WILLIE RODGER RSA (1930 – 2018)
Willie Rodger is Scotland’s pre-eminent relief print-maker producing wood and linocuts without the use of a press. Born in Kirkintilloch in 1930, Willie Rodger studied Graphics and Printmaking at Glasgow School of Art from 1948 – 1953. He received a rigorous education from a course that, at the time, only accepted the most skilled draughtsmen. By graduation Rodger had already sold two prints to the V&A in London and eventually followed them, to a job working in the advertising sector. However, he became disillusioned with the cut & thrust of the commercial world and an opportunity to change careers and return to Scotland came about with a teaching vacancy at Lenzie Academy, then as Principal Teacher of Art at Clydebank High School – a post he held until early retirement in 1987. He was elected to the Royal Scottish Academy in 1989 and awarded an honorary doctorate by the University of Stirling in 1999. His Diploma work, part of the RSA’s permanent collection, is a 1975 woodcut & linocut titled “Temptation & Fall”
Willie Rodgers Iconic prints can be seen in the Kirkintilloch Puffer Pub.