Tom Gourdie
| Tom Gourdie | |
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Tom Gourdie at Monash University, giving a guest class to exceptional children. Photographer Richard Crompton, 1985
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| Born |
18 May 1913 Cowdenbeath |
| Died | 6 January 2005 (aged 91) |
| Nationality | British |
| Education | Edinburgh College of Art |
| Known for | Painting, calligraphy |
Tom Gourdie MBE, DA, FSSI (18 May 1913 – 6 January 2005) was a prominent Scottish calligrapher, artist and teacher. He also was the author of several books, mainly on subject matter related to calligraphy.
Gourdie was born in Cowdenbeath and attended Cowdenbeath High School. His father was a coal miner in Fife. In his teens Gourdie left school to work but returned and gained a scholarship to the Edinburgh College of Art, where he studied between 1932 and 1937. In 1937 he won a scholarship of fifty pounds to travel in Germany. Visiting Nuremberg in kilts, he and a friend were informed by some uniformed soldiers that their leader would like to meet the men in tartans, and they met Adolf Hitler.
Gourdie returned to the art college, where he received instruction in calligraphy from Irene Wellington. He developed a deep interest in the history of writing and its various forms, alphabets and styles.
During World War II, Gourdie joined the Royal Air Force and worked on camouflage and on three-dimensional maps used in preparing troops for landings in Sicily and northern France. The War Artists' Advisory Committee also purchased two paintings from him during the conflict, which are now held by the Imperial War Museum.
After he was demobilised Gourdie took his teaching diploma and taught art at Banff Academy in 1946-47. He then returned to Fife as an art teacher at Kirkcaldy High School, where he remained till 1973, after which he retired early from his school teaching career in order to give more attention to calligraphy and to the national and international promotion of the teaching of handwriting.
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