Painting of 1930s Glasgow by artist, 95, to be showcased on whisky bottle

Going To The Pictures With The Old Man by Thomas McGoran

A 95-year-old artist who only started painting during retirement is to have one of his oil paintings of 1930s Glasgow immortalised on bottles of whisky.

Thomas McGoran, from Dennistoun in Glasgow’s East End, staged his first exhibition last month.

Last day of my Dads wee exhibition at the Forge tomorrow, Sat 4th Mar. Massive Thanks to everyone who visited and to your generosity . Also to the Parkhead Forge management, particularly Jade, who made this possible. X pic.twitter.com/eucA3GQdpO

— Thomas McGoran (@tmcgoran1) March 3, 2023

Now one of his works, inspired by his childhood memories, will feature on bottles of a rare single cask of Auchentoshan 33-year-old single malt being sold by independent bottler Caskshare.

The painting, Going To The Pictures With The Old Man, shows a couple on their way to the cinema, an industry close to McGoran’s heart as a former projectionist.

McGoran was born in 1928 and started painting after his late wife Jenny gave him a set of oils in 1988 following his retirement from his job as an inspector on the railways.

Just 165 of the bottles featuring his painting will be sold at £575 each.

He said: “To put one of my paintings on a whisky bottle is really the icing on the cake. I was really bowled over.”