SOME of the most iconic images of the constantly-evolving landscape of the River Clyde have gone on show at Glasgow’s Riverside Museum.
The exhibition – Clyde Life – opened yesterday, with an acoustic set by Glaswegian Alan Reid, a former member of the Battlefield Band, who gave a rendition of Shipyard Apprentice and other songs from his repertoire.
More than 20 images displayed at the city’s Museum of Travel and Transport tell the story of how Glasgow made the Clyde and the Clyde made Glasgow.
The images from Glasgow Museums’ collection detail the transformation of the city’s main waterway – and one of the world’s most famous rivers – over a 200-year period, up to the present day.
They are presented in four geographic sections, and convey a sense of some of the changes witnessed by the river, which spans 109 miles from its small beginnings in the Lowther Hills to the grandeur of the Firth of Clyde.
Councillor Archie Graham, chairman of Glasgow Life, said: “Clyde Life reveals many evocative aspects of the iconic River Clyde that will delight and surprise visitors. It begins with a beautiful watercolour by an unknown artist, showing salmon fishing in the early 1800s, and moves through the years.
“Strong black and white photos show the majestic Finnieston crane and the vast changes that accompanied the rise of heavy industry.
“The final images ignite a touch of nostalgia, looking back on great city successes like the Glasgow Garden Festival and the construction of Riverside Museum itself.”
More than a million people visit the Riverside every year, making it one of Scotland’s top tourist draws, and the Clyde Life images will resonate with many of them. Some will recall the PS Waverley sailing up the Clyde, and some of them are sure to have been on board. Others will have screamed or been terrified into silence riding the Coca-Cola Roller Coaster at the Glasgow Garden Festival in 1988. And some will be also surprised by the sheer beauty of the Clyde’s surroundings.
Clyde Life captures all these events, occasions and environs, and is certain to captivate audiences at Riverside Museum.
Graham added: “Glasgow Museums’ Photo Library is an incredibly rich resource, full of images from our unique collection.
“Visitors to Clyde Life can access a host of other detailed photographs of the Clyde and shipbuilding via a digital touchscreen within the display. And the great thing is all of these images can be ordered as an unusual Christmas gift.”
The photo library at Glasgow Life holds images from the collections of Glasgow Museums and Glasgow Libraries and Archives. There are paintings from all the major European schools – including Old Masters, French Impressionists, Glasgow Boys (and Girls) and the pre-Raphaelites – to social history images and photographs from the city’s shipbuilding heyday.
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