Alasdair Gray Mural, Palacerigg Visitor Centre

Alasdair Gray Mural, Palacerigg Visitor Centre

The Palacerigg Visitor Centre houses a mural painted in 1974 by Alasdair Gray (1934–2019), a Glasgow-born artist and writer. Titled "Scottish Wildlife Mural", the artwork is painted in oil on plaster and occupies the northern wall of the entrance foyer, expanding up and around a rectangular light well opposite the main entrance.

The mural depicts natural and human ecology through an idealised Scottish countryside scene. At its centre stands a large "tree of life" surrounded by species native to Palacerigg Country Park: foxes, rabbits, deer, owls and badgers. A stream flows through the lower section, while a rainbow arcs across the blue sky above trees, with birds and an eagle in flight. To the left of the tree of life, in the lower section, is a small Garden of Eden scene with figures representing Adam and Eve. The tree of life grows on a rocky cliff; the lower section is carved with the text "the future of wild life depends on man", attributed to David Stephen, the former country park manager. To the right stands an industrial dockyard scene with chimneys and cranes, from which a rocket blasts skyward, its trail of fire and smoke forming a vertical line up the right side of the mural.

The three sides of the lightwell directly above the northern wall are decorated with sky, clouds and birds. Black rectangular text panels with white typography contain quotes on the east, south and west sides. The east side bears "Proverbs by William Blake – Born 1752 Died 1827". The south side features a quote titled "Leonardo Da Vinci (Born 1451, Died 1519) Upon Human Cruelty". The west side is dedicated to David Stephen – "In memory of David Stephen – Born 1911 – Died 1989" – the first warden and director of the country park.

The visitor centre building itself was designed by the Derek Lovejoy Partnership and constructed around 1974 at a cost of £75,000. It is a small, single-storey structure with flexible spaces for café, exhibition and toilet facilities, located within Palacerigg Country Park southeast of Cumbernauld town centre.

Gray lived on site with Stephen and his family at the Warden's house while painting the mural. He incorporated animals from the reserve, sketching some from life and drawing others from books. According to Gray's own account in "A Life in Pictures", the rat depicted as brought by the fox to its cubs was painted from a dead specimen that David Stephen produced from his freezer. The mural was completed shortly before the visitor centre's official opening in 1974.

In 2001, Alasdair Gray and his assistant Robert Salmon undertook restoration work. The mural had sustained water damage, and North Lanarkshire Council commissioned Gray to restore it. The black text panels in the light well, including the memorial panel to David Stephen, appear to have been added during this restoration campaign.