National Galleries of Scotland

• Art Gallery presents a portrait of Aberdeen created by local communities as part of an innovative art project

Silver City Soul

10 February – 24 March 2012 Aberdeen Art Gallery

Admission Free

From 10 February two films by Adam Proctor will be on display alongside a series of photos by Aberdeen residents, stretching the full length of the Gallery’s Studio Space. The project, which is a partnership between National Galleries of Scotland and Aberdeen City Council, presents a portrait of the city based on its characters, communities and landscapes.

Silver City Soul explores the vital role that images play in shaping the contemporary perceptions of a city, its inhabitants, and their creative potential. The exhibition features portraits of individuals and communities who were invited to submit images of their city and its surroundings to Silver City Soul online.

The National Galleries of Scotland outreach team worked with local video artist Adam Proctor to create films that explore the faces and places that make Aberdeen distinctive. Adam has been supported by a core group of active participants in exploring the living heart of the city. His two films, projected onto the gallery walls, present a changing city reflected in the faces of its inhabitant and by the locations chosen by the group to represent their city.

Robin Baillie, National Galleries of Scotland Senior Outreach Officer said:

“We’re very excited about enabling Aberdonians to re-envisage their city by collaborating to create these video portraits. This exemplifies the National Galleries of Scotland’s belief in the power of portraits and our commitment to help represent the people and the regions of Scotland as part of the educational programme of the new Scottish National Portrait Gallery. We’re helping to put a face to the place and showing the creative power of the people of Aberdeen.”

Aberdeen City Council's Acting Community Arts Manager for Arts Development Elspeth Winram, said:

'Silver City Soul has been a fantastic opportunity for groups in Aberdeen and Arts Development to link with National Galleries of Scotland through a Vibrant Aberdeen Cultural Grant.

'Local people involved in creating video portraits have linked up with National Collections and have in their words ‘learned new creative skills’ through the NGS educational programme. It has been brilliant to be part of this innovative project and represent Aberdeen on a national platform.'

Ends.

Notes to editors:

- The National Galleries of Scotland’s nationwide education programme complementing the major refurbishment of the Scottish National Portrait Gallery, which reopened in December 2011, is called Portrait of the Nation: Live!

- Adam Proctor’s previous work can be viewed at www.fortsunlight.co.uk

- visit www.silvercitysoul.me where there is more information about the project.

• Munch exhibition to showcase rare print of The Scream at Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art

EDVARD MUNCH: GRAPHIC WORKS FROM THE GUNDERSEN COLLECTION

7 April − 23 September 2012

Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art, 73 Belford Road, Edinburgh

Telephone 0131 624 6200

www.nationalgalleries.org

Admission £7 / £5

An outstanding private collection of lithographs and woodcuts by the celebrated Norwegian artist Edvard Munch will be shown in the UK for the first time this spring at the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art.

Edvard Munch: Graphic Works from The Gundersen Collection – which opens on April 7 – will feature over fifty of Munch’s most important prints including a number of unique, hand-coloured impressions by the artist, among them an extraordinary version of the world-famous The Scream.  This rare work is one of only two hand-coloured versions of the iconic print – the other is held in the Munch Museum, Oslo.

Pål Georg Gundersen was inspired to build his collection following his encounter with the artist’s painting The Sick Child in the National Gallery of Norway and several impressions of the related print will be included in the show in Edinburgh. By focusing on prints, the Gundersen collection introduces the intensity and directness of Munch’s work and provides an insight into his pioneering exploration of universal concerns that made him one of the most influential artists of his day.

Graphic Works from The Gundersen Collection draws out the themes of love, human relationships, death, melancholy and anxiety that preoccupied Munch throughout his career. Through multiple versions of many of the images, the exhibition investigates Munch’s rigorous experimentation as he revisited and reworked subjects to heighten their emotive impact and to explore colour, texture and techniques. This unique collection shows the working processes behind some of the most startling and iconic images of the late 19^th and early 20^th century. For example, visitors will be able to compare three different versions of Madonna and five examples of Vampire II.

Edvard Munch was born in Norway in 1863. Many of the artist’s most poignant and arresting pieces are the prints he made throughout his long career, and these works express both Munch’s technical mastery and artistic vision. Print-making appealed to Munch for the opportunity they gave in disseminating his images to a wider public, and he was innovative in the different processes and methods that he employed to create such works. As well as frequently printing his own subjects, Munch also worked with master printers in Paris and Berlin, where he spent much of his time over the turn of the 20^th century and where his work was regularly exhibited.

The exhibition will be supplemented with additional prints by Munch that are held on long-term loan by the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art from two further private collectors. It will also feature a special display focusing on the legacy of the artist’s first solo exhibition in the UK, staged in Edinburgh in 1931, that will explore how Munch’s work has been experienced and received in Scotland. Works by other artists from the Gallery’s permanent collection will be shown on the ground floor at Modern Two, in displays introducing the European context in which Munch was active and highly influential, particularly in the realms of Symbolism and Expressionism.

Ends.

For Further press information and images, please contact: The National Galleries of Scotland Press Office on 0131 624 6247/ 325/ 332/ 314 email mattwood@nationalgalleries.org/pressinfo@nationalgalleries.org

• Red Chalk: Raphael to Ramsay

RED CHALK: RAPHAEL TO RAMSAY
18 February – 10 June 2012
SCOTTISH NATIONAL GALLERY, The Mound, Edinburgh, EH2 2EL
Telephone 0131 624 6200

www.nationalgalleries.org

Admission free

This spring, a fascinating new exhibition at the Scottish National Gallery will explore the versatile and beautiful drawing medium of red chalk.  Comprising some 35 works from the Gallery’s world-class collection, Red Chalk: Raphael to Ramsay will showcase a diverse range of exquisite drawings by distinguished artists, such as Peter Paul Rubens, Salvator Rosa, Jean-Antoine Watteau, Francois Boucher and David Allan.  The display will feature works which, due to their delicate nature are rarely on show, as well as a number of drawings being exhibited for the first time.

Red chalk was first used for drawing on paper in late-15^th century Italy.  Chalk is a naturally occurring mineral, quarried directly from the earth then cut into drawing sticks which can be hand-held or chipped into a point and set into a holder.  Drawing chalk can also be made, using ground up natural chalk mixed with water to form a paste then rolled into drawing sticks.  This display will highlight the ways in which artists have, over the centuries, exploited the unique nature of red chalk to produce an array of dazzling and distinctive effects that cannot be achieved with any other drawing medium.

The earliest drawing on display, and a highlight of the show, will be Raphael’s Study of a Kneeling Nude.  This beautiful life-study was made in about 1518 and is a preparatory drawing for one of a series of Raphael’s painted frescos.  The delicately drawn figure reveals not only the artist’s phenomenal skill as a draughtsman, but also his meticulous preparation for each composition.

Rosa’s powerful and arresting mid-17^th century drawing, Head of a Bearded Man, is a fantastic example of red chalk being used to produce a highly expressive finished drawing, intended as a piece of art in its own right.  A sheet of figurative studies by the influential Baroque draughtsman Pompeo Girolamo Batoni (1708–87), reveals the incredible precision and control that can be achieved with red chalk, whilst Rubens’ Four Women Harvesting from c.1630 demonstrates how effectively chalk can be used for rapid sketching, with the simplest and most minimal strokes.

Red chalk experienced a surge in popularity with French artists in the 18^th century.  Drawings in the display by Watteau and Boucher will showcase how the medium was used by artists of the Rococo period to produce highly decorative and elegant drawings.  Studies by Fragonard and Hubert will also provide superb examples of red chalk being chosen as a useful medium for highly evocative depictions of the landscape.

Other highlights will include a preparatory study by Guercino for his monumental oil painting of Erminia Finding the Wounded Tancred (currently displayed in the main gallery), and the Scottish portrait painter Allan Ramsay’s iconic drawing from 1776 of his second wife, Margaret Lindsay.  The show will also include works by artists David Allan, William Delacour and Archibald Skirving to illustrate how the medium was adopted in Scotland.

Whether used to draw a detailed study from nature, a summary sketch or a highly polished finished drawing, red chalk is an enduringly popular, richly expressive and unique medium for draughtsmen.  Red Chalk: Raphael to Ramsay will showcase the breadth and variety of the Gallery’s drawings collection whilst providing a wonderful opportunity to see beautiful and accomplished drawings by a selection of our most admired artists.

For further information and images, please call the Press Office on 0131 624 6247/ 325/ 332/ 314

pressinfo@nationalgalleries.org

www.nationalgalleries.org

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• James Holloway CBE to retire from the Scottish National Portrait Gallery

JAMES HOLLOWAY CBE TO RETIRE FROM THE SCOTTISH NATIONAL PORTRAIT GALLERY

The National Galleries of Scotland announces today that James Holloway CBE will retire from his post as Director of the Scottish National Portrait Gallery at the end of January 2012.

James Holloway (b. 1948) began his career in Scotland back in 1972 as a Research Assistant and Assistant Keeper at the National Gallery of Scotland (Department of Prints and Drawings). After a period as Assistant Keeper at the National Museum of Wales from 1980-1983, he returned to Scotland, joining the Portrait Gallery as Deputy Keeper. In 1997 he followed Dr Duncan Thomson as Keeper of the PG, a position later re-titled as Director.

As a scholar and curator James Holloway is probably best known for his work on Scottish art. His major projects included the exhibitions The Discovery of Scotland and Patrons and Painters: Art in Scotland 1650-1760 and Speaking Likeness: the latter project integrated archival voice recordings with the Portrait Gallery’s collection.  Holloway edited the National Galleries of Scotland's series of booklets, Scottish Masters for which he wrote the volumes on James Tassie, Jacob More, William Aikman and the Norie family. He has published numerous articles and has lectured frequently on Scottish art and collections.

Holloway led the highly successful project to refurbish and revitalize the SNPG which reopened on 1st December last year, on time and within budget. Since then over 80,000 visitors have flocked through the doors and the PG has attracted many favourable reviews both nationally and internationally.

Outside the National Galleries, he has been a member of the Collections Advisory Panel of the National Trust for Scotland and serves on the committees of the Hopetoun Preservation Trust and the Paxton House Trust.

John Leighton, Director-General of NGS comments: 'James has enjoyed an extraordinarily successful career at the Galleries as an author, curator, exhibition organiser and manager. And of course James ends his time at the Galleries on the highest possible note, shortly after the extremely successful reopening of the Portrait Gallery, a project which owes so much to his vision, leadership and passion. It has long been an open and rather badly kept secret that James intended to retire after the reopening of the new Portrait Gallery but it is still hard to imagine the Gallery without him. We are immensely grateful for all that he has achieved in a distinguished career here at the Galleries.'

Ben Thomson, Chairman of NGS comments: 'It is very fitting that the Scottish National Portrait Gallery, full of the pictures of so many interesting people both past and present, should have been run by such a charismatic director as James. He leaves a legacy of a vibrant and successfully renovated gallery that seeks to set the current search for Scotland's identity into Scotland's rich heritage. He will be missed both by the staff and the many visitors who knew him.'

The National Galleries has appointed Nicola Kalinsky, Chief Curator and Deputy Director to be the Interim Director of the PG. The search to find a successor for James Holloway is now underway and will be assisted by Odgers Berndtson, www.odgersberndtson.co.uk.

For further information please contact the National Galleries of Scotland press office on 0131 624 6325/6247/6314/6332 or pressinfo@nationalgalleries.org

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• Tate and National Galleries of Scotland Appint New Managing Curator for ARTIST ROOMS

TATE AND NATIONAL GALLERIES OF SCOTLAND APPOINT NEW MANAGING CURATOR FOR ARTIST ROOMS

Tate and National Galleries of Scotland have appointed Amy Dickson as the new Managing Curator of ARTIST ROOMS. Amy Dickson has been an Assistant Curator at Tate Modern since 2005 and started her new role on 9 January 2012. Amy will be based in London and Edinburgh and will manage ARTIST ROOMS, the inspirational collection of modern and contemporary donated in 2008 by Anthony d’Offay to Tate and National Galleries of Scotland.

Amy has worked on many exhibition projects at Tate Modern including Cildo Meireles, Gauguin: Maker of Myth and most recently, Gerhard Richter: Panorama. She is also writing a book on Richter in the Modern Artists series for Tate Publishing, which will be published next year. She takes over from Lucy Askew who is now a Senior Curator at the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art in Edinburgh.

Amy Dickson commented: 'I am delighted to be taking up the position of Managing Curator, ARTIST ROOMS and very much look forward to working with the teams in Edinburgh and London, as well as the partnership organisations around the UK to help to realise Anthony d'Offay's vision for this wonderful collection, to inspire people, and especially young people, through art.'

ARTIST ROOMS was established through the generosity of Anthony d’Offay with the assistance of the National Heritage Memorial Fund, the Art Fund and the Scottish and British Governments. Since then, an annual UK tour of this outstanding contemporary art collection has been made possible thanks to the support of the Art Fund, the national fundraising charity for works of art that helps museums buy, show and share art throughout the UK. ARTIST ROOMS On Tour with the Art Fund has been devised to enable this collection to reach and inspire new audiences across the country, particularly young people

In 2012, ARTIST ROOMS exhibitions and displays will be seen in Banff, Belfast, Bristol, Dunoon, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Hull, Leicester, Linlithgow, Liverpool, London, Middlesbrough, Perth, Sheffield, Wakefield and Walsall. A further venue, Mostyn in Llandudno will continue to show the work of Anselm Kiefer into the New Year. By the end of 2012, ARTIST ROOMS will have been shown in 44 museums and galleries nationwide and 92 displays and exhibitions will have opened since 2009.

To find out more information about ARTIST ROOMS On Tour please visit www.artfund.org. To see the full ARTIST ROOMS collection please visit www.tate.org.uk/artistrooms and www.nationalgalleries.org/artistrooms


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For further information
Ruth Findlay, Corporate Communications Manager, Tate
Tel: 020 7887 4940 Email: ruth.findlay@tate.org.uk

Michael Gormley, Senior Press Officer, National Galleries of Scotland
Tel: 0131 624 6247 Email: mgormley@nationalgalleries.org

Notes to editors

The Art Fund is the national fundraising charity, helping UK museums and galleries to buy, show and share art. It offers many ways of enjoying art through the National Art Pass which gives free entry to over 200 museums, galleries and historic houses across the country as well as 50% off major exhibitions. Over the past 5 years, the Art Fund has given £24 million to 248 museums and galleries to buy art. It also sponsors the UK tour of the ARTIST ROOMS collection – reaching several million people each year, and fundraises to help museums buys works of art. It is funded entirely by almost 90,000 supporters who believe great art should be for everyone to enjoy. Find out more about the Art Fund and how to buy a National Art Pass at www.artfund.org. Media contact 020 7225 4888, media@artfund.org

• Scottish National Gallery announces a major new Turner acquisition

TURNER IN JANUARY: THE VAUGHAN BEQUEST

1 – 31 January 2012

SCOTTISH NATIONAL GALLERY, The Mound, Edinburgh, EH2 2EL

Telephone 0131 624 6200

www.nationalgalleries.org

Admission free

The National Galleries of Scotland is delighted to announce a major new acquisition, Rome from Monte Mario (1820) by J.M.W. Turner (1775-1851).  This stunning watercolour has recently been allocated to the Scottish National Gallery through the Acceptance in Lieu of Tax scheme and will take pride of place in the Gallery’s much-loved Turner in January exhibition.  Rome from Monte Mario will strengthen this outstanding, annual display, illustrating an aspect of the artist’s work not previously represented.  The show is renowned for providing a thoughtful counterpoint to the more energetic celebrations of Edinburgh’s Hogmanay, and offering a welcome injection of light and colour during the darkest month of the year.

Turner was perhaps the most prolific and innovative of all British artists and his skills have been much admired ever since his lifetime.  Rome from Monte Mario is one of his finest watercolours and was made after his first visit to Rome, between August 1819 and February 1820.  Turner was delighted and overwhelmed by the trip: the ancient remains, profusion of Renaissance and Baroque buildings, and splendour of the city’s setting fired his imagination.  This delicate and sophisticated work was created as part of a set of Italian scenes for his friend and patron Walter Fawkes (1769-1825).

The view Turner chose for the watercolour is unusual and highly ambitious.  He depicted the city at sunset, looking in a south-easterly direction from just below the top of Monte Mario. On the right is the dome of St Peter’s; just to the right of the centre of the composition is the Castel Sant’ Angelo, and further to the left the Campidoglio.  The Via Angelico is the road that cuts across the fields in the foreground and is flanked by smoke from bonfires, curling up into the golden evening light. An idyllic image of a boy playing pipes to a demure girl in the forefront completes the scene.

