Facing the nation

Illustrated with 167 full colour images, this landmark book charts Alexander Moffat’s career from student days at Edinburgh College of Art in the 1960s to the recent Scotland’s Voices. Iconic portraits of major figures in literature and the other arts are represented. The cultural significance of the visual chronicle Moffat has created lies in his approach to portraiture. He aims not only to capture a sitter’s appearance but also to convey something of their inner character, reaching ‘a balance between emotional expression and compositional order’.