An Evening with Damian Barr: The Two Roberts

About

Join us at Charleston for an unforgettable evening with acclaimed author and curator of 'Robert MacBryde & Robert Colquhoun: Artists, Lovers, Outsiders', Damian Barr, in conversation about his novel 'The Two Roberts', a profoundly moving story of devotion, obsession, art, and class. In it, Barr reimagines the lives of the artists MacBryde and Colquhoun, who tried to change the world sees - and paid a devastating price.

Scotland, 1933. Bobby MacBryde is heading to the Glasgow School of Art, where he will meet another Robert - and the two will never part. Together they forged a lifelong partnership, creating bold, innovative art that challenged conventions and captured the energy of their time. They moved in the same circles as Lucian Freud and Francis Bacon, and their work was admired across Europe. Yet, despite their talent and influence, the extraordinary lives and achievements of MacBryde and Colquhoun have largely faded from public memory, leaving behind a legacy, and a love story, waiting to be rediscovered.

Barr has curated the exhibition 'Robert MacBryde & Robert Colquhoun: Artists, Lovers, Outsiders' at Charleston in Lewes until April 2026. Dive into the world of 'The Two Roberts' and discover the exhibition behind this talk here.