Norah Neilson Gray, The Belgian Refugee, about 1915–21

This oil painting by Norah Nielson Gray depicts an elderly refugee from Liege in Belgium. The German army invaded Belgium in August 1914 in the opening days of World War One, and as a result 250,000 Belgians sought safety in the UK. This was the largest wave of refugees ever to come to Britain. Glasgow Corporation Belgian Refugee Committee was responsible for finding homes for the refugees across Scotland, and many were housed in Glasgow and the surrounding areas. After the war, most of the refugees returned home. Almost 100 years later, Glasgow continues to offer new homes to those who have had to leave their own countries due to war and oppression.

Norah Neilson Gray (1882-1931) grew-up in Helensburgh and moved to Glasgow with her family c. 1901. She studied at Glasgow School of Art and later went on to teach there. During World War One she worked in France as a Voluntary Aid Detachment nurse. ‘The Belgian Refugee’ is regarded as one of her strongest portraits and was awarded a bronze medal when exhibited in Paris in 1921.