Steven Campbell: The artist who 'dressed above his station'

"Are you dressing for that life you wish you had… or are you dressing for the life that you are living?"

The thoughts of Carol Campbell, as she sits in her living room in Kippen near Stirling. She is reflecting on a recent exhibition of the work of her late husband Steven Campbell, the renowned Rutherglen artist who enjoyed success on both sides of the Atlantic. His life and work have been reassessed in recent years - through fashion.

Carol Campbell in her Kippen home

It is no ordinary living room Carol is sitting in. She is surrounded by surreal paintings by Steven and other artwork. On one side of the TV is a cabinet full of model heads. On the other, a framed painting by Steven that was used as the cover on Sting's album The Soul Cages.

Steven died in 2007 at the age of 54. In recent years, his work and life have been looked at through the lens of fashion, and the clothing he wore and painted.

Portrait of the Lost Travelogue Writer by Steven Campbell

After Steven studied at the Glasgow School of Art, the couple - both proud working-class Scots - moved to New York in the early 1980s, after Steven was granted a scholarship. There, he made waves in the city's prestigious art scene and was even given a solo show.

One of his paintings was purchased for a $10,000 credit note from the celebrated Japanese fashion label, Comme des Garçons. Carol and Steven were dressing to impress.

Steven, wearing Comme des Garçons, pictured with the couple's daughter.

Carol and the couple's daughter in her prized Comme clothing.

Carol, who grew up in Maryhill, said: "New York still had a real raw edge to it, but it was a really exciting time. We would have access to go along to things that wouldn't normally have come into our radar.

"If you are a working-class kid, fashion labels like Comme des Garçons are something that would be aspirational.

"These clothes are stunning. They are pieces of art in themself."

When they returned to Scotland a few years later, the couple's clothes made them stand out. Almost 40 years on, Carol still wears those outfits.

"Very occasionally, it still happens to me yet - which isn't bad for an old bird you know. Some young girls have said to me, 'I really like what you are wearing'."

Study for ‘Frottage of the Void' by Steven Campbell

The work of Steven lives on through the Steven Campbell Trust and associated annual lectures. In 2019, one looked at Steven's art through the clothes he wore, and the fashion and textiles in his work. Entitled 'Dressing Above Your Station', it considered "what it means to dress for the life you want rather than dress for the life you have".

A key concept of this was sumptuary laws of Queen Elizabeth in the 1500s, where rules were in place on which fabrics people were allowed to wear - based on their social 'rank' and wealth.

The lecturers were fashion designer Beca Lipscombe and fashion historian Mairi MacKenzie, and they contend that the sumptuary laws have a legacy in British culture to this day. This year, they curated a virtual exhibition on Steven's work and this fashion theme at Glasgow's Tramway, and in the windows of shops in Glasgow city centre.

One of the shop windows featured in 'Dressing Above Your Station' in Glasgow city centre earlier this year

Carol, who worked as a teacher, said: "I'd never really examined Steven's art through that kind of lens before. Did he paint figures that were like him, or did the figures he paint ultimately influence the way he dressed?

"Fashion is not always about head to toe expensive items. You can take one great item and then you can pair it with anything that you like."

Steven Campbell, pictured by Lord Snowdon - the renowned photographer and ex-husband of Princess Margaret

When you look at pictures of Steven and Carol, there is no doubt that their clothes are striking. One of those photographs was taken by Lord Snowdon, the celebrated photographer and ex-husband of Princess Margaret - the sister of the Queen.

Lord Snowden visited the home of Steven and Carol near the Campsies shortly after the couple returned to Scotland. Carol remembers that they were worried in advance of the visit, as there was no furniture in the house yet apart from a few camping chairs.

"He was a lovely guy. He sat and chain-smoked while he was there, and then he went away off with Steven to take that photograph.

"I went round and collected the cigarette ends from the ashtray and put them into a little matchbox, because the mother of one of my friends adored Snowdon.

"She thought he was incredibly handsome, and she was absolutely thrilled when I gave it to her."

Steven and Carol's children also had to live with the flamboyant fashions of their dad, and it didn't go unnoticed.

"It is true that the children did not always approve of what he wore," Carol says with a big smile on her face.

"When they were younger, they used to hate it. They came to me one time and said, 'why can't we have a Marks & Spencer daddy like everybody else?'"

Steven and Carol's daughter was not always a fan of Steven's outfits.

Carol hopes the next stage in Steven's story will be a major retrospective exhibition of his work. For her, and for many others, he will always hold a special place in Scotland's art scene.

"Steven painted out of passion, out of love - never out of greed, or hungry just for fame.

"An honest genius."