Rome from Monte Mario formed part of the very distinguished Turner collection created by the Scottish shipping magnate and educational benefactor Sir Donald Currie (1825-1909), who founded the Castle (later, Union Castle) Steamship Company.

This work will join the Scottish National Gallery’s superb collection of 38 Turner watercolours which were bequeathed in 1899 by English collector Henry Vaughan (1809-1899).  Vaughan’s bequest is renowned for providing the perfect introduction to Turner’s career and features a number of beautiful watercolours of Venice.  This depiction of Rome is a wonderful addition to the existing collection.

Turner was born in London, the son of a barber and wig-maker, and soon proved himself as an accomplished topographical draughtsman. He first exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1790, and was elected an Academician by the age of 26.  From the 1790s he undertook sketching tours in England, Wales and Scotland, gathering material for watercolours and oil paintings, and gradually discovering the attractions of awe-inspiring mountainous landscapes, which became a major pre-occupation in his work. In 1802 he made his first journey to Europe. He was to return in 1817, after the end of the Napoleonic wars, and from then on made annual visits across the Channel for much of the rest of his life. These journeys were usually undertaken in the summer and included explorations of the great rivers of northern Europe, as well as excursions into Italy.

Vaughan probably met Turner in the 1840s and built a remarkable collection of his drawings and watercolours, which spanned much of the artist’s career, and only included works in fine condition.  He was inspired to bequeath his Turners to public collections by the great critic John Ruskin (1809-1899), who had donated works by the artist to museums.  Vaughan was aware of the importance of conserving watercolours, which can easily fade if over-exposed, and so he specified that his Turners should only be displayed during January. His wishes have always been respected and this inspired tradition has now continued for over 110 years.

ENDS

For further information and images, please call the Press Office on 0131 624 6325/ 332/ 314

pressinfo@nationalgalleries.org

Notes to Editors:

Turner in January is sponsored by People’s Postcode Lottery.

Acceptance in Lieu of Tax (AIL) scheme enables UK taxpayers to transfer important works of art into public ownership.  In this instance this was achieved with no cost to the NGS.

The Scottish National Gallery is open on 1 January from 12 noon until 5 pm; from 2 January opening hours revert to normal: Monday to Sunday 10 am – 5 pm, Thursday 10 am –7 pm.

National Galleries of Scotland publications available on the subject include:

J. M.W. Turner, the Vaughan Bequest (£9.95)

Turner’s Italy (£4.95)

English Drawings and Watercolours 1600-1900 (£125)

Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art announces definitive look at 110 years of Sculpture including works from Auguste Rodin and Edgar Degas through to Ron Mueck and 2011 Turner Prize winner, Martin Boyce.

A major new exhibition, which will use the extraordinary collection at Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art to explore the development of sculpture over the last 110 years, will open in Edinburgh this week.  The Sculpture Show will highlight the enormous diversity of sculptural practice in this period, bringing together some 150 works, by artists such as Auguste Rodin, Edgar Degas, Barbara Hepworth and Damien Hirst.  This fascinating overview of Modern and Contemporary sculpture will also include key loans from private and public collections, and will bring the story right up to date, with works by this year’s Turner Prize winner Martin Boyce and nominee Karla Black.

Simon Groom, Director of the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art said:

'The Sculpture Show gives us a fantastic opportunity to showcase the huge strengths of the collection in innovative ways. It also allows us to celebrate the specific strengths of contemporary art in Scotland, with the inclusion of works by this year’s Turner Prize nominee Karla Black and winner Martin Boyce, as well as past winners including Simon Starling, Martin Creed and Douglas Gordon. With major international loans and new commissions, this history of sculpture is the history of how art became contemporary.'

The Sculpture Show will take over both floors of the Gallery’s main building, and also extend into the grounds, where a recent work by Roger Hiorns has been installed on Charles Jencks’s Landform.  Comprising two decommissioned aircraft engines from the United States Air Force, this spectacular work is on loan from the Arts Council Collection and is being shown for the first time in the UK.  It joins an array of sculpture on permanent display in the grounds of the Gallery’s two buildings, Modern One and Two.

The exhibition will demonstrate the depth, richness and range of sculpture in the Gallery’s collection.  It will begin with collages, reliefs and assemblages made by Cubist, Surrealist and Constructivist artists in the early 20th Century (including masterpieces by Picasso and Man Ray), and will demonstrate the continuing influence of these techniques throughout the century, up to contemporary artists such as Toby Paterson.  Other highlights from the first half of the century will include Impressionist sculptures by Degas, Rodin and Medardo Rosso, as well as displays devoted to Barbara Hepworth and Ben Nicholson, Eric Gill and Jacob Epstein (including Epstein’s rarely seen monumental alabaster carving Consummatum Est (1936-7)).  

After a worldwide tour, Ron Mueck’s monumental work A Girl (2006) has returned to Edinburgh to form the centrepiece of The Sculpture Show. The 5-metre mixed-media sculpture of a newborn baby, rendered in breathtaking detail on an enormous scale, was acquired following the phenomenally successful Mueck exhibition, which drew over 130,000 visitors at the Scottish National Gallery in 2006.  A Girl will feature in a display devoted to Super-realist sculpture, which will also include Duane Hanson’s celebrated Tourists. Further rooms illustrate the impact of surrealism on sculpture of, or about the human body including works by Marcel Duchamp, Sarah Lucas, Giacometti and Hans Bellmer.

The upper galleries will chart developments in sculpture from the 1960s onwards, exploring the ways in which the definition of the artform has expanded in the last 50 years.  Crucial to this is the work of artists such as Joseph Beuys, Donald Judd, Ian Hamilton Finlay and Bruce McLean and six new works by the Italian artist Michelangelo Pistoletto, one of the key members of the Arte Povera movement of the 1960s, and one of the elder statesmen of contemporary art. The Way Things Go by Peter Fischli and David Weiss brings film and video into The Sculpture Show, the enchanting 29 minute film features a large kinetic sculpture which comes to life as a 100 foot long chain reaction.  

A striking late work by American Minimalist artist Sol LeWitt has been specially installed for the exhibition.  Wall Drawing #1136 (2004) covers three walls of a single room, and reaches almost 22 metres in length.  The work, which took a team of eight people a month to complete, immerses the viewer in a vibrant world of colour.  It comprises 149 vertical bands, hand-painted in an irregular sequence of primary and secondary colours, intersected by the sweeping curved form which snakes around the room.  This work, which is part of the ARTIST ROOMS collection, has never before been on display in Scotland.

Throughout the exhibition, a series of changing displays of recent sculpture will be shown.  The first of these will be devoted to leading Glasgow-based sculptor Nick Evans, who is currently exploring the collection as part of a SNGMA / Creative Scotland Fellowship.   

A series of exquisite photographs by Turner Prize winner Martin Boyce, which give the viewer an insight into the artists’ research and inspirations, will also be on display.  These images will be shown in conjunction with Untitled (After Rietveld), a haunting fluorescent light work by Boyce which was recently gifted to the galleries.

For Further press information, please contact:
The National Galleries of Scotland Press Office on 0131 624 6247/ 325/ 332/ 314 email pressinfo@nationalgalleries.org

ENDS

Notes to Editors:

The Arts Council Collection is one of Britain’s foremost national collections of post-war British Art and is run by Southbank Centre on behalf of Arts Council England. As a collection 'without walls', it has no permanent gallery; it can be seen on long term loan to museums, galleries, schools, hospitals, colleges and charitable associations and in touring exhibitions and displays at home and abroad.   It is also, importantly, the most widely circulated and easily accessible collection of its kind, with nearly 8000 works available for loan.  

Established in 1946 to promote and enrich knowledge of contemporary art, the Collection continues to acquire works by artists, many at an early stage of their career, living and working in Britain and to foster the widest possible access to modern and contemporary across the UK.  It includes work by Francis Bacon, Tracey Emin, Lucian Freud, Antony Gormley, Barbara Hepworth, David Hockney, Anish Kapoor, Henry Moore, Bridget Riley and Wolfgang Tillmans. Recent exhibitions of works from the Collection, created in collaboration with Hayward Touring, include Unpopular Culture: Grayson Perry curates from the Arts Council Collection, and Now Showing I & II.  In 2009 the Arts Council Collection launched the Flashback series which showcases world-renowned British artists whose works were acquired early on by the Collection, including Bridget Riley (2010) and Anish Kapoor (2011). Access to the Collection can be found at www.artscouncilcollection.org.uk.  


ARTIST ROOMS
The Art Fund is the national fundraising charity, helping UK museums and galleries to buy, show and share art. It offers many ways of enjoying art through the National Art Pass which gives free entry to over 200 museums, galleries and historic houses across the country as well as 50% off major exhibitions. Over the past 5 years, the Art Fund has given £24 million to 248 museums and galleries to buy art. It also sponsors the UK tour of the ARTIST ROOMS collection – reaching several million people each year, and fundraises to help museums buys works of art. It is funded entirely by its 80,000 supporters who believe great art should be for everyone to enjoy. Find out more about the Art Fund and how to buy a National Art Pass at www.artfund.org. Media contact 020 7225 4888, media@artfund.org
ARTIST ROOMS is owned jointly by Tate and National Galleries of Scotland and was established through The d’Offay Donation in 2008, with the assistance of the National Heritage Memorial Fund, the Art Fund and the Scottish and British Governments.

The Scottish National Portrait Gallery (SNPG) will open on 1 December, following an ambitious £17.6m restoration project and with an entirely new presentation of its world-famous collection.  The project – the first major refurbishment in the Gallery’s 120-year history – has restored much of the architect’s original vision, opening up previously inaccessible parts of the building and increasing the public space by more than 60 percent.  It has also added a range of new facilities that will utterly transform visitors’ experience of the Gallery.  Entry to the new Portrait Gallery will be completely free.

The Collection

The SNPG opened in 1889 as the world’s first purpose-built portrait gallery and is now an iconic landmark in the heart of Scotland’s capital.  Over the past century, its collection of portraits has grown to become one of the largest and finest in the world, comprising 3,000 paintings and sculptures, 25,000 prints and drawings. This distinctive red sandstone building also houses the national collection of photography with some 38,000 historic and modern photographs.

For the first time since the Gallery was established, access to the exhibition spaces on all three levels has been opened up, while the restoration of the magnificent suite of top-lit galleries on the upper floor has created one of the most impressive display spaces in Scotland.  As a result, a much greater proportion of the collection will be on show, bringing to light a wealth of art works that has been, until now, largely hidden from view.

The New Displays

The new displays will follow a chronological pattern but will also focus on various themes and subjects in greater depth, exploring the richness of Scottish history and culture in a more cohesive and interconnected way, and telling the story of its people and places through the lens of the visual arts.  Individual portraits – from Mary, Queen of Scots to Dr Who actor Karen Gillan – will be set in a broader context of thematic displays ranging from the Reformation to the present day.

Supported by loans from other collections, and by a fresh approach to information and interpretation, including trails, themes and an interactive touchscreen gallery, this new presentation of the permanent collection will help bring to life the portraits and the stories behind them, as well as exploring many facets of Scottish life and the nation’s wider influence throughout the world.  The displays are designed to change and evolve so that over time, the public will have access to different aspects of this extraordinarily rich and diverse collection.

The Photography Gallery

The new Portrait Gallery will, for the first time, include a major space dedicated to showcasing the Gallery’s unparalleled holdings of Scottish and international photography, as well as newly commissioned work by contemporary photographers. The significance of photography will be emphasised throughout the Gallery, where it will be integrated into many of the displays.

The Contemporary Gallery

On the ground floor, the Contemporary Gallery will bring the story up to date, with a series of displays from the Gallery’s collection of contemporary portraits, special loan exhibitions, and commissions from some of Scotland’s most celebrated contemporary artists.  The inaugural display will feature Missing, a video installation by Graham Fagen, commissioned as part of a unique partnership between the Portrait Gallery and the National Theatre of Scotland.

The Building

The refurbishment of the Gallery, a magnificent Arts and Crafts building designed by the celebrated architect Sir Robert Rowand Anderson, has been overseen by Glasgow-based architects Page Park.  Their sensitive design has restored many of the building’s original features, which had been hidden behind an accumulation of twentieth-century interventions, while incorporating essential modern services, such as the great glass lift that will take visitors up through the heart of the building.  The remodeling of the ground floor has improved circulation for visitors, as well as providing an open and airy view along the entire length of the building.  Office space has been cleverly accommodated in a new mezzanine level and, for the first time there is an education suite, with a seminar room and studio space.  In addition, the Gallery’s ever-popular café and shop have doubled in size.

The refurbished Gallery will also make use of a number of pioneering techniques to achieve a significant reduction in energy consumption.  Using the mass of the building, new insulation and sophisticated controls to permit slow changes over wider ranges of temperature and humidity, the gallery spaces will use 42 percent less energy that previously.  In addition, the Gallery will be lit by cutting-edge, low-energy LEDs (light-emitting diodes) which combine economy with excellent colour rendering qualities.

The Learning Programme

An extensive and dynamic learning programme complementing the new displays, called Portrait of the Nation: Live! will be an integral part of the re-invention of the SNPG.  This has been devised to engage a very broad range of visitors, both on- and off-site, as well as on-line.  It will help to realise our vision of the Portrait Gallery as a unique, responsive and essential portrayal of Scotland that will stimulate, engage and build relationships with audiences both at home and abroad.

Funding

The £17.6 million refurbishment has been funded by generous contributions from the Scottish Government, the Heritage Lottery Fund, the Monument Trust and a number of charitable bodies.  This has been supported by an innovative and engaging public campaign which has given donors the chance to sponsor historical figures in the stunning frieze created by William Hole in the Gallery’s Great Hall; individual stars in Hole’s mural mapping of the night sky, which adorns the Hall’s ceiling; or to include a photograph in 'Put Yourself in the Picture', an electronic donor screen and online gallery.

John Leighton, Director-General of the National Galleries of Scotland, commented: 'The new SNPG will be a superb setting to showcase rich traditions of Scottish art and photography; it is also a forum where issues of history and identity come to life through art; perhaps, above all, it is a place where individual and collective stories and memories come together to create a fascinating and imaginative portrait of a nation.'

James Holloway, Director of the Scottish National Portrait Gallery, added:'Scotland’s national portraits at last have a home worthy of them. Our great iconic building now looks tremendous and is the perfect showcase for our rich and unique collection.'

First Minister Alex Salmond said: 'The Scottish National Portrait Gallery celebrates well-known Scots from throughout the ages; whether they are some of our greatest thinkers or our modern actors and actresses.  All aspects of Scottish life and achievement are encapsulated in the many artworks which will now be displayed to their utmost as part of this ambitious £17.6m restoration project.  The improvements to the magnificent building will allow visitors to experience much of what architect Sir Robert Rowand Anderson envisaged in his original design as it continues to showcase Scotland’s greatest asset – its people.'

Colin McLean, Head of the Heritage Lottery Fund in Scotland, said: 'The restoration of this magnificent building will allow visitors to appreciate its architect’s original vision while showcasing Scotland at its very best. The opportunity to view substantially more of the Gallery’s treasures and take part in imaginative interpretation trails and education activities will delight visitors of all ages. HLF is proud to be a partner in this magnificent transformation which is set to make a significant contribution to our culture, society and tourist economy.'

For further information and images please contact the National Galleries Press Office on 0131 624 6325/6247/6314/6332 or pressinfo@nationalgalleries.org.

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Some of Scotland’s most famous faces from Sir Sean Connery to David Tennant are to appear in a new collection of photographic portraits which will be unveiled in the refurbished Scottish National Portrait Gallery when it opens on Thursday 1 December.

Hot Scots, a display of 18 works, recently acquired for the national collection will feature well known Scottish names from TV, film and music including current Hollywood stars James McAvoy and Gerard Butler. Among the other new portraits on show will be images of Dr Who actor Karen Gillan, writer Armando Iannucci, singer Paolo Nutini, Michelin star chef Tom Kitchin and artist and playwright John Byrne. The portraits have been taken by celebrated photographers from Eva Vermandel to Albert Watson.

Award winning Scottish photographer Albert Watson’s first photograph to be added to the National Galleries of Scotland’s permanent collection is Watson’s iconic 2003 portrait of Sir Sean Connery. Donations to Hot Scots also include David Eustace’s 2010 portraits of artist and playwright John Byrne and Ken Dundas’ 2011 portrait of actor Robert Carlyle.

