The Glasgow etcher, Ian Fleming, was trained in printmaking by Charles Murray, Malcolm Osborne and Robert Sargent Austin. Ian Fleming’s youth caused him to arrive on the etching scene after the market had collapsed and, as a result, this talented printmaker’s work has never been fully catalogued. Having begun with distinctly individual topographical drypoints and line engravings, Ian Fleming’s work became increasingly independent and modernistic as his career progressed. His Second World War etchings marked a pronounced move away from purely topographical scenes of everyday life towards evermore unusual viewpoints and sometimes symbolic content. After the war Fleming moved towards a more minimal modern style, though elements of Celtic symbolism remain apparent throughout much of his later work. A significant and influential teacher of art, Ian Fleming is fast becoming regarded as one of the most significant Scottish etchers of his period. [
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