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The Andrew Kennedy Drawings, c. 1888

Andrew Kennedy (1825-1899) was a patient at the Glasgow Royal Asylum and other Scottish hospitals in the second half of the nineteenth century. Thirty-four of his drawings are held within the papers of Dr Thomas Clouston, who was physician superintendent to the Royal Edinburgh Hospital. (LHSA Ref: GD16)

Andrew Kennedy Drawing_1, c. 1888, LHSA Ref: GD16

Detail of Andrew kennedy Drawing_2, c. 1888, LHSA Ref: GD16

The drawings typically represent matrons or doctors, but also include birds, fish and cows. They were all drawn on small scraps of paper, often accompanied by writing and offer a rare insight into the patient experience. A selection of these drawings was loaned to an exhibition of British Outsider Art at the Halle Saint Pierre, Paris from March to September 2008, and again in 2010 for the Talbot Rice Gallery exhibition 'Drawing for Instruction'.

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