The new Scottish National Portrait Gallery will, for the first time, include a major space dedicated to showcasing the Gallery’s unparalleled holdings of Scottish and international photography, as well as newly commissioned work by contemporary photographers. Alongside Hot Scots the significance of photography is highlighted throughout the Scottish National Portrait Gallery in Romantic Camera: Scottish Photography and the Modern World, Migration Stories: Pakistan and Close Encounters: Thomas Annan’s Glasgow.

Hot Scots will be shown in the new Contemporary Gallery on the ground floor. Home to special loan exhibitions and a series of displays from the Gallery’s collection of contemporary portraits, the new exhibition space will also feature commissions from some of Scotland’s most celebrated contemporary artists. The opening displays include Missing, a video installation by Graham Fagen, commissioned as part of a unique partnership between the Portrait Gallery and the National Theatre of Scotland.  

James Holloway, Director of the Scottish National Portrait Gallery said:

'It is absolutely right that faces as familiar as David Tennant and Karen Gillan should be on show in the new Portrait Gallery. The Gallery is about Scotland today as well as Scotland of old.'

For Further press information, please contact: The National Galleries of Scotland Press Office on 0131 624 6247/ 325/ 332/ 314 email pressinfo@nationalgalleries.org

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• National Galleries of Scotland Announce 2012 Exhibition Schedule

NATIONAL GALLERIES OF SCOTLAND ANNOUNCE 2012 EXHIBITION SCHEDULE

The National Galleries of Scotland will announce today, Wednesday 26 October, their 2012 Public Programme. From the sublime Van Gogh to Kandinsky to the engaging Picasso and Modern British Art; from the fascinating realism of Giovanni Battista Lusieri to a retrospective of the major Scottish artist John Bellany, there is something to suit all tastes. With the opening of the recently refurbished Scottish National Portrait Gallery on 1 December 2011, the national collection will be presented in a brand new and dynamic way, combining a chronological overview with thematic presentations.  As a result, the National Galleries will be able to offer a superb spectrum of exhibitions and events to its visitors in 2012.


Giovanni Battista Lusieri
Scottish National Gallery, 30 June to 28 October 2012

This exhibition will be the first ever devoted exclusively to the impressive and stunningly beautiful work of an artist long deserving of much greater recognition.  Giovanni Battista Lusieri was born in Rome in 1754 and died in Athens in 1821.  He was active principally as a landscape watercolourist, specializing in broad panoramas and cityscapes, and ancient buildings and monuments.  Lusieri was considered by many of his contemporaries to be the most skilful landscape painter of his day. He was admired above all for the accuracy and minute precision of his views, and for his breathtaking ability to capture the effects of brilliant Mediterranean light.  His career falls neatly into two halves – the Italian period (up to 1799), when he worked in Rome, Naples and Sicily, and the Greek period (1800-1821), when he was employed as Lord Elgin’s resident artist and agent in Athens. He was closely involved in the removal, packing and shipping of the Elgin Marbles.  The exhibition will feature the best of Lusieri’s surviving work, including an important group of watercolours and drawings still in the collection of the Elgin family, and a spectacular nine-foot wide view of the Bay of Naples from the Getty Museum in Los Angeles.


Van Gogh to Kandinsky: Landscapes of the Imagination
Scottish National Gallery, 14 July to 14 October 2012

This ground-breaking exhibition is an international collaboration between the National Galleries of Scotland, the Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam and the Ateneum Art Museum, Finnish National Gallery, Helsinki. It will be the first exhibition dedicated to Symbolist Landscape in Europe, the innovative movement that developed after Impressionism, as artists created a more imaginative and emotional approach to landscape painting, embracing themes such as music, nationalism, science and modernity. The exhibition will present a stunning range of poetic and suggestive interpretations of nature, including arcadian idylls, the landscape of dreams, silent cities and the power of the cosmos. It will focus on major artists of the avant-garde such as Gauguin, Van Gogh, Munch, Mondrian and Kandinsky, and also showcase other brilliantly inventive artists from throughout Europe such as Hammershøi, Hodler, Khnopff and Gallen-Kallela who will be set alongside the visionary British artistry of Crane, Leighton, Watts and Millais in a show which will write a new chapter in the history of landscape painting.


The Sculpture Show
Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art, 17 December 2011 to 24 June 2012

This winter the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art One will be given over entirely to sculpture in all its many forms. Works from the collection will be shown alongside several major works on loan to provide an overview of the depth, range and breadth of sculpture from 1900 to now. The exhibition will feature thematic and monographic displays and will include photography, film and documentary material relating to sculpture and its legacies. After a worldwide tour, Ron Mueck’s monumental work A Girl (2006) returns to Edinburgh to form the centrepiece of the show. Displays will include Impressionist sculpture, with works by Rodin and Degas; collage & relief; early twentieth century British sculpture, including Hepworth and Moore; Surrealist works by Giacometti and Duchamp; and post-war sculpture by Paolozzi and Turnbull.  Contemporary sculpture displays will include works by Damien Hirst, Sarah Lucas and Simon Starling, as well as this year’s Turner Prize nominees Martin Boyce and Karla Black. Also on display will be new work by Nick Evans, a Creative Scotland Fellowship Artist, who has been undertaking a period of research within the galleries over the past six months.


Picasso and Modern British Art
Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art, 4 August to 4 November 2012

The first exhibition to explore Pablo Picasso’s lifelong connections with Britain will be the highlight of the summer season at the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art in 2012.  Picasso and Modern British Art will examine Picasso’s evolving critical reputation here and British artists’ responses to his work. Originating at Tate Britain, this pioneering show marks the first time that the two organisations have collaborated on a major exhibition. The exhibition will comprise over 150 works from major public and private collections around the world, including over 60 paintings by Picasso. Highlights will include masterpieces from all periods of his career such as his great 1925 painting, The Three Dancers, which the Tate acquired from the artist following his 1960 exhibition and major cubist paintings from the Museum of Modern Art in New York.  Among the British artists for whom Picasso proved an important stimulus, and whose work will be included in the show, are Duncan Grant, Wyndham Lewis, Ben Nicholson, Henry Moore and Francis Bacon.


The Scottish Colourist Series: S J Peploe
Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art, October 2012 – March 2013

The autumn of 2012 will see the second in the Scottish Colourist Series of exhibitions with a retrospective of the work of S J Peploe.  Samuel John Peploe (1871-1935) was the eldest of the four artists popularly known as ‘The Scottish Colourists’, the others being F C B Cadell, J D Fergusson and G L Hunter. Born in Edinburgh, Peploe studied there and in Paris, where he lived from 1910 until 1912. Through Fergusson, he became acquainted with the Parisian avant-garde and the latest developments in French paintings. He began to use bold colour and structured brushstrokes and concentrated on the genres of the still life and landscape for the rest of his life. Cadell introduced him to the Hebridean island of Iona in 1920 and they were to return regularly thereafter; Peploe also painted in other parts of Scotland and in France. He was the first of the Colourists to receive recognition from the Scottish establishment when he was elected to the Royal Scottish Academy in 1927, eight years before his death in Edinburgh in 1935. The Scottish Colourist Series: S J Peploe will consist of approximately 70 paintings from both public and private collections, covering his entire career, including many which have rarely, if ever, been exhibited before. The exhibition will be accompanied by a catalogue, based on new research, which will be the first major monograph on the artist to be written in over a decade.


John Bellany: A Passion for Life
Scottish National Gallery, 17 November 2012 to 27 January 2013

John Bellany (born 1942) helped change the course of painting in Scotland. His intensely felt paintings of fisher-folk and their precarious life at sea were a direct challenge to the by then much diluted Scottish colourist tradition and its landscapes and still lifes. The sheer size and raw emotion of Bellany’s canvases, their depictions of a way of life that the artist knew from growing up in a Port Seton fishing family and their elevation of that life onto a symbolic level were very much at odds with the decorative drawing-room pictures of much contemporary Scottish painting in the 1960s. This exhibition marking John Bellany’s 70th birthday will contain paintings, watercolours, drawings and prints from all the key periods of the artist’s career. Beginning with the celebrated large-scale paintings of fisher-folk and their boats that Bellany hung on the railings outside the Royal Scottish Academy building in the mid-1960s; through the darker, even harrowing pictures of the early 1970s that show the impact of Bellany’s visit to the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp in Germany; the wild, expressionist paintings of the late 1970s and early 1980s, that seem to explode and disintegrate as Bellany battled with his inner demons; the remarkably honest and courageous watercolours and drawings that Bellany made about his liver transplant and near miraculous recovery; to the richly coloured allegorical paintings that the artist has produced since then reflecting a renewed vigour and optimism as he travelled the world and set down roots in Italy, England and, of course Scotland. This will be the largest and most comprehensive exhibition of John Bellany’s work since the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art organised the retrospective in 1986.


Romantic Camera: Scottish Photography and the Modern World
Scottish National Portrait Gallery, 30 November 2011 to 3 June 2012

Romantic Camera is the first exhibition within the new Photography Gallery in the refurbished Scottish National Portrait Gallery. This space will display a rolling programme of shows and exhibitions throughout the year. Romantic Camera will explore for the first time the highly charged relationship between romanticism and photography in Scotland. This exhibition suggests that rather than vanishing during the 1840s, the romantic impulse has been vital to the development of the medium, up to and including the present day. Romanticism emerged as a literary form in the 1790s and had a powerful impact on Scottish culture, particularly through the influence of the poet and novelist Sir Walter Scott. Photography in Scotland was born in Scott’s shadow and was profoundly shaped by his creative imagination. Characterised by nostalgic longing, nineteenth-century photographers hunted out traces of Scotland’s turbulent history or ranged across the landscape in search of poetic subjects. Showcasing over 40 different photographers, the exhibition will includes works by Adamson and Hill, Julia Margaret Cameron, James Craig Annan, Bill Brandt, Oscar Marzaroli, Michael Reisch and Zwelethu Mthethwa.

A New Look to nationalgalleries.org

Nationalgalleries.org will re-launch today with a new look and a greater focus on the unique aspects of the three galleries across Edinburgh. New features include interactive floorplans and trails, gallery visit hub sections, bringing together information about the range of facilities, events and activities available to visitors, and a completely revised What's On section designed to reflect the breadth of the Galleries’ public programme. Improvements have been made to the site's usability, and changes made to enhance compatibility with mobile browsing and touchscreen devices, and integrate our social media channels. Find out more at www.nationalgalleries.org.


For further information and images please contact the National Galleries of Scotland press office on 0131 624 6325 or pressinfo@nationalgalleries.org.

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• New Scottish and French Acquisitions for the Scottish National Gallery

BUILDING A COLLECTION: New Scottish and French Acquisitions for the Scottish National Gallery

The Scottish National Gallery is delighted to announce two important acquisitions to the national collection. Entrance to the Cuiraing, Skye (1873) by Waller Hugh Paton (1828-1895) has been purchased for the collection by the Patrons of the National Galleries of Scotland and Portrait of Jean-François Regnault (1815) by Jean-Baptiste, baron Regnault (1754-1829) has been acquired for the nation thanks to the generosity of a private donor.  

Michael Clarke, Director of the Scottish National Gallery, said; ‘It is vitally important that we continue to add significant works, both Scottish and European, to this wonderful and very distinctive collection. Paton’s landscape is our first Scottish landscape of the world-famous Isle of Skye,and Regnault’s portrait of his son is our first ‘Romantic’ French portrait. We are deeply grateful to our Patrons and to a private donor for their magnificent support.”

Entrance to the Cuiraing, Skye (1873) by Waller Hugh Paton, was purchased from Bourne Fine Art in Edinburgh with the generous support of the Patrons of the National Galleries of Scotland. Scotland’s most prolific and successful Pre-Raphaelite landscape painter was previously not represented in the national collection of Scottish art by a single oil – an omission which the Gallery has been seeking to rectify for almost ten years. Completed in 1873, this spectacular example of Paton’s mature landscape painting also strengthens very substantially the pictorial representation of the Highlands throughout the National Galleries and is the most important view of Skye in the Scottish National Gallery apart from J M W Turner’s exceptional watercolour of Loch Coruisk (1831), conceived as an illustration to The Lord of the Isles by Sir Walter Scott.

Like his older brother Sir Joseph Noel Paton, who is internationally known for his fairy pictures illustrating A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Waller Hugh Paton began his professional career in Dunfermline, designing damask patterns for his father. At the age of 20, having resolved to become a landscape painter, he sought tuition in watercolour from John Adam Houston RSA, but was otherwise mainly self-taught. From 1851 Paton exhibited annually at the Royal Scottish Academy where he became conspicuous for his distinctive and ‘peculiar scheme of colour with purple hills and orange skies flecked with rosy clouds’ and for his high finish and minuteness of detail reflecting his adoption of Pre-Raphaelite aesthetics and working practices.

Of the Quiraing on the Trotternish peninsula, Paton recalled that it was ‘an awful place’. The power of that memory is enshrined in his vision of three tiny kilted figures toiling up the boulder-strewn slopes on the left of the picture. This figure is almost indiscernible at first glance and completely dwarfed by an apocalyptic and other-worldly panorama of the northern Skye hills and by a sense of time immemorial embodied in the bizarre rock formations dominated by The Needle in the foreground. Yet, by the 1860s, Paton was just one of the many visitors embarking on the Oban excursion steamer for Skye, ‘where the photographer, with his camera and chemicals’ was almost permanently encamped at Loch Coruisk, ‘the hills sit for their portraits,’ and the hill sheep dislodged stones upon unsuspecting artists and tourists scrambling up the Quiraing in quest of the sublime and the terrible.

Portrait of Jean-François Regnault (1815) by Jean-Baptiste, baron Regnault has generously been acquired by a private donor from the Parisian dealers Talabardon et Gautier for the Scottish National Gallery. Over the past few years the Gallery has been deliberately building up its collection of French works of the later eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries to complement its already excellent holdings of the Rococo from the first half of the eighteenth century (Boucher and Watteau) and of the nineteenth-century Impressionists and Post-Impressionists. Regnault, who was created baron in 1829, was considered in his lifetime as a worthy rival to Jacques-Louis David, the leading figure of Neoclassicism in France at the time of the French Revolution.

Regnault had three sons, each of whom enjoyed distinguished military careers. A a proud father, he painted military portraits of all three of them in 1815. The painting acquired by the Gallery is of the second son, Jean-François (known as ‘Francesco’ to his friends). He is shown wearing the uniform of a captain of the 3e régiment de tirailleurs (3rd Rifle Regiment) with the Légion d’hHonneur pinned to his chest and bearing the scar on his forehead, depicted at his insistence, of a wound from a sabre cut sustained at the siege of Astorga in Spain in 1811.

This is the first painting by Regnault to enter a public collection in the United Kingdom. His work can be found in various prestigious galleries and museums abroad including the Louvre, Paris; the Art Institute of Chicago; the Kunsthalle, Hamburg; and the National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne.

For further information and images please contact the National Galleries of Scotland press office on 0131 624 6314/6332 or pressinfo@nationalgalleries.org.

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• George Bain: Master of Modern Celtic Art

GEORGE BAIN: MASTER OF MODERN CELTIC ART
15 October 2011 – 13 February 2012
SCOTTISH NATIONAL GALLERY, The Mound, Edinburgh, EH2 2EL
Admission free

PRESS VIEW: 11.30 am – 1.00pm, 14 October 2011

This autumn the Scottish National Gallery, in partnership with Groam House Museum, Rosemarkie, will present a unique display devoted to the Scottish artist often referred to as the 'father of modern Celtic design.'  George Bain was a key figure in the revival of Celtic art in the 20th century and devoted much of his life to the study of the intricate decorative designs used by ancient Picts and Celts.  Demonstrating the artist’s great versatility, this display will feature a selection of some 55 items, including watercolours, drawings, sculptures and jewellery, as well as archival material and objects made to Bain’s designs.  Much of the material has never have been on public display before.

George Bain (1881-1968) was born in Scrabster, in the northeast of Scotland.  His family was on the point of emigrating, their ship docked in Leith Port, en route to Canada, when an encounter with a cousin convinced his father to stay in Edinburgh.  Bain went on to study at Edinburgh’s School of Applied Art, Edinburgh College of Art, and the Royal College of Art, London before taking the post of Principal Art Teacher at Kirkcaldy High School, which he held until his retirement in 1946.  Throughout his long career he exhibited frequently across Scotland, in institutions such as the Royal Scottish Academy as well as London and Paris.

Bain dedicated himself to studying the complex techniques adopted by Picts and Celts who produced intricate designs on rural stones, sophisticated metalwork and jewellery, as well as medieval illuminated manuscripts such as the Book of Kells.  Bain cleverly devised mathematical frameworks that taught people the ancient principles which underlie these works, whilst still allowing for creative designs.  Bain’s applied maxim was always 'Theory may inform but Practice convinces'.  His manual Celtic Art: The Methods of Construction is still the most influential book on this subject and has been in print continuously since 1972.

