Alan Davie (1920–2014) was born in Grangemouth, Scotland. He attended Edinburgh College of Art from 1937 until 1941, at which point he was conscripted into the Royal Artillery. While serving, he came across Walt Whitman’s ‘Leaves of Grass’ under a barrack bed and began to write poetry. After the war, he continued to write and found work as a professional jazz musician before focusing on painting. Music remained integral to his practice throughout his career. Important retrospectives of his work were presented at the Whitechapel Gallery, London, in 1958 and the Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam, in 1962. He was awarded the top painting prize at the São Paulo Biennial in 1963, appointed CBE in 1972 and elected a Senior Royal Academician in 2012. His work can be found in numerous international collections, including the Scottish National Galleries, Tate London and the Museum of Modern Art, New York.