Over forty original works from the 1980s and 1990s, some painted during Isobel's time in Canada. This body of work captures a period of creative vitality, marked by bold colour, gestural confidence, and her unmistakable joie de vivre.

Private viewings available by appointment. Contact us to arrange a video consultation

All works are unique and subject to prior sale.

Biography

Isabella 'Isobel' Colville McAslan (1935-2025). Artist and teacher. 

Born in Glasgow and educated at the Glasgow School of Art, Isobel's artistic journey took her across continents. After working in the United States and France, she returned to Scotland and in 1959 married fellow Scottish artist Ewen McAslan.

In 1967, with three children in tow, the couple moved to Canada. Isobel taught art classes at the University of British Columbia before joining the Fine Arts Department at Douglas College in 1971. She became a passionate advocate for women in the arts, founding Women's Week at Kwantlen College and publishing essays on women artists.

Retiring in 1994, Isobel and Ewen returned to Scotland, settling in Pittenweem in the East Neuk of Fife. Here they continued to paint and exhibit at the annual Pittenweem Arts Festival. After Ewen's death in 2008, Isobel helped establish the Pittenweem Community Library and returned to exhibiting, with a solo show at the Weem Gallery in 2022.

Sociable, uncompromising, and community-minded, Isobel remained to the end that rebellious woman who chose her life and chose to be an artist.

Portrait of Isobel Colville on paper, by Ewen McAslan (Scottish | 1936 – 2008). This piece was exhibited at The Hidden Lane Gallery in Glasgow.

Husband to Isobel, Ewen McAslan studied at Glasgow School of Art from 1953 to 1957, it was there that he met and bonded with James Spence, Anda Patterson, Alasdair Gray, Ian McCulloch and Jack Knox. Together they would go on to found the Glasgow Group, which was forged amid frustration at lack of opportunities for young artists. He married fellow artist Isobel and in 1967 they moved to Canada, where he taught English Literature, Fine Art and wrote up the art curriculum for Winnipeg schools. They returned permanently to Scotland in 1994. His final exhibition was a study of Canadian Mountains which he showed at the 50th anniversary exhibition of the Glasgow Group.

Her Art

Isobel painted in rich vibrant colours, she specialised in figurative works, seascapes and interiors, often including her cats Gus and Alexander. In this collection the recurring theme of the window and looking through the window is powerful.

Isobel uses the window to create an illusion of depth and also as a barrier between herself and the view. Many of her artworks have an open window encouraging the viewer to move through giving a feeling of possibility.

In art history there has been a long tradition of depicting women beside windows, often evoking loneliness. Isobel is asking the viewer to take the place of the woman and her use of vibrant colours gives joy and hope to the world beyond the window.