Master of Modern Celtic Art will document Bain’s early artistic training in Edinburgh and highlight his experimentation with printmaking and drawing techniques.  Immensely detailed sketches, watercolours and prints will be on display as well as actual objects adapted from his own designs, such as the Celtic ‘Hunting’ design which has featured on rugs and carpets since 1948.  His manual will be on display in various editions and languages and examples of articles written by and about him will also be included.

George Bain’s beautiful craftsmanship complements the work of other artists that feature in the National collection, such as Phoebe Anna Traquair and John Duncan, who shared his  passion for the Scottish Arts and Crafts movement at the start of the early twentieth century.  Bain’s art, and in particular his teaching manual, has continued the Celtic renaissance and allows for the art form still to be practised today.

For further information and images, please call the Press Office on 0131 624 6247/ 325/ 332/ 314

pressinfo@nationalgalleries.org
www.nationalgalleries.org

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Notes to editors

Groam House Museum is a small independent, award-winning museum supported by The Highland Council. The museum is situated in the Black Isle village of Rosemarkie, fifteen miles north east of Inverness; it houses an internationally important collection of Pictish sculpture and Celtic art. The George Bain Collection was donated to the museum by Bain’s family in 1998.

In 2008 Groam House Museum benefitted from a prestigious Heritage Lottery Fund Collecting Cultures Award of £99,000.  These funds are being used specifically to develop the George Bain Collection and put Bain into the context of the Celtic Art Revival.  Additional funds were obtained to enhance this project from: Awards for All, Highland LEADER, National Fund for Acquisitions, Art Fund, Museums Galleries Scotland and Highland Culture Programme. Groam House Museum is curating new exhibitions for venues during 2011-2012 in Iona, Edinburgh, Glasgow and Ullapool.

• FCB Cadell press release

PRESS VIEW: WEDNESDAY 19 OCTOBER 2011, 11.30AM – 1PM

The Scottish Colourist Series: FCB Cadell
22 October 2011 – 18 March 2012
Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art, 73 Belford Road, Edinburgh
Admission £7 / £5

Sponsored by Dickson Minto  

This autumn the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art will launch the first in an annual series of exhibitions devoted to the Scottish Colourists. The Scottish Colourist Series: FCB Cadell will be the first major retrospective of his work to be held in a public gallery in almost seventy years and will bring together almost 80 paintings, from collections across the UK, many of which have rarely, if ever, been shown in public before.

Francis Campbell Boileau Cadell (1883-1937) is one of the four artists popularly known as ‘The Scottish Colourists’, along with S. J. Peploe, J. D. Fergusson and G. L. Hunter. Cadell’s work is perhaps the most elegant of the four: he is renowned for his stylish portrayals of Edinburgh New Town interiors and the sophisticated society that occupied them; equally celebrated are his vibrantly coloured, daringly simplified still-lives of the 1920s, and his evocative landscapes of the island of Iona.

Cadell was born and grew up in Edinburgh. In 1898, at the age of sixteen, he moved to Paris, enrolled at the Académie Julian, returning to Edinburgh in 1902. Between 1902 and 1905 he divided his time between the French and Scottish capitals before moving to Munich in 1906. He enrolled at the Akademie der Bildenden Künste and returned to Edinburgh in 1908, where he lived for the rest of his life. A trip to Venice in 1910 proved a turning-point and a series of works made there, including Florian’s Café, Venice and St Mark’s Square, Venice, show how the city inspired a newly confident use of bright colour and a loosening of technique.

In the period immediately before the First World War and based in a grand studio in George St, Edinburgh, Cadell found inspiration in the city of his birth. He revelled in the northern light of the Scottish capital, the beauty of its architecture and the elegance of its inhabitants, making them the subject matter of his art. He developed a palette based on white, cream and black enlivened with highlights of bold colour, and applied with feathery, impressionist brushstrokes. Depictions of his studio and fashionable women within them, reveal an interest in Manet, Whistler, Lavery and Sargent, as can be seen in works such as The White Room, 1915, Interior:130 George St, c.1915 and The Mantelpiece in Summer, c.1914. Cadell’s still-lives of this period are lively images based on the careful orchestration of objects including silver teapots, glasses, silhouettes and flowers.

Cadell was the youngest of The Scottish Colourists and was the only one to fight in the First World War. He served firstly with the Royal Scots and then with the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders. In 1916 he published the book Jack and Tommy containing witty, swiftly-executed drawings of army and navy life, but he rarely referred to the war in his work thereafter.

On his return to Edinburgh after demobilisation in 1919, Cadell moved to Ainslie Place in Edinburgh’s fashionable New Town. His work underwent an abrupt and dramatic change, thought to have been encouraged by his new surroundings, by close collaboration with Peploe, an interest in the Art Deco movement and perhaps in response to the squalor of the trenches. Cadell furnished and decorated his impressive residence with style – painting his front door bright blue to annoy his neighbours - and often turned to his surroundings for subject matter. Works including Interior: The Orange Blind, c.1927 and The Gold Chair, c. 1921 are amongst his most celebrated paintings, depicting views from one room to another within his home. A new intensity of colour, tightness of composition and flatness of paint application developed in his work, which can be seen to best effect in his still-lives of this decade, in paintings such as The Blue Fan and The Rose and The Lacquer Screen, both of the early 1920s. After the war, Cadell was no longer attempting to capture images of fashionable society, but instead was concerned with an almost abstract concept of space and perspective, creating some of the most remarkable paintings in British art of the period.

Cadell first visited the island of Iona in the Scottish Hebrides in 1912. He returned to paint there, virtually every year until his death, often accompanied by Peploe. His paintings of Iona depict a wide range of features on the island, from the Abbey to the North End and views from the island over to neighbouring Mull. Cadell captured the quality of light created by the ever-changing weather conditions on Iona, which contrasts with the blazing Mediterranean sunshine he depicted when painting in the south of France, most significantly in Cassis in 1923 and 1924.

The steady waning of the art market from the late 1920s and the mounting debts incurred due to Cadell’s lavish lifestyle saw him move home three times in the last decade of his life. As his personal circumstances declined so his official standing grew as he was elected a member of the Royal Scottish Society of Painters in Watercolour (RSW) in 1935 and the Royal Scottish Academy (RSA) in 1936. Ill health was finally diagnosed as cancer and he died in Edinburgh on 6 December 1937. A memorial exhibition was held at the RSA the following year and a retrospective exhibition was mounted at the National Gallery of Scotland in 1942, which toured to Glasgow Art Gallery.

This exhibition is the first devoted to Cadell’s work in a public gallery since then and its catalogue is the first monograph to be published on him for over twenty years. The world-record price for a painting by Cadell sold at auction was achieved last year, reflecting a growing interest in his work. Highly sought after by collectors and popular with the general public, his work is represented in many public collections throughout the UK. This exhibition and the accompanying catalogue provide a timely re-assessment of Cadell’s achievements.

The exhibition will be complimented by a display of some of the objects depicted in Cadell’s paintings, including bowls, vases and a silver teapot, together with archival material such as letters and photographs.

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For further press information, please contact:
The National Galleries of Scotland Press Office on 0131 624 6247/ 325/ 332/ 314 email pressinfo@nationalgalleries.org

NOTES TO EDITORS

The Scottish Colourist Series of exhibitions will comprise:

F. C. B. Cadell  22 October 2011 – 18 March 2012
S. J. Peploe   October 2012 – March 2013 (exact dates tbc)
J. D. Fergusson  October 2013 – March 2014 (exact dates tbc)

Dickson Minto W S
Dickson Minto W S is a leading corporate law firm with offices in Edinburgh and London.  Founded in 1985, it focuses on private equity, mergers and acquisitions, flotations, investment funds, banking work and commercial property.  Dickson Minto plays an active role in the community supporting many projects in education, sport and the arts.

• 2012 ARTIST ROOMS TOUR ANNOUNCED

Press release
30 August 2011

2012 ARTIST ROOMS TOUR ANNOUNCED – 19 new exhibitions and displays go on show at 17 venues across the UK

Martin Creed first new contemporary artist to join the Collection

The ARTIST ROOMS Game is launched

National Galleries of Scotland and Tate are delighted to announce plans for the fourth successive ARTIST ROOMS Tour in 2012 thanks to continued support from the Art Fund. In 2012 a total of 19 new exhibitions and displays will go on show at 17 venues across the UK, including six new to the project. The works being shown are drawn from ARTIST ROOMS, the collection of modern and contemporary art established through the extraordinary gift made by Anthony d’Offay in 2008, held by Tate and National Galleries of Scotland for the nation. The Art Fund, the national fundraising charity for works of art, continues to sponsor the tour with funding of £250,000.

In 2012, ARTIST ROOMS exhibitions and displays will be seen outside the capitals in Banff, Belfast, Bristol, Dunoon, Glasgow, Hull, Leicester, Linlithgow, Liverpool, Middlesbrough, Perth, Sheffield, Wakefield and Walsall. A further venue, Mostyn in Llandudno will continue to show the work of Anselm Kiefer into the New Year. By the end of 2012, ARTIST ROOMS will have been shown in 44 museums and galleries nationwide and 92 displays and exhibitions will have opened since 2009. Over 16 million people have visited ARTIST ROOMS exhibitions and displays to date.

This year, important new works have been donated to the ARTIST ROOMS Collection by Vija Celmins, Martin Creed and Alex Katz. Creed’s work was not previously represented in ARTIST ROOMS and he is the first new contemporary artist to join the Collection. He has donated a group of seven works which will be shown together at Tate Liverpool in 2012. Alex Katz has donated two large-scale paintings, Full Moon 1988 and Black Brook 1988; and Vija Celmins has donated a group of six mezzotint prints to complement the existing holdings of her work. The Collection has continued to grow through the generosity of artists who have responded to the national reach of ARTIST ROOMS and its vision for bringing art into the lives of young people.

ARTIST ROOMS: The Game, a new online resource will also be launched today to give young audiences the chance to put together their own virtual exhibitions, selecting works by ten artists in the ARTIST ROOMS Collection. The game offers an insight into exhibition-making in ‘real-life’, as players overcome the challenges of choosing artworks, employing staff, selecting lighting and marketing their show. They can also assess the cost, time and impact of their choices. The game also allows players to share the exhibitions they create with their friends, through social media. ARTIST ROOMS:The Game was developed byThoughtden, the Bristol-based design agency.

Highlights of the 2012 tour will include:

• Robert Therrien at new contemporary arts venue The MAC in Belfast as part of its inaugural opening programme

• Exhibitions at two newly refurbished venues in Scotland: Burgh Hall Dunoon and Linlithgow Burgh Halls, West Lothian

• The Mapplethorpe Scottish Tour which will see the work of this artist travel to Dunoon, Linlithgow and Perth

• Richard Long at The Hepworth Wakefield

• Two unique exhibitions of the work of Jannis Kounellis at Tramway, Glasgow and mima, Middlesbrough

Works donated to the ARTIST ROOMS Collection this year are:

A group of seven works donated  by Martin Creed that will be shown together at Tate Liverpool in 2012:
• Work No. 837 (Sick Film) 2007, four-part colour video
• Work No. 890 (Don’t Worry) 2008, neon
• Work No. 944 2008, twenty-one part drawing
• Work No. 1102, Work No. 1103, Work No. 1104, Work No. 1105, 2011, sequence of four paintings

Two large-scale paintings donated by Alex Katz
• Full Moon, 1988
• Black Brook 1988

A group of six mezzotint prints to complement the existing holdings of her work, donated by Vija Celmins
• Web Ladder 2010
• Divided Night Sky 2010
• Reverse Galaxy 2010;
• Falling Stars 2010
• Dark Galaxy 2010
• Starfield 2010

ARTIST ROOMS has had a profound impact up and down the country since the touring programme commenced in 2009. In 2011, Southampton City Art Gallery and John Hansard Gallery collaborated to show the biggest presentation of Warhols in the UK outside London to date, with record visitor numbers received. Southampton City Art Gallery saw over 27,700 visitors, more than double their usual numbers for the same period and John Hansard Gallery recorded some 7,500 visits. In the first three weeks of opening its Francesca Woodman ARTIST ROOMS exhibition, the Ferens Art Gallery in Hull had over 4,000 visitors.

ARTIST ROOMS was established through the d’Offay gift in 2008, with the assistance of the National Heritage Memorial Fund, the Art Fund and the Scottish and British Governments. The tour is made possible thanks to the support of the Art Fund, the national fundraising charity for works of art that helps museums buy, show and share art throughout the UK. ARTIST ROOMS On Tour with the Art Fund has been devised to enable this collection to reach and inspire new audiences across the country, particularly young people.

The full 2012 ARTIST ROOMS tour will be as follows:

Mostyn, Llandudno
Anselm Kiefer
Until 11 March 2012 (opens 3 December 2011)

Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art, Edinburgh 
Sol LeWitt Wall Drawing #1136 
Until November 2012 (opens December 2011)

Tate Liverpool
Martin Creed
24 February – 27 May 2012

The Burgh Hall, Dunoon (part of Mapplethorpe Scottish Tour)
Robert Mapplethorpe
March – June

The MAC, Belfast 
Robert Therrien
26 April – 14 July 2012

Duff House, Banff
August Sander
1 April - 31 August 2012

Graves Gallery, Museums Sheffield 
Andy Warhol Self-Portraits
7 April – 1 December 2012

Tate Modern, London 
Joseph Beuys
Bruce Nauman
Spring 2012 – Spring 2013

Tate Britain, London  
Vija Celmins
27 February – 2 September 2012

Summer

Ferens Art Gallery, Hull
Andy Warhol
2 June – December 2012

Linlithgow Burgh Halls, West Lothian (part of Mapplethorpe Scottish Tour)
Robert Mapplethorpe
July - October 2012

The Hepworth Wakefield 
Richard Long
23 June – 14 October 2012

Bristol Museum and Art Gallery 
Conceptual Art
30 June – 23 September 2012

Tramway, Glasgow 
Jannis Kounellis
13 July – 9 September 2012

Autumn

New Walk Museum and Art Gallery, Leicester  
August Sander
29 September 2012 – 6 January 2013

The New Art Gallery Walsall 
Damien Hirst
October 2012 – October 2013

Perth Museum and Art Gallery (part of Mapplethorpe Scottish Tour) 
Robert Mapplethorpe
November 2012 – April 2013

mima, Middlesbrough
Jannis Kounellis
23 November 2012 - 10 March 2013

To find out more information about ARTIST ROOMS on Tour please visit www.artfund.org. To see the full ARTIST ROOMS collection please visit www.tate.org.uk/artistrooms and www.nationalgalleries.org/artistrooms

To play ARTIST ROOMS: The Game visit young.tate..org.uk/artistrooms or nationalgalleries.org/collection/ar_page/4:21490

For further information
Ruth Findlay, Corporate Communications Manager, Tate
Tel: 020 7887 4940 Email: ruth.findlay@tate.org.uk

Patricia Convery, Head of Press and Marketing, National Galleries of Scotland
Tel: 0131 624 6325 Email: pconvery@nationalgalleries.org

Lizzie Bloom, Press Relations Manager, the Art Fund
Tel: 020 72254804 Email: lbloom@artfund.org

For 2012 tour announcement images, contact pressinfo@nationalgalleries.org

Notes to editors

The Art Fund is the national fundraising charity, helping UK museums and galleries to buy, show and share art. It offers many ways of enjoying art through the National Art Pass which gives free entry to over 200 museums, galleries and historic houses across the country as well as 50% off major exhibitions. Over the past 5 years, the Art Fund has given £24 million to 248 museums and galleries to buy art. It also sponsors the UK tour of the ARTIST ROOMS collection – reaching several million people each year, and fundraises to help museums buys works of art. It is funded entirely by its 80,000 supporters who believe great art should be for everyone to enjoy. Find out more about the Art Fund and how to buy a National Art Pass at www.artfund.org. Media contact 020 7225 4888, media@artfund.org

ARTIST ROOMS is owned jointly by Tate and National Galleries of Scotland and was established through The d’Offay Donation in 2008, with the assistance of the National Heritage Memorial Fund, the Art Fund and the Scottish and British Governments.

• Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art acquires key work by Margaret Macdonald Mackintosh

SCOTTISH NATIONAL GALLERY OF MODERN ART ACQUIRES KEY WORK BY MARGARET MACDONALD MACKINTOSH

Supported by the Art Fund

The Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art is delighted to announce the acquisition of The Mysterious Garden (1911) by Margaret Macdonald Mackintosh (1865-1933). This stunning work is a superb addition to the Gallery’s holding of early twentieth-century Scottish art. The acquisition has been made in celebration of the Gallery’s 50th anniversary which took place in 2010.  The Mysterious Garden was purchased for £230,000 from the Fine Art Society, London with substantial assistance of £115,000 from the Art Fund, the national fundraising charity for works of art.

The Mysterious Garden is a rare and beautiful work that shows a woman artist at the forefront of developments in the arts at the beginning of the twentieth century.  First exhibited almost exactly a century ago, in March 1911, at the Royal Scottish Society for Painters in Watercolour in Glasgow, it is one of the artist’s largest independent watercolours. Mackintosh’s masterpiece evokes a dream-like state and seems to render an almost child-like interior world of the imagination. It depicts a woman with her eyes closed and perhaps asleep, elaborately clothed in a voluminous ethereal dress shaped like petal.  Above her stands a row of eight heads or masks which are, perhaps, part of her dream. It is thought that the work was inspired by the fairy play, The Blue Bird, by the Belgian poet and playwright, Maurice Maeterlinck, which was performed in Glasgow in 1910. This style is typical of Macdonald Mackintosh’s work and the concerns of other members of the Glasgow School; however it can also be seen as part of a wider symbolist movement across Europe exemplifying the far reaching influence of the Scottish artists at that time.

The Mysterious Garden is the first work by Margaret Macdonald Mackintosh to enter the collections of the National Galleries of Scotland. It joins paintings and drawings by her contemporaries including her husband Charles Rennie Mackintosh, Phoebe Traquair, Jessie M. King and Annie French.  The painting will now go on show from the 15 August until 16 October 2011 at the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art in a display which explores the Celtic revival style of the period.

Margaret Macdonald Mackintosh was born in Tipton, near Wolverhampton and moved to Glasgow in the late 1880s. In 1891 Margaret and her sister, Frances (1873-1921), enrolled at Glasgow School of Art and took day-time drawing classes. There she met students Charles Rennie Mackintosh and James Herbert MacNair (1868-1955). By 1894 the four young artists were participating in the same exhibitions and had begun collaborating on work. They soon became known as ‘The Four’ - also as the ‘Mac group’ and, more sardonically, as ‘The Spook School’, owing to the ghostly, spectral appearance of the figures in many of their works.  As their reputations grew Josef Hoffmann, the celebrated Viennese designer, suggested that they be invited to show at the Eighth Secessionist Exhibition in Vienna in 1900. Their international reputations were cemented by the work they showed at the great International Exhibition of Decorative Art held in Turin in 1902. Their work was highly influential on many who saw it including Hoffmann and Gustav Klimt.

In 1914, owing to ill health, Charles Rennie Mackintosh and Margaret left Glasgow for London. From that date onwards she spent her time looking after him and she too suffered poor health; few works were made after this date. Mackintosh died in 1928 and she died five years later. A memorial exhibition, bringing together their work, was held in 1933 and it featured the watercolour The Mysterious Garden.

Simon Groom, Director of Modern and Contemporary Art said: 'We are delighted to have acquired this beautiful masterpiece by Margaret Macdonald Mackintosh. It is a rare and stunning example of work from an important era in Scottish art history and is a substantial addition to our collection from this period. We are extremely grateful to the Art Fund for their generosity in making this acquisition possible.'

Stephen Deuchar, Director of the Art Fund said: 'The scarcity of works of this kind by Margaret Macdonald Mackintosh means that it is a real coup that the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art has been able to add this haunting watercolour to its collection. It is a much deserved 50th birthday present to the gallery.'

For further press information, please contact:
The National Galleries of Scotland Press Office on 0131 624 6247/ 325/ 332/ 314 email pressinfo@nationalgalleries.org

Ends

Notes to Editors

The Art Fund

The Art Fund is the national fundraising charity, helping UK museums and galleries to buy, show and share art. It offers many ways of enjoying art through the National Art Pass which gives free entry to over 200 museums, galleries and historic houses across the country as well as 50% off major exhibitions. Over the past 5 years, the Art Fund has given £24 million to 248 museums and galleries to buy art. It also sponsors the UK tour of the ARTIST ROOMS collection – reaching several million people each year, and fundraises: recent campaigns include bringing in £6 million to save the Staffordshire Hoard for the West Midlands and Brueghel the Younger’s The Procession to Calvary for Nostell Priory. It is funded entirely by its 80,000 supporters who believe great art should be for everyone to enjoy. Find out more about the Art Fund and how to buy a National Art Pass at www.artfund.org.

• Portrait Gallery Murals To Be Cleaned For The First Time In A Quarter Of A Century

PORTRAIT GALLERY MURALS TO BE CLEANED FOR THE FIRST TIME IN A QUARTER OF A CENTURY

A set of stunning murals, which decorates the entrance hall of the Scottish National Portrait Gallery in Edinburgh, is to be cleaned for the first time in a quarter of a century, as part of a major conservation project funded by WREN, a not for profit business that awards grants to community projects from funds donated by Waste Recycling Group (WRG) to the Landfill Communities Fund.

The Scottish National Portrait Gallery opened in 1889, as the world’s first purpose-built portrait gallery.  The decorative scheme created by William Hole in the late 1890s for the Gallery’s magnificent entrance hall, is one of the building’s most striking features.  It comprises a dazzling, painted procession of famous Scots (including David Livingstone, James Watt, Robert Burns, Adam Smith, David Hume, the Stuart monarchs, Robert the Bruce and Saint Ninian); a series of large-scale murals, depicting scenes from Scottish history; and a beautifully detailed mapping of the night sky, which adorns the ceiling.

The work is currently being carried out under the supervision of the National Galleries of Scotland Conservation Department, working with students from UK and overseas universities, including the Courtauld Institute of Art, London; Northumbria University, Newcastle; the Academy of Fine Arts, Stuttgart; Winterthur University, Delaware;  and Metropolia University, Helsinki.  The results can be seen when the Gallery, which has recently undergone a major refurbishment, re-opens on 30 November.

William Hole’s decorative features have been central to the fundraising campaign behind this ambitious project.  Supporters are invited to buy a star from the ceiling of the Great Hall or one of the figures from the historical frieze, including William Wallace and James Watt.  So far over 320 stars have been sold and half of the figures, with many still available for those who wish to donate to the project.

Lesley Stevenson, Senior Paintings Conservator at the National Galleries of Scotland said: 'This is a unique opportunity to conserve William Hole’s great masterpiece – such an integral part of this spectacular building. We are delighted that so many young conservators are able to gain invaluable experience on this exciting project and are grateful to WREN for their generous support.'

Peter Cox, managing director of WREN, said: 'WREN makes a difference to people’s lives by awarding grants to community, environmental and heritage projects across the UK.  We’re delighted to support the Scottish National Portrait Gallery and this valuable work to restore the entrance to its former glory.'

WREN awards grants to community, environmental and heritage projects across the UK within 10 miles of a WRG landfill site.  Funding is available for community-based projects such as village halls, children’s play areas, skate parks, museums, public parks and woodland improvements, but other projects can be eligible too. Application forms and guidance notes can be downloaded from the website and assistance is available throughout the application process.  Organisations and community groups requiring funding should visit www.wren.org.uk to assess their eligibility or contact WREN on 01953 717165.

For further information and images, please call the National Galleries of Scotland Press Office on 0131 624 6314/ 247/ 325/ 332
pressinfo@nationalgalleries.org
www.nationalgalleries.org

For further press information about WREN please contact Lucy Clegg or Hannah Freeman at Tribe PR on 01603 417722 or lucy@tribepr.com

ENDS

For more details on the projects in your area, illustrative images, photo opportunities or interviews please contact: Caroline Sanderson, Grant Manager, Edinburgh & Midlothian on:  01968 661417 caroline.sanderson@wren.org.uk OR contact Head Office on 01953 717165

Editors Notes:
The Landfill Communities Fund (formerly known as the Landfill Tax Credit Scheme) gives landfill operators the opportunity to divert 6.7% of their annual Landfill Tax bill into the communities and environments around landfill sites. To date the LCF has funded over 24,000 projects with half a billion pounds in funding.
Resources: www.ltcs.org.uk www.entrust.org.uk

WREN
WREN is a not for profit business that awards grants to community, environmental and heritage projects across the UK, from funds donated by Waste Recycling Group (WRG) as part of a voluntary environmental tax credit scheme called the /landfill Communities Fund.  Since 1998, WREN has granted over  £118m to more than 4,800 projects which benefit people living within 10 miles of a WRG landfill site.
Resource: www.wren.org.uk

Waste Recycling Group Limited is one of the UK's leading waste management services companies and handles in excess of 15 million tonnes of household, commercial and industrial waste each year.  Around 50% of Waste Recycling Group’s business is accounted for by waste management contracts with more than 40 local authorities across England, Scotland and Wales.

The Company operates facilities for the reception, recycling and disposal of waste, including a network of waste transfer and recycling centres and a regional network of operating landfill sites, and manages nearly 70 civic amenity sites on behalf of local authorities for use by the general public.
Resource:  www.wrg.co.uk

• Tony Cragg Press Release

PRESS VIEW: 11.30 am – 1.00 pm, 28 July 2011

TONY CRAGG: SCULPTURES AND DRAWINGS
30 July – 6 November 2011
Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art, 75 Belford Road, Edinburgh, EH4 3DR
Telephone 0131 6246 6200
www.nationalgalleries.org
Admission £7 (£5)

With support from Holtermann Fine Art and The Henry Moore Foundation

The major summer exhibition at the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art this year will highlight the work of one of the world’s greatest living sculptors.  Tony Cragg is a central figure in the remarkable generation of British sculptors which emerged in the in the late 1970s.  Based in Germany, Cragg enjoys a huge international reputation and will have separate exhibitions this year in Edinburgh, Venice, Dallas, Duisburg, and Paris (his recent exhibition under the glass pyramid at the Louvre is the first to be staged there by a living artist).  Operating from a vast suite of studios in a former tank repair garage in Wuppertal, Cragg produces some of the most extraordinary sculptural forms of our time.  He is Director of one of the world’s great art academies, the Kunstakademie Düsseldorf, and owns and runs a 30-acre sculpture park, the Skulpturenpark Waldfrieden.  Cragg won the prestigious Japanese Praemium Imperiale international art prize in 2007 and the Turner Prize in 1988 (the year in which he also represented Britain at the Venice Biennale).

Tony Cragg: Sculptures and Drawings will be the first UK museum exhibition devoted to the artist in more than a decade, and will concentrate mainly on monumental sculptures made in the last fifteen years, to be shown with a number of significant earlier works.  There will also be a selection of some 100 drawings, watercolours and prints, which offer a fascinating insight into the artist’s working processes.  Featuring nearly fifty major sculptures, with some of the larger works sited in the Gallery’s grounds, the exhibition will offer a rare opportunity to see the range and breadth of Cragg’s extraordinary recent and new work.

Born in Liverpool in 1949, Tony Cragg began his career as a laboratory assistant, helping to test, manipulate and develop different types of rubber.  At the time he was also studying art, and began to use drawing as a means of understanding the experiments he was conducting.  Cragg’s background in science can be seen to inform his imaginative, creative way approach to the making of sculpture.  His work bears witness to an intense curiosity that has driven him to create, test, push and pull materials, to see what each one does: this has been a defining characteristic of Cragg’s work throughout his career.

From the early to mid-1970s Cragg studied at Wimbledon College of Art and the Royal College of Art in London.  On leaving the Royal College in 1977 he moved to Wuppertal in central Germany, initially for a year, but has remained there ever since.  At this stage, Cragg was making works from found materials - man-made urban waste, such as broken toys, chair seats and plastic bottles - that he gathered on walks.  Runner, a wall-based work made in 1985 is typical of this period, in which individual fragments of waste retained their original identity yet were reconfigured to create a seemingly unrelated image or form.  Cragg is dismissive of the idea that such raw materials are ‘rubbish’: to him, the discarded plastic objects he used carry as much significance and meaning in relation to contemporary life as ancient artefacts speak of the cultures that produced them.

In the mid-1980s Cragg began casting in bronze and iron and using materials such as wood, Kevlar, plaster, steel, polystyrene and glass, which he has subsequently explored and manipulated like no other sculptor of his time, or perhaps any other.  Unusually, given their scale and complexity, Cragg makes all of his sculptures by hand, employing a team of assistants to bring them to completion.  This painstaking process is the stimulus to everything that the artist does - through making one work he finds inspiration for the next.  In addition, this approach to his work has led to it being made in ‘family groups’ or series.  Works from two of these - Early Forms and Rational Beings - will comprise the major component of this exhibition.

In Early Forms, his longest-running series of cast works, which began in the late 1980s, Cragg has created a vast array of unique sculptural forms, derived from a diverse range of vessel types - from ancient flasks to test-tubes, jam jars and detergent bottles - that are twisted and mutated together to make new forms, imagined and realised by the artist.  The title refers to the fact that vessels are among the simplest and earliest surviving man-made forms and, in archaeological terms, are important markers of culture.  During the 1990s the Early Forms became increasingly complex, organic and elastic in form, exemplified here by works such as Early Forms St Gallen (1997), a twisting, screw-like form which seems to be wrestling with itself and turning inside-out.

The series evolved further in the early 2000s, when Cragg made a group of more geometric works, with more structured internal dynamics.  He also overcame the problems of permanently fixing colour to cast bronze by using new paint technology, producing vibrantly coloured works such as McCormack (2007) and Outspan (2006).  The latter demonstrates how, in his more recent works, Cragg has incorporated the forms of a broad range of ordinary vessels:  the sculpture is based at one end on a ribbed oil can which transmutes via two other vessel shapes and a shampoo bottle into an astonishing work.  Another development in the Early Forms sculptures in recent years has been their elevation from the ground, as in Declination (2004), a large, two-and-a-half-ton yellow-painted bronze which stands nimbly on three points.

Cragg invariably works on several apparently unrelated series at the same time.  While the Early Forms series was in progress he was also developing the Rational Beings series, which has been a major element of his output in the past decade.  These works are, typically, characterised by tall columnar forms in bronze, wood, stone, plaster or steel, in which facial profiles emerge and disappear as one walks around them.  They are created by an elaborate process of building up circular or elliptical cross-sections (of wood, polystyrene or stone) on a vertical axis, which are then cut and shaped to meet Cragg’s design.  This, in turn, derives from an intensive process of drawing and modelling.  The imposing and intricate Rational Beings works, such as Constructor (2007), Bent of Mind (2002), and Elbow (2010) are breathtaking in their complexity, and though they share a ‘family resemblance’, their diversity is a testament to Cragg’s ceaseless curiosity and experimentation, as well as his mastery of materials.

The exhibition will conclude with an example of work from the recent Hedge series.  It is typical of this remarkable artist, that in something so apparently mundane as a hedge, he recognises a fabulously complicated, flexible form - an outer skin hiding something that is alive with energy underneath – upon which he can draw, taking his work yet more new directions.

For further information and images, please call the Press Office on 0131 624 6247/ 325/ 332/ 314

pressinfo@nationalgalleries.org
www.nationalgalleries.org

-ENDS-

PRESS VIEW: 11.30 – 1PM, WEDNESDAY, 29 JUNE 2011

ELIZABETH BLACKADDER
SCOTTISH NATIONAL GALLERY, The Mound, Edinburgh, EH2 2EL
Telephone 0131 624 6200
nationalgalleries.org
2 July 2011 - 2 January 2012

Sponsored by Baillie Gifford

The major exhibition in 2011 at the Scottish National Gallery will highlight the work of one of Scotland’s most accomplished living artists, Dame Elizabeth Blackadder. Celebrating the artist’s 80th birthday, the exhibition will present her work in all its diversity, ranging from the much-loved studies after nature, to lesser-known paintings which will challenge expectations.  This landmark exhibition will span six decades of Blackadder’s career, beginning with her work in the 1950s and culminating in her most recent paintings.

The National Galleries of Scotland is delighted to announce that Baillie Gifford will sponsor the Elizabeth Blackadder exhibition. The Edinburgh-based investment management firm is a long-term supporter of the National Galleries of Scotland sponsoring their first exhibition in 1993.

Since the opening of the exhibition that launched her career in 1959, Elizabeth Blackadder has become renowned for her paintings, prints and drawings.  Her work is both cherished by the public whilst being highly respected by the art establishment. She was the first woman artist to be elected to both the Royal Academy and Royal Scottish Academy and in 2001 she was honoured with the title Her Majesty the Queen’s Painter and Limner in Scotland, a role that began with Sir Henry Raeburn almost 200 years ago.

