Eleven years before Sean Connery skyrocketed to fame as the iconic 007 he worked as a model at Edinburgh College of Art in the early 1950s. This little known part of Connery’s history came to light last year as the estate of painter Rab Webster (1927 – 2010 ) was being sorted out. Webster’s family found the painting featuring Sean Connery stacked with other oil paintings forgotten in a studio darkroom. Although the existence of the painting was apparently unknown Mr Webster’s friends and family recall him recounting stories of Connery posing for students at the art school.
This is not the first student sketch to come light in 2007 another painting featuring Connery by Jazz musician Al Fairweather went on display. Rab Webster’s painting in now on display; the Oor Rob exhibition at the Robson Gallery at Halliwell’s House Museum runs until 14 August.