Sir William Gillies survived the horrors of the First World War to paint some of the most striking works of the past century.

Born in Haddington — his father was a tailor from Duns — Gillies grew up above the family shop.

He enrolled at Edinburgh College of Art in 1916 but his studies were cut short when he was conscripted to the Scottish Rifles and sent off to join millions of others on the battle fields.

Within a year he was wounded, gassed and hospitalized—experiences he never referred to in his later life.

In 1919, after the war had ended, he returned to his studies at the Edinburgh College of Art.

He joined the faculty staff in 1925 and went on to become Head of Drawing and Painting before being appointed Principal of the College in 1961.

And he was knighted for his services to art in 1970.

Gillies was also an inspirational teacher who gained an international reputation for the College. He was also a prolific artist who always found time for his own work, producing over 2,000 artworks in his lifetime.

Council visual arts officer Elizabeth Hume told the Border Telegraph: “The paintings and drawings chosen for Old Gala House are all inspired by the Scottish Borders, one of Gillies’ favourite painting destinations.

“He used to motor down regularly to the Borders from his home in Temple to paint the landscapes of Gattonside, Gala Water, Melrose, Tweeddale, Coldingham and St Abbs.

“This is a rare opportunity to see the work of such an important Scottish artist on display in a Borders gallery.” The works in the exhibition have been specially selected from the Gillies Bequest.

Made by the artist in 1973 to the Royal Scottish Academy of Art and Architecture, the bequest is heralded as the most significant ever given to an art institution by a single artist in Scottish collecting history.

The exhibition runs until Sunday, August 10 in the Christopher Boyd Gallery at Old Gala House in Galashiels.