George Mackay Brown portrait restored to former glory in Orkney

A portrait of famous Scottish poet and writer George Mackay Brown has returned to its former glory in Orkney after being restored by the artist who painted it.

Edinburgh-based artist Sandy Moffat OBE produced the work in 1980 and it has been on show at Stromness Academy for more than 20 years.

However it was recently found to have suffered some water damage.

Mr Moffat offered to restore the painting and it is on show in Kirkwall.

He had originally travelled to Stromness 38 years ago and spent a week making a series of sketches of George Mackay Brown, some in the poet's living room surrounded by books, others in the bar of a hotel.

Mr Moffat - formerly head of painting at Glasgow School of Art - explained: "I wanted the painting to have a uniquely Orkney setting and that's why the hotel sketches, with Stromness and Scapa Flow as their backdrop, are reflected in the final portrait.

"George was an easy subject to work with. We'd met in Edinburgh the early 1960s and we had a good catch up, with George keen to hear news of the other poets he knew from that time."

Speaking of the restoration, he said: "It's been a labour of love. It can seem rather daunting at first, but the process of returning the painting to the way it first looked has been very satisfying and I'm delighted with the final results.

"There's been tremendous enthusiasm when I've told people about restoring the portrait - especially among painters and poets - and that reflects the affection and respect there is for George and his work."

Orkney Museum Curator Rachel Boak said: "We were delighted when Sandy made the generous offer to restore the painting at his studio in Edinburgh.

"We are very pleased that, thanks to his efforts, it has returned to Orkney in mint condition, and is on show once again."

A temporary display has been set up in Orkney Museum in Kirkwall to give people the chance to see the restored painting.

George MacKay Brown spent his life living in and documenting Orkney life.

Born in Stromness in 1921, his first poetry book was The Storm. He died in 1996.