Compass Gallery

Glasgow's Compass Gallery is the city's oldest established contemporary art gallery having been founded in 1968. Its specific objective is to promote and support the careers of newly emerging artistic talent, presenting the work of these artists to the public. A small grant is provided by the Scottish Arts Council the majority of running expenses are made by profits from exhibitions and by donations. It began in 1963 in central Glasgow by artists Bet Low and John Taylor who established it in Sauchiehall Street atop a run-down dairy and it was known as the New Charing Cross Gallery. Advice on the business aspect was sought from Cyril Gerber (1917-2012) and in 1969, it was revamped as the Compass Gallery after the closure of the New Charing Cross Gallery.

Since then it was run by Gerber who was assisted by his daughter and he and the Gallery became one of the doyens of the Glasgow art scene. Several of the 'good and the great' of the 20th and 21st Scottish contemporary art establishment have exhibited at the gallery. These include Peter Howson, Adrian Wiszniewski and Jennifer McRae, who all showed as new graduates, when Gerber pioneered a new idea of an annual exhibition of the best work of the fresh art school graduates from four principle Scottish art colleges. Over the years, Compass has exhibited most of the mature artists too who include David Bellany, Philip Reeves, Norman Ackroyd and he also showed Elisabeth Frink for the first time in Scotland. Gerber was involved in exhibitions by George Devlin, who was first seen at the New Charing Cross in 1964, in shows by Tom MacDonald, Jack Knox, Anda Paterson and Joan Eardley's first solo show was held at the gallery in 1964.