900s.
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56. Muriel Gray
1958-. (aged 68)
novelist
actor
journalist
Muriel Janet Gray FRSE is a Scottish author, broadcaster and journalist. She came to public notice as an interviewer on Channel 4's alternative pop-show The Tube, and then appeared as a regular presenter on BBC radio. Gray has written for Time Out, the Sunday Herald and The Guardian, among other publications, as well as publishing successful horror novels. She was...
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57. Robert Hardy
1980-. (aged 46)
singer
songwriter
guitarist
Robert Byron Hardy is an English musician and the bassist in the band Franz Ferdinand.
58. Christopher Pratt
1935-2022 (aged 87)
painter
John Christopher Pratt CC ONL RCA was one of Canada's most prominent painters and printmakers. In addition to a body of highly acclaimed paintings, prints, drawings and writing, he designed the flag of Newfoundland and Labrador.
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59. Douglas Gordon
1966-. (aged 60)
film director
video artist
conceptual artist
new media artist
photographer
Douglas Gordon is a Scottish artist. He won the Turner Prize in 1996, the Premio 2000 at the 47th Venice Biennale in 1997 and the Hugo Boss Prize in 1998. He lives and works in Berlin, Germany.
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60. Robbie Coltrane
1950-2022 (aged 72)
screenwriter
television actor
actor
film actor
Anthony Robert McMillan OBE, known professionally as Robbie Coltrane, was a Scottish actor. He is best known for his role as Rubeus Hagrid in the Harry Potter film series (2001–2011) and as Dr. Edward "Fitz" Fitzgerald in the crime drama series Cracker (1993–1996, 2006).
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61. Peter Capaldi
1958-. (aged 68)
voice actor
television director
actor
television actor
music artist
Peter Dougan Capaldi is a Scottish actor, director, singer and guitarist. He portrayed the twelfth incarnation of the Doctor in the science fiction series Doctor Who (2013–2017) and Malcolm Tucker in The Thick of It (2005–2012), for which he received four British Academy Television Award nominations, winning Best Male Comedy Performance in 2010.
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62. Charles Rennie Mackintosh
1868-1928 (aged 60)
designer
architect
handicrafter
furniture designer
watercolorist
Charles Rennie Mackintosh was a Scottish architect, designer, water colourist and artist. His artistic approach had much in common with European Symbolism. His work, alongside that of his wife Margaret Macdonald, was influential on European design movements such as Art Nouveau and Secessionism and praised by great modernists such as Josef Hoffmann. Mackintosh was born in Glasgow, Scotland and died...
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63. John Martyn
1948-2009 (aged 61)
singer-songwriter
recording artist
guitarist
singer
Iain David McGeachy OBE, known professionally as John Martyn, was a British singer-songwriter and guitarist. Over a 40-year career, he released 23 studio albums and received frequent critical acclaim. The Times described him as "an electrifying guitarist and singer whose music blurred the boundaries between folk, jazz, rock and blues".
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64. Scott Hutchison
1981-2018 (aged 37)
songwriter
singer-songwriter
guitarist
singer
Scott John Hutchison was a Scottish singer, songwriter, guitarist and artist. He was the founding member and primary songwriter of the indie rock band Frightened Rabbit, with whom he recorded five studio albums, and created the artwork for each release.
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65. Alasdair Gray
1934-2019 (aged 85)
painter
writer
science fiction writer
poet
novelist
Alasdair James Gray was a Scottish writer and artist. He published novels, short stories, plays, poetry and translations, and wrote on politics and the history of English and Scots literature. His works of fiction combine realism, fantasy, and science fiction with the use of his own typography and illustrations, and won several awards.
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66. Martin Docherty-Hughes
1971-. (aged 55)
politician
Martin John Docherty-Hughes is a Scottish National Party politician. He was previously the Member of Parliament (MP) for West Dunbartonshire from 2015 until his defeat in 2024. He has also served as SNP Defence Spokesperson from 2023 to 2024.
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67. Cathy Jamieson
1956-. (aged 70)
politician
Catherine Mary Jamieson is a Scottish business director, currently a director at Kilmarnock Football Club and former politician. She served as the Deputy Leader of the Labour Party in Scotland from 2000 to 2008. She previously served in the Scottish Executive as Minister for Justice from 2003 to 2007 and Minister for Education and Young People from 2001 to 2003....
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68. David Shrigley
1968-. (aged 58)
film screenwriter
artist
visual artist
new media artist
multimedia artist
David John Shrigley OBE is a British visual artist. He lived and worked in Glasgow, Scotland for 27 years before moving to Brighton, England in 2015. Shrigley first came to prominence in the 1990s for his distinct line drawings, which often deal with witty, surreal and darkly humorous subject matter and are rendered in a rough, almost childlike style. Alongside...
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69. James Paterson
1854-1932 (aged 78)
painter
James William Paterson is an Australian politician. A member of the Liberal Party, he has been a member of the Australian Senate for Victoria since 2016.
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