Neilson Gray

Three-quarter length portrait of an older gentleman with white hair and a thick moustache. Turned slightly to the right, he is seated on a chair with hands placed on his tights and a bit worried expression in face. He is wearing blue jacket and brown trousers. Signed at upper right 'Norah Neilson Gray'.

This oil painting by Norah Neilson Gray depicts an elderly refugee from Liège in Belgium, which lies not far from German borders. On 4 August 1914, Germany invaded neutral Belgium and Liège was one of the first towns to be attacked. The so-called ‘Schileffen Plan’ was intended to take the French by surprise and make a quick advance on Paris following the smooth defeat of Belgium. However, the Germans met with unexpected and heroic resistance from the Belgian army that successfully managed to slow down German advances and hold the army up for nearly a month, allowing extra time for French and British forces to strengthen their defences. Frustrated by Belgian resistance in the first months of the War, the German army launched attacks against local civilians under the firm belief that Belgian people organized a series of illegal guerrilla attacks on German soldiers. As a result, a number of historical towns were badly damaged and more than 5,000 Belgian and French civilians were executed.

Following these events, about 250,000 Belgians sought safety in the UK arriving in British ports in tens of thousands per day in the autumn of 1914. This was the largest single wave of refugees ever to come to Britain. The Corporation of Glasgow's Belgian Refugee Committee was responsible for finding homes for the refugees across Scotland, and many were housed with families in Glasgow and the surrounding areas. After the war, most of the refugees returned home facing pressure to do so by both British and Belgian governments. Over 100 years later, Glasgow continues to offer new homes to those who have had to leave their own countries due to war and oppression. The city has a long history of migration, and its founder, St Kentigern, was reputedly a refugee. As Glasgow has grown, many people have moved here looking for work, refuge and a better life. Many settled in the city, bringing and maintaining their own cultural identity while influencing those around them.

Norah Neilson Gray (1882–1931) grew-up in Helensburgh and moved to Glasgow with her family around 1901. She studied at Glasgow School of Art and later went on to teach there. During World War I she worked in France as a Voluntary Aid Detachment nurse. A Belgian Refugee is regarded as one of her strongest portraits and was awarded a bronze medal when exhibited in Paris in 1921.

Object type: Painting

Title: A Belgian Refugee

Artist/Maker: Norah Neilson Gray artist

Culture/School: Glasgow Girls

Place associated: Scotland, Glasgow (place made)

Date: 1915-1916

Materials: Oil on canvas

Dimensions: Framed - 1361mm x 980mm x 75mm. Unframed - 1257mm x 870mm

Credit Line/Donor: Gifted, 1978

ID Number: 3348

Location: Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum, Looking at Art