In 1956, when he was deputy director of the Glasgow School of Art, Glasgow, Scotland, Sir Harry Barnes commissioned Anne Scott to produce a collection of dolls. The dolls are intended to symbolise various figures from Scottish and British History, and were on long-term display within the School. They were then used as as a teaching aid in Glasgow School of Art's Embroidered and Woven Textile Department. Each doll would have originally been part of a smaller group of three or four figures. Unfortunately over time some of the dolls have become lost or irreparably damaged, leaving some groups incomplete, and some dolls that do not seem to fit coherently into any group.
Anne Scott was a graduate of Edinburgh College of Art, and was well known at the time for her dolls. The dolls underwent some conservation from Anne Scott in 2000 where repairs were made and each doll received a new stand.
From the guide to the Anne Scott Doll Collection, Glasgow School of Art, Glasgow, Scotland, c1956, (The Glasgow School of Art Archives and Collections Centre)
