Everyday can be Father’s Day but it is said that the first recognized celebration of Father's Day was most likely begun by Mrs. John B. Dodd, of Spokane, Washington, U.S. Mrs. Dodd's father, William Smart, a civil war veteran, was widowed when his wife died in childbirth with their sixth child.  When Sonora Dodd became an adult, she realized the strength her father had shown in raising them all as a single parent and she proposed to have an official Father’s Day to government in 1910. In order to celebrate the coming Father’s Day of 2009, The Gallery of Modern Art (GoMA) selected art pieces from UK artist Alexander Millar to hold a limited edition exhibition named “The Essence of Manhood” from 1–30 June 2009 to show the essence of manhood by various artworks.

From the young, passionate and energetic Beatles-like image of men’s friendship, to the boy dressed in a duffle coat, balaclava and wellies who is holding his Dad’s hand towards home, Alexander depicted how a man’s life has been shaped and have led to who he was. The essence of manhood is shown with his unique image of “Gadgies” in different scenes in daily lives. For Alexander, the creation is “not only excites me (him) and conjures up a flavour of how life was for me (him) in that wee village on the west coast of Scotland, but at the same time the paintings seem to strike a chord deep in the hearts of so many people around the world.” You are invited to visit the exhibition not only by eyes, but also the heart to feel:
   

He was born in 1960 into the small mining community of Springside a few miles outside the town of Kilmarnock on the west coast of Scotland. Life within the small Scottish village was very traditional and although he grew up in the 60’s era it felt more like the 40’s. His formative years were spent in the company of old men dressed in dark suits smoking woodbines partnered with large missile-shaped women decked out in headscarves and pinnies. His father worked for British Rail and he got great pleasure from simply sitting in the atmospheric steam filled stations which even today he finds are the most romantic, nostalgic places to be.            

        He escaped school in 1976 and eventually fled Springside to set himself up in Newcastle-upon-Tyne. This jump from sleepy peacefulness to hustle and bustle was like going from the frying pan straight into the fire. He found Newcastle had, and still has, its fair share of characters locally known as ‘Gadgies’ which fed him much inspiration later on in life when he finally discovered his destiny as an artist. After a number of different jobs He finally settled down in 1988 to become a professional artist. He is completely self-taught and after many years of developing his own style in art he turned to images remembered from his childhood and used the local Tyneside ‘Gadgies’ as models in his paintings.