Art sale to help fund Glasgow's new Riverside Museum

Glasgow's Kelvingrove Art Gallery will open its first ever selling exhibition later in a bid to raise cash for the city's newest museum.

Work from 28 invited artists will be shown until the end of January in a bid to raise funds for the £74m Riverside Museum, which is due to open next year.

Half of the sale prices, which range from £375 to £20,000, will be donated.

Some of the works are by Scotland's most established painters such as Peter Howson and Adrian Wiszniewski.

The exhibition, entitled The River Runs Through It, will also feature work from recent graduates.

Earlier this year, all the artists were invited to visit the construction site of the Riverside Museum, which is taking shape on the banks of the River Clyde.

The Riverside Museum is scheduled to open in 2011

Each was asked to respond to the building and Glasgow's rich industrial heritage, which stems from the river.

All cash raised from the sales will be donated to the Riverside Museum Appeal, the public trust raising funds for the new building.

The appeal aims to raise £5m toward the cost of the museum.

It is hoped that the exhibition will go some way to raising the remaining £1.2m required to reach the appeal target.

Director of the Riverside Museum Appeal Gavin McLellan said: "We are delighted that the creation of the Riverside Museum has inspired such an exciting range of work from eminent and rising stars in Scotland's art scene to support the fundraising appeal.

"We hope many visitors enjoy the breadth of work on show as a foretaste of the new Riverside Museum and are inspired to do their part to support its creation."

The exhibition will also feature short texts from leading writers and musicians about The Riverside.

Writers who have already contributed their responses include Rab C Nesbitt creator Ian Pattison and Blue Nile musician Paul Buchanan.