In a captivating new audiobook release, Damian Barr brings to life the largely forgotten love story and artistic journey of two Scottish painters who once captivated London's bohemian scene. "The Two Roberts" offers a fictionalized account of the real-life relationship between Bobby MacBryde and Robert Colquhoun, whose 26-year partnership spanned from their student days in Glasgow to their rise and eventual fall in the post-war art world.
A Forbidden Romance in Turbulent Times
The narrative begins in 1933 Glasgow, where MacBryde and Colquhoun first met as talented working-class students at the prestigious Glasgow School of Art. From that initial encounter, these two men from Ayrshire formed an inseparable bond, living, working, and loving together during an era when homosexuality remained illegal in Britain. Barr's prose vividly captures their early intimacy, describing them as students "curled like commas, naked in the nest they've rolled in the high golden grass" on a hillside above Glasgow.
London's Bohemian Heyday
The artists' move to London marked their entry into the vibrant post-war art scene, where they quickly gained recognition and the playful nicknames "MacBraque" and "McPicasso." Against the backdrop of war and its aftermath, they immersed themselves in the capital's bohemian circles, socializing with luminaries like Francis Bacon and Lucian Freud, being photographed for Vogue, and developing a reputation for extravagant living that often exceeded their means.
Barr's account draws extensively from historical records about the pair's lives and artistic output while employing creative license to fill in the gaps where documentation falls short. The result is a rich, emotionally resonant portrait that explores both the public success and private struggles of these complex artists.
The Descent into Obscurity
As the audiobook progresses, it charts the couple's gradual decline as the art world's tastes shifted dramatically in the postwar years. The emergence of abstract expressionism, championed by artists like Jackson Pollock, left the figurative work of the Two Roberts increasingly out of fashion. Their financial situation deteriorated alongside their artistic relevance, leading to a heartbreaking return to obscurity after years in the spotlight.
A Masterful Audio Performance
The audiobook benefits tremendously from the narration of theatre and voice actor Michael Abubakar, who brings remarkable depth and tenderness to his portrayal of both protagonists. His performance captures Bobby MacBryde's charming, mercurial personality while equally conveying Robert Colquhoun's more reserved and wary nature. This 11-hour, 39-minute production, available through Canongate Books, represents a significant contribution to both LGBTQ+ historical narratives and artistic biography.
Barr's work serves as more than just a recovery project for forgotten artists; it's a meditation on creativity, love, and the precarious nature of fame. The Two Roberts' story resonates particularly in today's context, offering insights into how artistic communities form, how tastes evolve, and how marginalized relationships persisted despite legal and social constraints.
The audiobook format proves especially effective for this intimate narrative, allowing listeners to fully immerse themselves in the emotional landscape of these artists' lives. As Barr observes through his characters, they remained "as careful as scared people should be" in a society that criminalized their love, making their artistic achievements and personal resilience all the more remarkable.
