George Wyllie art gallery to open in Greenock

Mr Cooper has collaborated with George’s family and been given access to his archive of work which includes early sketches of Paper Boat and another famous work, Straw Locomotive.

It hung from the Finnieston Crane – over the River Clyde – in 1987.

He said: “The Wyllieum will present a space where we can all enjoy art that helps us to understand the world around us.

“George Wyllie was an incredibly progressive thinker – making work about climate change, colonial politics, and the growing power of an unregulated financial sector, all years ahead of their shift into mainstream public consciousness.

“He had the incredibly rare skill of taking these complex, multi-layered subjects and distilling them into direct and approachable works of art, where subjects are communicated with deftness and flair.”