Born in Falkirk in 1931, Blackadder studied at Edinburgh University and Edinburgh College of Art. Her early work was shaped by her acquaintance with the Scottish painters William Gillies, William MacTaggart and Anne Redpath, whom she met through her studies.  Blackadder’s outstanding technical ability was visible from the outset and she thrived in an environment which focused on the primacy of drawing and observation. The exhibition will begin with early drawings of the Italian landscape and its architecture, shown alongside portraits from the period.  This will include one of Blackadder herself completed when she was just twenty. These striking works still appear fresh over fifty years later, demonstrating her innate ability with paint and line.

From the 1960s onwards, the motif of still-life became key to her development.  Like other individual artistic voices of her generation, such as David Hockney and Howard Hodgkin, Blackadder quickly saw the possibilities offered by the vibrant colour and dynamism of Pop Art and Abstract Expressionism. Her subsequent works injected new life into the Edinburgh School tradition of finding subject matter in the surrounding world. Dazzling canvases, such as Flowers and a Red Table, will fill the central room of the exhibition, revealing the energising effect these developments have had on her art.

Blackadder’s studies from nature are perhaps the best-known and best-loved of all her work.  They illustrate a fascination which has continued throughout her long career; the desire to capture the world around her, with no subject being too small or insignificant.   Under Blackadder’s analytical eye the modest form of a flower or shell is transformed into a symphony of colour, shape and rhythm. These works will be celebrated with a room dedicated to her drawings, prints and especially her watercolours produced from nature.

Blackadder has travelled widely throughout her career, with new sights and foreign cultures providing much inspiration. In the 1980s a series of visits to Japan made an indelible impression on her imagination which resulted in a burst of creativity that embraced new techniques and imagery.  A room in the exhibition will be dedicated to her exploration of the country’s unique customs, objects and design and will include works such as the outstanding Self-Portrait with Red Lacquer Table of 1988.  The display will also include the artist’s Japanese-inspired prints, which combine materials such as gold leaf with more conventional printing methods to create exquisite and precious works.

The exhibition will conclude with recent and new painting, drawing and printmaking by an artist who continues to work tirelessly. Endlessly inspired by the world around her, she brings the same energy to her art now as she did at the outset of what has become a long and pre-eminent career.

John Leighton, Director-General of the National Galleries of Scotland said:  ‘Elizabeth Blackadder is, quite simply, one of Scotland’s greatest painters. She has revitalized long-established traditions of landscape, still life and flower painting in this country; she could be described as one of our finest painters in watercolour or equally lauded for her work as a printmaker.  At once profoundly Scottish and enticingly exotic, her art is both familiar and mysterious. This major exhibition is both a celebration of her work and an invitation to look again at the achievement of an artist who could be described as a “national treasure”’

Sarah Whitley, Partner at Baillie Gifford said: ‘It is a privilege to be involved with this wonderful retrospective of one of Scotland’s most respected artists. The span of Blackadder’s career is inspiring, and we are delighted to be able to help celebrate her past works and indeed also enjoy several exciting new works’

For further information and images, please call the Press Office on 0131 624 6247/ 325/ 332/ 314

pressinfo@nationalgalleries.org
www.nationalgalleries.org

-ENDS-

Notes to Editors

Baillie Gifford employs 671 people and has assets under management of £74.5 billion as at 30 March 2011. An asset management firm founded in 1908, it is headquartered in Edinburgh where most of its staff live and work.  Globally, Baillie Gifford manages investments on behalf of pension funds, financial institutions, charities and retail investors. Baillie Gifford plays an active role in the community by supporting projects in the areas of education, social inclusion, and the arts.

Baillie Gifford & Co has sponsored the following National Galleries of Scotland exhibitions: Phoebe Anna Traquair 1852-1936 (1993); Sir James Gunn 1893-1964 (1995); David Livingstone and the Victorian Encounter with Africa (1996); George Rodger: The African Photographs (1996); The Winter Queen: The Life of Elizabeth of Bohemia 1596-1662 (1998); Turner & Sir Walter Scott:The Provincial Antiquities and Picturesque Scenery of Scotland (2000); Andrew Geddes (1783-1844): Painter - Printmaker: 'A Man of Pure Taste' (2001); The King Over the Water: The Life of Prince James Francis Edward Stewart (2001); Rubens: Drawing on Italy (2002); Below Stairs: 400 Years of Servants’ Portraits (2004); Gauguin’s Vision (2005); Impressionism and Scotland (2008)

• National Galleries Of Scotland and Tate announce Artist Rooms Research Partnership

NATIONAL GALLERIES OF SCOTLAND AND TATE ANNOUNCE ARTIST ROOMS RESEARCH PARTNERSHIP

National Galleries of Scotland and Tate are delighted to announce the creation of an innovative Research Partnership bringing together the two museums with a Consortium comprising the University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh College of Art and the Institute of Education, University of London. The Partnership is being established for a period of five years to deliver an ambitious and far-reaching programme of research into the ARTIST ROOMS Collection and its use as a shared national resource. This unique Partnership will also draw on the expertise of Learning and Teaching Scotland as an Associate Partner who will provide advice, share knowledge and facilitate connections specifically in relation to education in Scotland.

ARTIST ROOMS is a major collection of modern and contemporary art owned jointly by Tate and National Galleries of Scotland that was established through Anthony d’Offay’s extraordinary donation in 2008, with the assistance of the National Heritage Memorial Fund, the Art Fund and the Scottish and British Governments. This growing collection has the special purpose of engaging young people and is being shared with galleries and museums throughout the UK thanks to the support of the Art Fund, the fundraising charity for works of art. 

In line with the pioneering nature of ARTIST ROOMS, a broad programme of research will be developed by the Research Partnership encompassing art historical, technical art historical and conservation research relating to the artists and works in ARTIST ROOMS, alongside investigations into museological and pedagogical concerns. There will be a special focus on intersecting areas of research relating to the engagement of young people with the collection, with research questions developed through discussion with this target audience.

Outcomes of the Partnership will be varied, including conferences and forums, journal articles, books, teaching resources, new curatorial and interpretation strategies, technological innovations, as well as a programme of internships and PhD studentships. More broadly, the Research Partnership will promote wide research networks within the UK and abroad who share an interest in ARTIST ROOMS. The Consortium responded to an open call for tenders invited by the two museums last year, a ground-breaking approach that elicited a UK-wide competition.

Professor Andrew Patrizio, Edinburgh College of Art, who will act as Programme Director for the Research Partnership, today said: “It is an honour to be working with such a sensational collection. The ARTIST ROOMS Research Partnership will be right at the forefront of creating new models between contemporary cultural institutions and academia, reaching out to new audiences, artists, funders and researchers everywhere.”

John Leighton, Director-General of National Galleries of Scotland said: “ARTIST ROOMS has already made a huge difference to the way that modern and contemporary art is seen and appreciated by audiences across the UK. This important new partnership will create new relationships, resources and networks that will widen and deepen that impact for artists, students and researchers as well as the general public.”

Sir Nicholas Serota, Director of Tate said: “Tate is delighted to be working in partnership with these leading institutions on this important and far-reaching research which will help us to better understand the impact of ARTIST ROOMS and identify and realise the further potential of this outstanding Collection.”

Anthony d’Offay said: “I am delighted that the impact and legacy of ARTIST ROOMS will now be examined in rigorous depth by some of the UK's leading academic institutions. Through this, I hope we will find new ways of sharing and developing this Collection and forge a better understanding of what contemporary art can mean to individuals up and down the country."

To see the full ARTIST ROOMS collection please visit www.tate.org.uk/artistrooms and www.nationalgalleries.org/artistrooms. To find out more information about ARTIST ROOMS On Tour please visit www.artfund.org/artistrooms.

- END-
Notes to editors:

The ARTIST ROOMS Collection
The Collection, which will be added to over time with new acquisitions, includes over 1000 works of art, representing some 33 artists including Diane Arbus, Joseph Beuys, Jenny Holzer, Gerhard Richter, Ed Ruscha, August Sander and Andy Warhol. Since 2009 the collection has been seen by nearly 14 million people through exhibitions held at some 33 galleries and museums around the country as well as at National Galleries of Scotland and Tate sites. ARTIST ROOMS On Tour with the Art Fund was devised to enable this collection to reach and inspire new audiences across the country, particularly young people.

The Art Fund
The Art Fund is the national fundraising charity, helping UK museums and galleries to buy, show and share art. It offers many ways of enjoying art through the National Art Pass which gives free entry to over 200 museums, galleries and historic houses across the country as well as 50% off major exhibitions. Over the past 5 years, the Art Fund has given £24 million to 248 museums and galleries to buy art. It also sponsors the UK tour of the ARTIST ROOMS collection – reaching several million people each year, and fundraises to help museums buys works of art. It is funded entirely by its 80,000 supporters who believe great art should be for everyone to enjoy. Find out more about the Art Fund and how to buy a National Art Pass at www.artfund.org. Media contact 020 7225 4888, media@artfund.org.

Press Contacts:
National Galleries of Scotland’s Press Office
Telephone: 0131 624 6325/6314/6247/6332
Email: pressinfo@nationalgalleries.org
Tate’s Press Office
Telephone: 020 7887 4941/8730
Email: pressinfo@tate.org.uk

• The Queen: Art & Image

Press view: 23 June 2011, 11.30am -1pm
Scottish National Gallery, The Mound, Edinburgh, EH2 2EL

THE QUEEN: ART AND IMAGE
Exhibition organised by the National Portrait Gallery, London in collaboration with the National Galleries of Scotland, Ulster Museum, Northern Ireland and National Museum of Wales.

Scottish National Gallery, The Mound, Edinburgh, EH2 2EL
25 June–18 Sept 2011
Admission £7 (£5)

Edinburgh presentation sponsored by Turcan Connell

To mark the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee in 2012 a major exhibition will open in Edinburgh this summer. Organised by the National Portrait Gallery London in association with the Scottish National Portrait Gallery, this innovative exhibition will bring together some of the most remarkable and resonant images of Queen Elizabeth II from the 60 years of her reign, some of which will be on public display for the first time. Following its Edinburgh presentation The Queen: Art and Image will tour to Belfast and Cardiff, before coming to London 2012.

From Cecil Beaton and Annie Leibovitz to Pietro Annigoni and Andy Warhol, The Queen: Art and Image will be the most wide-ranging exhibition of images in different media devoted to a single royal sitter. Formal painted portraits, official photographs, media pictures, and powerful responses by contemporary artists will be shown in an exhibition which explores both traditional representations and works that extend the visual language of royal portraiture.   

Documenting the changing nature of representations of the monarch, the exhibition will show how images of the Queen serve as a lens through which to view shifting perceptions of royalty. This perspective also reflects profound social changes and the exhibition highlights important developments and events: from The Queen’s relationship with the press and the advent of new technology, to the miner’s strike and the death of Diana, Princess of Wales.

Highlights among the many painted portraits will be Lucian Freud’s 2000-01 controversial portrait from the Royal Collection and Justin Mortimer’s painting in which The Queen’s head appears to float away from her body against a huge background of flat vibrant yellow. Among the exhibited photographers for whom The Queen sat are Annie Leibovitz, Dorothy Wilding and Cecil Beaton - including his iconic Westminster Abbey Coronation image - and Chris Levine’s compelling  photograph, from a 2004 sitting, which shows The Queen with her eyes closed. 

The Queen: Art and Image will show a significant selection of unofficial portraits of the British monarch from major 20th century artists including, Gilbert and George, Andy Warhol and Gerhard Richter as well as less formal portraits by such photographers as Eve Arnold, Lord Snowdon and Patrick Lichfield. Lichfield’s photographs include several relaxed images of The Queen on the Royal Yacht Britannia a location familiar to many visitors and residents of Edinburgh. The exhibition will also contain many press images taken of The Queen from throughout her reign. Scottish images from this selection will include a striking photograph documenting an official visit to the Castlemilk council estate in 1999, a surprisingly informal scene that shows The Queen having tea with a local family.

Collectively, the exhibition will celebrate and explore the startling range of artistic creativity and media-derived imagery that The Queen has inspired. It will also probe the relation of this imagery to a world of changing values during a reign that has engaged the attention of millions.

The exhibition is curated by Paul Moorhouse, 20th Century Curator at the National Portrait Gallery, London
 
For further press information, please contact:
The National Galleries of Scotland Press Office on 0131 624 6247/ 325/ 332/ 314 email pressinfo@nationalgalleries.org

Neil Evans, Senior Press Officer, National Portrait Gallery: Tel. 020 7312 2452 (not for publication) / Email nevans@npg.org.uk

ENDS

NOTES TO EDITORS

THE QUEEN: ART AND IMAGE – THE TOUR
 
Scottish National Gallery, Edinburgh 25 June–18 Sept 2011
Sponsored by Turcan Connell 
Admission £7 Concs £5 – Tickets available online from 1 June 2011 at www.nationalgalleries.org
 
Ulster Museum, Belfast 14 October 2011–15 Jan 2012
Admission Free www.nmni.com

National Museum Cardiff 4 February – 29 April 2012
Admission Free
More information at www.museumwales.ac.uk

National Portrait Gallery, London 17 May – 21 Oct 2012
Sponsored by KPMG
Admission Charge to be confirmed 
For more information please go to www.npg.org.uk 
Spring Season 2012, sponsored by Herbert Smith LLP   

PUBLICATION
The exhibition will be accompanied by a fully-illustrated book  by the exhibition curator Paul Moorhouse with an accompanying essay by historian and writer Sir David Cannadine and featuring over 60 portraits. Published by the National Portrait Gallery, London, priced £30 (hardback). Available June 2011.

CONFERENCES AND EVENTS
A programme of events including lectures, tours and lunchtime talks will accompany this landmark exhibition at all venues. 

Turcan Connell
Turcan Connell was founded on the belief that the needs of private clients, charities and the owners and managers of land are most effectively served by a firm which focuses exclusively on everything that matters to these clients. Today, 18 partners and a team of nearly 300 serve our clients from offices in Edinburgh, London and Guernsey. Our legal services include trust and tax, land and property, family law, employment law and charity law. We also offer a comprehensive range of tax and financial planning advice and investment management services. To learn more visit us at www.turcanconnell.com

• Winners Announced for the National Galleries Of Scotland Art Competition For Schools 2011

WINNERS ANNOUNCED FOR THE NATIONAL GALLERIES OF SCOTLAND ART COMPETITION FOR SCHOOLS 2011

Sponsored by Scottish Widows

The best young artists in the country are to be celebrated on 16 June 2011 at the Scottish National Gallery, when the prize-winners of this year’s Art Competition for Schools will receive their awards. Fantastic prizes for individual winners, classes and schools will be collected by over fifty of Scotland’s most talented young artists and their prize-winning works of art will be exhibited at the gallery throughout the summer, followed by further exhibitions elsewhere in Scotland.

A record-breaking 5,895 entries were received this year with winners coming from across Scotland including Irvine, the Isle of Lewis and Buckhaven to receive their prizes and to see their work on display at the Scottish National Gallery. Entrants faced tough competition in all six categories: nursery, primary schools (P1-3 and P4-7), secondary schools, special education schools and groups. Young artists were inspired by a variety of themes centring on key artworks from the National Galleries’ collection. As Scottish Widows is an official sponsor of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, this year young artists were asked to respond to themes with an Olympic flavour: Celebrate; Splish, Splash, Splosh; Super Shoes – Higher, Faster, Further; Move Your Body; and Traces, Tracks and Trails.  Prizes include fabulous art materials for individuals, all-expenses-paid workshops (including travel costs) for classes and great resources for schools.  In addition a calendar for 2012 featuring the work of the top winners will be sent to every school in Scotland as well as being for sale in all the gallery shops.

John Leighton, Director-General of the National Galleries of Scotland said: “Many congratulations to all the winners in this year’s competition. Here at the National Galleries of Scotland we are delighted that so many young people are engaging with the national collection in such a positive and creative way.” 

John Penman, Director of Communications, Lloyds Banking Group Insurance and Scotland said: “The standard of entry has once again been remarkably high. As we head towards the 2012 Olympics, Scottish Widows is delighted to play its part in inspiring and supporting young people across Scotland to use their artistic talent and imagination.”

The exhibition of 53 wonderful winning works will be on show at the Scottish National Gallery from 11 June – 19 October 2011. The show will tour to other venues in Scotland. Details for this will be announced later in the year along with information about next year’s competition.

