Beyond the Monument: Everyday Glasgow in Three Works

By Emma Montague

Historically, Glasgow has often been portrayed as a city of industry and monumental architecture. Yet in the works of Avril Paton, Joan Eardley, and Bet Low, a more intimate image of the city emerges through endearing depictions of everyday life. Together, their artwork offers a portrait of the city as it is lived day-to-day; a tenement façade, a street portrait, and a scene from The Barras market reveal how ordinary environments can become powerful subjects in art.

Avril Paton, Windows in the West, 1993. Watercolour on paper, 121.9 x 152.4 cm. Glasgow, Glasgow Museums. Image courtesy of Glasgow Live.

Paton’s Windows in the West (1993), set in the city’s Saltoun Street, offers an intimate view of urban life. At first glance, the painting presents a familiar Glasgow sight: a tall sandstone tenement, lightly dusted with snow. The real story, however, lies in its illuminated windows, each pane displaying its own self-contained world, inviting viewers to linger on these small fragments of home life: a group of friends gathered, young families, a man working at his computer, a woman peering out into the snowy street from behind her curtains. The scene feels suspended in time, capturing a quiet winter evening and placing the viewer in a slightly voyeuristic position, observing private interiors from outside the building. Rather than presenting the tenement as merely an architectural form, Paton transforms it into a display of community, where individual lives evolve side by side within a shared structure.

Joan Eardley, Street Kids, c. 1949–1951. Oil on canvas, 102.90 x 73.70 cm. Edinburgh, National Galleries of Scotland. Image courtesy of National Galleries of Scotland.

If Paton reveals life inside the tenement, Joan Eardley turns to the streets outside it. Street Kids (c. 1949–51), like many of her works, focuses on the children who lived around her studio in Glasgow’s Townhead district, many of whom visited her regularly. Rather than presenting formal portraits, the painting depicts three children sitting together on the pavement against worn, graffiti-marked walls that ground the scene in the realities of inner-city life: one reads a comic, another chews on an apple, while the third appears to gaze into the distance. The rough, textured surface and expressive brushwork give the impression of a moment caught mid-interaction, reinforcing a sense of spontaneity. Instead of sentimentalising childhood, Eardley presents it directly and unfiltered, and by focusing on this small, informal group, she captures both the children's individuality and their shared experience of street life, offering an honest, animated glimpse of everyday Glasgow.

Bet Low, The Barras, n.d. Linocut print, 17.5 x 15 cm. Private collection. Image courtesy of Lyon & Turnbull.

Where Eardley focuses on the street, Bet Low’s linocut The Barras (no date) brings viewers into one of Glasgow’s most familiar outdoor spaces. The Barras market — long associated with traders, second-hand goods, and weekend crowds — captures the lively nature of urban commerce. Low uses the bold contrasts of linocut to convey the movement of the scene: stalls, awnings, and figures appear as strong graphic shapes that press densely against one another. Rather than presenting the city as picturesque, the image centres on the everyday movement and interactions that enliven Glasgow’s public spaces.

Together, these three works form a nuanced portrayal of everyday life in Glasgow. Paton’s tenement reveals the domestic spaces of the city; Eardley’s painting brings its streets and inhabitants to life; and Low’s market scene captures the bustle of the city. Instead of depicting grand historical events, these artists focus on the ordinary environments where daily life unfolds. In doing so, they suggest that a city’s character lies not in its monuments or dominant narratives, but in the everyday experiences of its inhabitants.

Bibliography

Lyon & Turnbull. “BET LOW A.R.S.A, R.S.W. (SCOTTISH 1924-2007)”. 2018. Accessed March 17 2026. https://www.lyonandturnbull.com/auctions/modern-british-and-contemporary-art-517/lot/48?srsltid=AfmBOoqf-WyYOzTCKQqv_AlUq0oiNEo_7R-9zEfUflQJ_rP-5nWBMULp

National Galleries of Scotland. “Street Kids by Joan Eardley | National Galleries of Scotland.” 2023. Accessed March 16, 2026. https://www.nationalgalleries.org/art-and-artists/487.

Paton, Avril. “Avril Paton: Windows In The West.” 2017. Accessed March 15 2026.https://avrilpaton.co.uk/prints/windows-in-the-west.

Williams, Craig. “Windows in the West by Avril Paton and the Story behind One of Glasgow’s Most Iconic Paintings.” Glasgow Live. January 20, 2021. Accessed March 16, 2026. https://www.glasgowlive.co.uk/news/history/painting-windows-the-west-glasgow-19663589