Playwright and artist John Byrne was named honorary patron of Hospitalfield House arts centre in Arbroath at the weekend.
The author of Tutti Frutti was invited to celebrate the first anniversary of the launch of the Friends of Hospitalfield, which organises exhibitions and other activities.
While at Glasgow School of Art in 1961, Mr Byrne was one of a talented group of students selected for a Hospitalfield residency.
He said, “People always talk about Hospitalfield as a magical experience and for me it really was magical.
“I was only in second year of art school at the time and they made a special dispensation for me to go.
“It was a wonderful time there and I made some very good friends.”
Trust chairman Kenneth Cargill added, “We are very happy indeed to arrange the return of John Byrne and delighted to have his support in what we expect to be a very important year of inspiring new developments at Hospitalfield.
“Friends and patrons, such as John Byrne and our first patron Sir Mark Jones, are vital to the future of this unique and historic institution in Arbroath.”
The Friends of Hospitalfield have organised a varied programme of events to take place during the year covering art, food, literature, history and music.
The anniversary event celebrated all that has been achieved and future plans were announced.
Guests were also treated to a talk on progress on the plans for the V&A museum at Dundee by architect Peter Bowman of Cre8, the Scottish collaborators of the Japanese award-winning practice Kengo Kuma.
A silent auction of art work was also held to raise funds for Hospitalfield’s conservation.