ENDS
For further information and images, please call the National Galleries of Scotland Press Office on 0131 624 6247/ 325/ 332/ 314
pressinfo@nationalgalleries.org
www.nationalgalleries.org

NOTES TO EDITORS

ABOUT THE NATIONAL GALLERIES OF SCOTLAND ART COMPETITION FOR SCHOOLS

The National Galleries of Scotland Art Competition for Schools aims to encourage young artists and to make the national collection accessible to children at all levels.  The competition is open to every nursery, primary and secondary school child in Scotland (up to S2 level) including special education schools (around 6,000 schools in total). Since the inception of the competition in 2004, more than 1,000 schools have entered with over 25,000 children using and enjoying the collections of the National Galleries of Scotland. 

WINNERS 2011
  
CATEGORY A:  Nursery Schools  

1st: Dylan McCallum, Craigmillar
2nd: Cassie Blake, Livingston 
3rd: Lily Asieh Soudagar, Edinburgh 
Special Merit: Lewis Gillies, Inverness
Special Merit: Calum MacLennan, Edinburgh 
Special Merit: Logan Clapperton, Musselburgh 
Special Merit: Du Du Wan, Edinburgh 
Special Merit: Megan Philip, Livingston 
Special Merit: Ethan Hunter, Aberdeen 
Special Merit: Eleece Inverarity, Musselburgh
 
CATEGORY B:  Primary 1 to Primary 3
 
1st: Jack Wilson, Edinburgh
2nd: Kyle McGeechan, Edinburgh
3rd: Ali El-Marsafawy, Aberdeen
Special Merit: Julia Pleasance, Balfron
Special Merit: Armani Crosbie, Kelloholm
Special Merit: Sarah Ann Murray, Isle of Lewis
Special Merit: Sam Worley, Edinburgh 
Special Merit: Jordan Markey, Livingston
Special Merit: Leo Sheridan, Newtongrange 
Special Merit: Cara Constable, Edinburgh

CATEGORY C:  Primary 4 to Primary 7

1st: Peter Laing, Perth 
2nd: Robbie Campbell, Newton Mearns 
3rd: Andrew Marsden, Johnshaven
Special Merit: Gilleasbuig Macvicar, Portree
Special Merit: Sky McMahon, Dumfries
Special Merit: Jamie Boyd, Edinburgh 
Special Merit: Alex Fleming, Clackmannanshire
Special Merit: Sophie Beaton, Dalgety Bay
Special Merit: Troy Kincaid, Milgnavie
Special Merit: Oceanna Black, Edinburgh
 
CATEGORY D:  S1 and S2

1st: Sophie Ward, Edinburgh 
2nd: Jenna Walker, Penicuik
3rd: Kirill Chernick, Newton Mearns 
Special Merit: Olivia Graham, Clackmannanshire
Special Merit: Catalina Runcie, Edinburgh 
Special Merit: Bobby Crockart, Perth 
Special Merit: Clare Masson, Edinburgh
Special Merit: Jonathan Stark, Edinburgh
Special Merit: Joshua Fried, Edinburgh
Special Merit: Abbas Hashmi, Newton Mearns 

CATEGORY E:  Special Education Schools

1st: Dawid Stepien, Edinburgh 
2nd: Peter Carruthers, Glasgow
3rd: Ali Middlemas, Fraserburgh
Special Merit: Lewis Youngs, Edinburgh
Special Merit: Rhys Smith, Edinburgh
Special Merit: Alice Wilson, Edinburgh
Special Merit: Steinar Sanderson, Aberdour
Special Merit: Zak Barker, Buckhaven
Special Merit: Daniel McHardy, Edinburgh
Special Merit: Alastair Elliott, Edinburgh

CATEGORY F:  Groups  

1st: Roseburn Primary School, Edinburgh
2nd: Knightsridge Primary School, Livingston
3rd: Stanecastle School, Irvine
 

• NEW PORTRAIT GALLERY EXHIBITION INSTALLATION BEGINS

NEW PORTRAIT GALLERY EXHIBITION INSTALLATION BEGINS
SCOTTISH NATIONAL PORTRAIT GALLERY
Edinburgh EH2 1JD

The National Galleries of Scotland will today reveal the dramatic changes that have transformed the Scottish National Portrait Gallery in the two years since it closed for renovation in April 2009. The £17.6 m project, the first major refurbishment in the Gallery’s 120-year history, has restored much of the architect’s original vision of the building, clearing away an accumulation of twentieth-century interventions, and increasing the public and exhibition space by more than 60 percent. In addition, a range of new visitor facilities has been introduced, which includes a large, purpose-built education suite; an adjoining ‘state-of-the-art’ seminar room; a larger café and shop; a new glass feature lift; an ambitious interactive new media resource and a Learning and Resource Centre. Contractors have completed the work on site and the process of installing one of the world’s largest collections of portraits is about to begin. The dynamic programme of exhibitions, new interpretation and events will re-invent the way in which this world-renowned collection is displayed. The rejuvenated Portrait Gallery will re-open to the public on 30 November 2011.

An iconic landmark within Edinburgh’s World Heritage site, the Scottish National Portrait Gallery was designed by the celebrated architect Sir Robert Rowand Anderson, and opened in 1889 as the first purpose-built portrait gallery in the world. The refurbishment of this magnificent Arts and Crafts building has been overseen by Glasgow-based architects Page / Park, whose work has included other high-profile conservation projects such as Glasgow School of Art and the Rosslyn Chapel Conservation and Access Project. Their thoughtful and dynamic design for the Portrait Gallery will, for the first time, give the public full access to the gallery space on all three floors. Features of the design include the insertion of a mezzanine level, to accommodate office space and a new lunch room for schools, in the south east and south west wings of the Gallery, and the remodelling of the ground floor to improve circulation through the building. In addition, the magnificent suite of five top-lit galleries on the upper floor, part of which had been used as a picture store, has been restored to its intended splendour, creating one of the finest display spaces in Scotland.

The project also aims to forge an innovative and exciting new Gallery, which will place a much greater emphasis on its own uniquely wonderful resource, the permanent collection, which numbers over 3,000 paintings and a further 25,000 works on paper. While retaining a strong chronological backbone, based around the four key phases in Scotland’s history: Reformation, Enlightenment, Empire, Modernity, together with the Contemporary, the evolving programme of displays and related activities will explore the richness of Scottish history and culture in a more cohesive and interconnected way. Individual portraits will be seen, not in isolation, but in a wider context within which they can be more richly understood. Photography will be given a much greater prominence and will be integrated into displays throughout the Gallery, as well as having its own major gallery space, the first at the National Galleries of Scotland. This will feature both historic displays drawn from the Galleries’ holdings of some 38,000 photographs, and newly commissioned work by contemporary photographers.

Among the 17 opening displays will be Reformation to Revolution a major exploration of the significance of portraiture in a period of fundamental changes in religion, leadership and nationhood in Scotland, from a time of Catholic absolute monarchy in the mid-16th century, to the Protestant revolution at the end of the 17th century.

Citizens of the World: David Hume & Allan Ramsay will tell the remarkable story of Scotland’s contribution to the Enlightenment, through the portraits of the people who, considered individually and collectively, contributed to the paradigm shifts in attitudes towards humankind and the world during the eighteenth century.

Out of the Shadow: Women of 19th-Century Scotland will consider the lives of female intellectuals, writers and artists whose work helped to change the perceptions and aspirations of their female audience, and to advance the cause of women’s rights during the course of the nineteenth century.

Migration Stories will highlight both the rich cultural diversity of Scotland and Scotland’s impact on the world. Planned as an on-going series of displays, it will explore questions of Scottish identity, encompassing issues of place, belonging, exile and tradition. It will examine how migrants both within and outside Scotland continue to shape the nation. The first exhibition will look at Scotland’s links with Pakistan. Scotland’s Pakistani community is now 30,000 strong, making it the largest ethnic community in the country.

Romantic Camera: Scottish Photography and the Modern World, the opening exhibition of the new Photography Gallery will highlight some of the greatest works in the National Galleries of Scotland’s photography collections, revealing the quality and depth of our holdings. It will explore questions of national identity, with particular reference to the close relationship between romanticism and photography in Scotland. Over 60 works will be on show, ranging from iconic images by Scottish pioneers of photography Hill and Adamson, to new commissions.

Integral to the re-invention of the Portrait Gallery is an extensive and dynamic learning programme complementing the new displays, called Portrait of the Nation: Live! This programme has been devised to engage a very broad range of visitors, both on- and off-site, as well as online. It helps to realise our vision of the Portrait Gallery as a unique, responsive and essential portrayal of Scotland that will stimulate, engage and build relationships with audiences both at home and abroad.

To coincide with the preview this week, the National Galleries of Scotland will also unveil a new brand identity. Prompted by the exciting changes at the Portrait Gallery, and by the need for greater clarity across its whole estate, the National Galleries of Scotland has developed a new corporate logo, and for the first time, new brand identities for each of its three sites in Edinburgh. From 24 May gallery signage and communications will begin to refer to the new branding with the National Gallery Complex at The Mound becoming the Scottish National Gallery and the entire Belford Road site being called the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art. It is hoped that these changes will improve the visitor experience, make the NGS more effective in promoting its ambitious public programme and make visitors more aware of all that the family of three sites has to offer.

John Leighton, Director-General of the National Galleries of Scotland commented: 'The new Scottish National Portrait Gallery will be a superb setting to showcase rich traditions of Scottish art and photography; it is also a forum where issues of history and identity come to life through art; perhaps, above all, it is a place where individual and collective stories and memories come together to create a fascinating and imaginative portrait of a nation.'

Colin McLean, Head of the Heritage Lottery Fund in Scotland, said: 'The restoration of this magnificent building will allow visitors to appreciate its designer’s original vision with the added dynamism and enthusiasm of its current caretakers. The opportunity to view substantially more of the Gallery’s treasures and partake in imaginative interpretation trails or education activities will no doubt delight visitors of all ages. HLF is proud to be a partner in this transformation and we look forward to see the collection back home soon.'

-ENDS-

For further information and images please contact the National Galleries PRESS OFFICE on 0131 624 6325/6247/6314/6332 or pressinfo@nationalgalleries.org.

Notes to Editors:

• Phase 1 – Funding Details for the Project:Scottish Government £7.1 million
Heritage Lottery Fund £4.8 million
Trusts £4.1 milliom
Individuals and Corporate £1.6 million
Total = £17.6 million

• Phase 2 – Raising a further £1 millionThe second phase of the fundraising campaign has now begun in order to deliver the programme of dynamic exhibitions, to enable us to take them out across Scotland, and to set up a brand new education and outreach programme.

• Dürer’s Fame at the National Gallery of Scotland

PRESS VIEW: 11.30 am – 1.00 pm, 8 June 2011

DÜRER’S FAME
9 June – 11 October 2011
NATIONAL GALLERY COMPLEX, The Mound, Edinburgh, EH2 2EL
Telephone 0131 624 6200
www.nationalgalleries.org
Admission free

This summer the National Gallery of Scotland will present a unique display that will examine the work of the 16th century German artist Albrecht Dürer and his enduring influence, spanning five centuries.  Dürer’s Fame will showcase a selection of his magnificent prints from the Galleries’ collection, together with contemporary and later copies of his work. These objects will be augmented by a selection of illicit imitations and surprising tributes, including a 21st century tattoo. 

Albrecht Dürer (1471-1528) was the most important artist of the Northern Renaissance and is one of the most celebrated artists of all time.  He excelled as a painter and draughtsman, but it was his skill as a printmaker that spread his fame across Europe.  The printmaking process allowed for multiple copies of his work to be produced which could easily be sold and distributed.  This accessibility, combined with his technical brilliance and highly individual style, made him a much admired and imitated artist.

The display will include many of Dürer’s famous prints, most of which have not been shown in Edinburgh since 1971, like his iconic Melancholy, Saint Jerome in his Study and Knight, Death and the Devil.  To demonstrate the extent of his impact, Dürer’s Fame will also display famous examples by Italian and Netherlandish artists alongside the original works.  This will include Marcantonio Raimondi’s The Circumcision of Christ (from The Life of the Virgin) and Johan Wierix’s Melencolia of 1602.

In addition this exhibition will include works by the Scottish artists John Runciman (1744-1768/69) and William Bell Scott (1811-1890), whose response to Dürer’s art is less well known.  John Runciman’s painting, Christ taking leave of his Mother, was inspired by Dürer’s woodcut of the same subject.  Whilst Scott’s painting, of 1854, imagines Dürer seeking inspiration on the balcony of his house in Nuremberg, highlighting his romanticized reputation in the 19th century.

The display will conclude by considering Dürer’s continuing relevance in the 21st century.  An example of work from an installation which filled a Nuremberg square with 7,000 plastic hares in 2003, and a poster of German handball star Pascal Hens sporting a tattoo based on Dürer’s Study of Praying Hands will demonstrate the artist’s enduring influence today.

For further information and images, please call the Press Office on 0131 624 6247/ 325/ 332/ 314

pressinfo@nationalgalleries.org
www.nationalgalleries.org

-ENDS-

Notes to editors

Dürer’s Fame will be accompanied by a publication which has been made possible by a private donor and is kindly supported by the German Consulate General, Edinburgh.  This hardback is priced at £9.95.

• Hiroshi Sugimoto Exhibition in Edinburgh this Summer

HIROSHI SUGIMOTO
Presented by the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art and the Edinburgh International Festival
4 August – 25 September 2011
Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art, 73 Belford Road, Edinburgh, EH4 3DR
Admission £7/£5 (concessions)

Telephone 0131 624 6200
www.nationalgalleries.org

Hub Tickets: 0131 473 2000
www.eif.co.uk/sugimoto

PRESS VIEW: WEDNESDAY, 3rd AUGUST, 11.30AM – 1PM

The Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art and the Edinburgh International Festival are delighted to announce a major new exhibition of one of the world’s leading artists, the renowned Japanese photographer Hiroshi Sugimoto.  Consisting entirely of works which are being shown in Europe for the first time, this exhibition will feature 26 large-scale works from two of Sugimoto’s most recent, and visually poetic series, Lightning Fields and Photogenic Drawings. This revelatory exhibition will allow audiences to experience first hand Sugimoto’s exploration of the very nature of photography.  The show has been extended by one week and will now run until 25 September instead of the 18 September as previously published.

Simon Groom, Director of Modern and Contemporary Art, National Galleries of Scotland said: “Sugimoto has developed an international reputation for the sheer beauty of his images, which are as thought-provoking as they are technically stunning. We are thrilled to be premiering work from his newest series in Europe, which demonstrates a master at the very top of his game, and are delighted to be working again in partnership with Edinburgh International Festival to bring the very best of contemporary visual art to Scotland.“

Jonathan Mills, Edinburgh International Festival Director added: “Hiroshi Sugimoto’s extraordinary work presented at the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art is an exciting part of Festival 2011’s exploration of contemporary and classical Asian artists and their long influence on artists in the West. These are stunning images created in fascinating ways and I urge people to engage with this exhibition as part of their Festival experience.’ 

Hiroshi Sugimoto was born in Tokyo in 1948 and now divides his time between Japan and his studio in New York.  He has exhibited extensively in major museums and galleries throughout the world, including the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles; the Museum of Modern Art and the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; Deutsche Guggenheim, Berlin; the Serpentine Gallery, London; and the Fondation Cartier pour l'Art Contemporain, Paris.  In 2009 he was awarded the Praemium Imperiale, an arts prize awarded by the imperial family of Japan on behalf of the Japan Art Association.  His image, Boden Sea, Uttwil (1993) featured on the cover of No Line on the Horizon, the 2009 album by Irish rock band U2.

The Photogenic Drawings series was inspired by the innovative techniques of the 19th century photographer, Henry Fox Talbot.  This pioneering artist invented ‘photogenic drawings’ by using light-sensitive paper to produce a negative in the early experimental days of photography.  This process was especially influential in Scotland shaping the careers of Robert Adamson and David Octavius Hill, who went on to become one of the most famous collaborations in photographic history.  Sugimoto has spent several years locating and acquiring Fox Talbot’s rare and vulnerable negatives from which to make his own photographs. The small scale of Fox Talbot’s work has been greatly enlarged by Sugimoto to reveal images that are haunting, almost painterly in their evocative power.

Lightning Fields is a series of dramatic and spectacular photographs produced through the play of violent electrical discharges on photographic film.  Sugimoto moved his studio six times in an attempt to overcome a problem of static electricity which would often ruin his photographs with their tell-tale white flashes on the finished image.  He decided to investigate further the phenomenon and to make ‘an ally of my nemesis’.  Eventually, rather than try to suppress the random acts of nature, Sugimoto found ways to generate them by using a Van de Graaf Generator to induce electrical charges on the film. His large photographs expose in minute detail the remarkable effects of light particles not visible to the human eye.  The results offer a fascinating range of interpretations, from powerful lightning strikes to images of weird and wonderful life forms.

