A lesson from the past: Scotland's new towns and their artists

This article reflects on the public art of Scotland's postwar New Towns - East Kilbride, Glenrothes, Cumbernauld, Livingston and Irvine - c.1960-1990. Each town employed an artist to make public art that responded to modernist planning and new communities, witnessing a shift from the social democracy of the welfare state and community art, to commissions and private practice. As such, this public art reflects the changing tastes and politics of the era.