Despite his origins on the island of Oesel in the Baltic Sea, Schotz’s work is deeply steeped in Scottish culture. Spending most of his life in Glasgow, Schotz is most famous for his enigmatic portrait sculptures which immortalise hundreds of the individuals he encountered during his life.
This sketchbook demonstrates the changing focus of Schotz’s later career, when he took an interest in the abstract figures that he saw in the trees of both Scotland and Jerusalem. Using black ink, Schotz brings the expressive forms to life, capturing their movement with only a few deft strokes of his pen. The influence of these sketches can be seen in Schotz’s sculptures such as The Window on the World, currently located in Vale of Leven Academy Alexandria, and The Psalmist in Kelvingrove Park, Glasgow.