This exhibition will be complemented by Towards the Light, a free display of prints from the National Galleries of Scotland collection that will examine the influence of 19th century Japanese colour woodcuts on artists working in Britain and Japan during the first decades of the 20th century. 19th century Japanese prints will feature as well as prints by artists using traditional colour woodcut techniques in the 1920s and 30s.

Edinburgh International Festival 2011 will run from Friday 12 August to Sunday 4 September, bringing artists from India, China, Korea, Indonesia, Japan and Vietnam to the Scottish capital. It will create an exciting opportunity for audiences to explore work by contemporary Asian artists, traditional stories from Asian regions, and the work of western artists inspired by the east.

For further information and images, please contact:

National Galleries of Scotland Press Office on 0131 624 6247/ 325/ 332/ 314 or pressinfo@nationalgalleries.org

Edinburgh International Festival Press Office on 0131 473 2020 or press@eif.co.uk

-ENDS-


Notes to editors

• Opening Hours

4 -31 August Open Daily 10am – 6pm
1- 25 September Open Daily 10am – 5pm

• A work by Hiroshi Sugimoto will also feature in The Queen: Art and Image, National Gallery Complex, Edinburgh 25 June–18 Sept 2011.  Please contact the National Galleries of Scotland Press Office for more details pressinfo@nationalgalleries.org.

• Silver City Soul Exhibition

SILVER CITY SOUL:
A VIDEO PORTRAIT OF THE CITY OF ABERDEEN
A National Galleries of Scotland Outreach Project and Exhibition
THE NATIONAL GALLERY COMPLEX ,THE MOUND, EDINBURGH, EH2 2EL
28 April - 6 June 2011

Silver City Soul will present an innovative portrait project that searches for the soul of one of Scotland’s most historic cities. Working in partnership with Aberdeen City Council, the National Galleries of Scotland’s Outreach team has joined with the people of Aberdeen to create a collective portrait which will explore the city’s past, present and future. The resulting video and photographic work will go on display this spring at the National Gallery Complex.

The exhibition will include powerful video footage, created by artist Adam Proctor, which will be shown alongside a set of striking portrait photographs.  These photographs are arranged to form a montage which stretches the full length of the gallery.  Inspired by the figurative paintings of 19th-century Aberdonian artists William Dyce and John Phillip (from the National Collection and Aberdeen Art Gallery and Museum Collections), the people of Aberdeen have been invited to represent themselves and their city as part of the Scottish National Portrait Gallery’s Portrait of the Nation: Live! Project.  The project uses portraiture to create a dialogue between the individual and the community, and between the city and the nation.

Video-artist Adam Proctor has created a film that exploits the camera’s ability to transform the ordinary into the extraordinary. Its gaze lingers on the faces and places that make Aberdeen distinctive. Adam has been supported by a core group of active participants in exploring the living heart of the city. His film, projected onto the Gallery’s end wall, presents a powerful image of a changing city reflected in the faces of its inhabitants.

Robin Baillie, National Galleries of Scotland Senior Outreach Officer, said, 'We’re very excited about presenting Aberdeen to the nation through our video portrait of its people. This exemplifies the National Galleries of Scotland’s belief in the power of portraits and our commitment to representing the cities and regions of Scotland in the new Scottish National Portrait Gallery. We’re helping to put a face to the place and showing the creative potential of the people of Aberdeen. The portrait can help keep a human image at the centre of a changing world.'

The project, part of the Vibrant Aberdeen Cultural Strategy, continues in Aberdeen until the end of the year, The project is continuing to develop and build on its success. It will be supported by the NGS, Arts Development team and the Common Good fund, culminating in an exhibition at Aberdeen Art Gallery from 11 February until 24 March 2012.

For further information please contact the National Galleries of Scotland press office on 0131 624 6314/6325/6332/6247 or pressinfo@nationalgalleries.org

ENDS

Notes to editors:

- Silver City Soul is a partnership between the Arts Development and Museums and Galleries service of Aberdeen City Council and the National Galleries of Scotland.

- Portrait of the Nation: Live! is the National Galleries of Scotland’s nationwide Education programme complementing the major refurbishment of the Scottish National Portrait Gallery, due to reopen in November 2011

-  Adam Proctor’s previous work can be viewed at www.fortsunlight.co.uk

-  visit www.silvercitysoul.me where there is more information about the project.

-  Aberdeen residents are also invited to send us in their portraits as digital stills and films by visiting the website www.silvercitysoul.me


Image Credits for Banner:

Top: Aberdeen Skyline, Adam Proctor, 2010

Centre, left to right: John Phillip, A Scotch Fair, 1848, Aberdeen Art Gallery and Museums Collections; John Phillip, 'La Gloria': A Spanish Wake, 1864, National Galleries of Scotland; William Dyce, The Highland Ferryman, 1857, Aberdeen Art Gallery and Museums Collections; William Dyce, Man of Sorrows, 1860, National Galleries of Scotland, purchased with the aid of the Heritage Purchase Grant (Scotland) 1981

Bottom: Silver City Soul Portraits, National Galleries of Scotland and Aberdeen City Council, 2011


The National Galleries of Scotland is a charity registered in Scotland (No. SC003728).

• Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art and Creative Scotland Fellowship Programme 2011

Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art and Creative Scotland Fellowship Programme 2011

In collaboration with Creative Scotland, the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art is delighted to announce the first appointments to the Artists’ Fellowship Programme.  This innovative award aims to give artists unique access to the Galleries’ world-class collection, archives and library, to research new working methods and ideas. This year’s fellowships have been awarded to Glasgow-based sculptor Nick Evans (b.1976), and the collaborative partnership of Kim Coleman (b.1976) and Jenny Hogarth (b.1979).

This programme marks a new type of collaboration between the National Galleries of Scotland and Creative Scotland. The Artists’ Fellowship Programme will focus on supporting and enriching artists’ established research methods and in assisting the development of fresh ideas and areas of interest.  By giving the artists access to the collections and to staff expertise it is hoped that the fellowship will have a long-term impact on their practice whilst offering creative ways of revealing the collection to the wider public.

Nick Evans (b. 1976, Mufulira, Zambia) studied at Glasgow School of Art and the Royal College of Fine Arts, Stockholm, and lives and works in Glasgow. In 2008 he held a residency at the European Ceramic Work Centre in the Netherlands. He will be researching works within the collection that demonstrate the historical fascination of the West with other cultures, traditions and concepts of exoticism.  

Kim Coleman and Jenny Hogarth studied at Edinburgh College of Art, (graduating in 2000 and 2001 respectively) and were instrumental in setting up the artist-led space Embassy, which still operates in the city. For the fellowship the artists will build on previous works, and research ideas relating to looking and being looked at.  They will work with technology in the galleries that alter our ways of seeing – archival equipment, video cameras, mirrors, etc - to reveal the way that these affect the viewers’ understanding or experience of an art work.

Simon Groom, Director of Modern and Contemporary Art at the National Galleries of Scotland said: 'We are delighted to build upon our collaborative relationship with Creative Scotland in this inspirational programme that puts the artist at the heart of the Gallery. This project opens up creative possibilities for the artists as much as new opportunities of engagement with the public.'

Venu Dhupa, Director of Creative Development, Creative Scotland said:  'Creative Scotland’s role is to invest in talent. This National Galleries of Scotland Fellowship contributes to our ultimate goal that Scotland is internationally recognised as an attractive place to live, learn and work as an artist.'

For further information and images, please call the Press Office on 0131 624 6247/ 325/ 332/ 314

pressinfo@nationalgalleries.org
www.nationalgalleries.org

-ENDS-

• ENGLISH DRAWINGS AND WATERCOLOURS 1600-1900

NEW CATALOGUE TO EXPLORE RICHES OF NATIONAL GALLERY OF SCOTLAND’S COLLECTION OF ENGLISH DRAWINGS

The catalogue is generously supported by a grant from the Paul Mellon Centre for Studies in British Art.

The rich and diverse collection of English drawings and watercolours in the National Gallery of Scotland will be the subject of a beautifully designed and generously illustrated catalogue, to be published this summer.  Featuring outstanding examples of work by the most celebrated British artists, such as William Blake, J.M.W. Turner and Thomas Gainsborough, the collection is surprisingly little known; this landmark catalogue will for the first time make its full scope and importance clear.  English Drawings and Watercolours 1600-1900 - the first in a new series of authoritative and scholarly catalogues about the Scottish national collection - will become a key reference work for a wide range of enthusiasts for British art, including art historians, students, collectors, dealers, artists and picture researchers.

Broad in scope, the collection of more than 2,000 works covered by the catalogue ranges in date from the art of the Stuart court in the early seventeenth century to the late Victorian period – from Inigo Jones and Sir Peter Lely to Burne Jones and Lord Leighton.  Highlights include important works by artists such as John Sell Cotman, John Robert Cozens, John Flaxman, Thomas Girtin, Edward Lear, John Frederick Lewis and Paul Sandby.

Some 450 works will be reproduced in colour, and many have never previously been published.  Each work will have a catalogue entry, considering in detail issues such as subject, date, function, condition and provenance, and there will be biographies of the 250 artists represented.  In addition, the introduction will feature a detailed history of this part of the Gallery’s collection, which focuses on the benefactors and collectors who shaped it.

English Drawings and Watercolours 1600-1900 has been written by Christopher Baker, Deputy Director of the National Gallery of Scotland.  It will run to 464 pages, and will be hardbound.

Speaking of the publication, John Leighton, Director-General of the National Galleries of Scotland said, ‘English Drawings 1600-1900 will consider in great depth a key aspect of the Gallery’s outstanding holdings of British art; our hope is that it will assist students, researchers and enthusiasts, and inspire many future visits to study and enjoy the collections in Edinburgh.’

The catalogue can now be ordered at a special pre-publication price of £95 (for details see below).  From August 2011 the full retail price will be £125.

To coincide with the publication of the catalogue a special exhibition of some thirty 18th and 19th works will be on show in London this summer.  Masterpieces of English Watercolours and Drawings from the National Gallery of Scotland will be at Lowell Libson Ltd, from 23 June until 14 July.  The exhibition will include major landscapes and figure subjects by Turner, Girtin, Cotman, Gainsborough, John Constable, Sandby, Samuel Palmer and Richard Dadd.  Highlights will include William Blake’s magnificent God Writing upon the Tables of the Covenant (c.1805), and John Robert Cozens’ beautiful and evocative view of The Colosseum from the North (1780).  The exhibition will take place during Master Drawings Week London, an annual gathering of scholars, curators, collectors and dealers, from 1 to 8 July 2011.

For further information and images, please call the National Galleries of Scotland Press Office on 0131 624 6247/ 325/ 332/ 314

pressinfo@nationalgalleries.org
www.nationalgalleries.org

For further information on the loan exhibition at Lowell Libson Ltd, please contact Diana Cawdell or Francesca Price
Cawdell Douglas
10-11 Lower John Street
London W1F 9EB
T: +44 7439 2822
F: +44 287 5488
E: press@cawdelldouglas.com

Notes to Editors

To take advantage of the special pre-publication offer, please visit the NGS website at www.nationalgalleries.org, or call +44 (0)131 624 6244.  The book will be dispatched on publication in August 2011.  Payment is taken at the time of ordering.  Offer ends 31 July 2011.

Specifications

Title: English Drawings 1600-1900: National Gallery of Scotland
Pre-publication price: £95
Recommended retail price: £125
Publisher: National Galleries of Scotland
Author: Christopher Baker
Size, binding: 300 x 240 mm, hardback
Page extent: 464 pp
Publication date: August 2011
Illustrations: 460 colour
ISBN: 978 1 906270 35 3

• Silver City Soul AFC release

GET INVOLVED IN THE BIG SHOOT!

Outdoor Portrait Event at Aberdeen Football Club, Pittodrie Stadium, Aberdeen, 1pm – 3pm, Saturday 9th April, 2011

Silver City Soul:
A video portrait of the City of Aberdeen
A National Galleries of Scotland Outreach Project in partnership with Aberdeen City Council (Arts Development and Aberdeen Art Gallery)

Silver City Soul kicks off with a mass portrait event outside Aberdeen FC’s Pittodrie Stadium (at the home end) before the Scottish Premier League game against Hibernian on Saturday 9 April. The National Galleries of Scotland, working in partnership with Aberdeen City Council, are creating a collaborative video portrait of the city and we are inviting all Aberdonians, and supporters of the football club, to join us on that day to add their portrait images to film.

Pittodrie’s spectacular position provides a great setting to portray the people of Aberdeen, and supporters of the club, who represent a proud tradition at the heart of the city - one that has made Aberdeen famous around the world. The event will be led by the filmmaker Adam Proctor, director of this inclusive film to document life in Aberdeen.

Silver City Soul aims to create a moving film portrait of the city through the faces of its people. This portrait will reveal Aberdeen’s past, present and future, its character and its role in Scottish and world history.  

Adam Proctor, who is based in Aberdeen, is leading participants in this collaborative project to represent a rapidly changing city, which will be exhibited in the National Gallery of Scotland in Edinburgh from April 28 – June 6, 2011, and subsequently in Aberdeen Art Gallery, 11 February - 24 March 2012. Communities, organisations and individuals in Aberdeen will be offered the opportunity to represent themselves and the issues facing them through this project which is part of Aberdeen City Council’s cultural strategy.

The project began in November 2010, taking inspiration from figurative paintings of individuals and groups by 19th-century Aberdonian artists, William Dyce and John Phillip, that are held in the national art collection and in Aberdeen Art Gallery.

Robin Baillie, NGS Senior Outreach Officer, said, 'We’re really excited about inviting the people of Aberdeen to our mass portrait event at Pittodrie Stadium. This iconic structure will form a dramatic backdrop for individual and group portraits that will go into our film presenting the city to a national audience. We want as many people as possible to get involved to help us represent the people of Aberdeen through these portraits and be part of the Scottish National Portrait Gallery’s Portrait of the Nation: Live! Education project.'

The National Galleries of Scotland and Aberdeen City Council would like to thank Aberdeen Football Club for their support and contribution to the staging of this event.

For further information please contact the National Galleries of Scotland press office on 0131 624 6314/6325/6332/6247 or pressinfo@nationalgalleries.org

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Notes to editors:

Adam Proctor’s previous work can be viewed at www.fortsunlight.co.uk

Visit www.silvercitysoul.me where there is more information about the project.

Aberdeen residents are also invited to send us in their portraits as digital stills and films by visiting the website www.silvercitysoul.me

Portrait of the Nation: Live! is the National Galleries of Scotland’s nationwide Education programme complementing the major refurbishment of the Scottish National Portrait Gallery, due to reopen in November 2011

• Constable to Duff House press release

CONSTABLE MASTERPIECE BOUND FOR BANFF

One of the best-loved paintings in the National Gallery of Scotland is to travel to the north east of Scotland for the first time this spring.  The Vale of Dedham by John Constable (1777-1837) will be on show at Duff House in Banffshire, where it will be the focus of a special display from 1 April 2011.

Among the most celebrated of Constable’s works, The Vale of Dedham secured the artist’s election to the Royal Academy in London when it was first exhibited in 1828.  A highly characteristic exploration of the beautiful Suffolk countryside where Constable grew up, the painting shows the dramatic landscape which had preoccupied him for over twenty years.  The view follows the winding River Stour as it makes its way down the valley towards the church at Dedham village, where his father worked a watermill, and on to the estuary beyond.  The composition was partially inspired by Claude Lorrain’s Hagar and the Angel (painted in 1646 and now in the National Gallery, London), which Constable would have seen in the collection of his longstanding friend and patron, Sir George Beaumont.

The Vale of Dedham is the latest in a series of high-profile loans of masterpieces to Duff House, which highlight the commitment of the National Galleries to making its collection available to audiences across Scotland.  Previous loans have included Botticelli’s magnificent The Virgin Adoring the Sleeping Christ Child, Titian’s Venus Rising from the Sea and most recently, Rembrandt’s A Woman in Bed.

Since it was acquired by the Gallery in 1944, The Vale of Dedham has been a favourite with visitors and in particular with lovers of British art.  This is the first time that this iconic painting will have been shown in the north east, where it will join other works from the national collection - by artists such as Thomas Gainsborough (1727-88), George Romney (1734-1802) and Anne Redpath (1895-1965) - which have recently been placed on long-term display at Duff House.  The first significant re-hang of the works on show at Duff House since 1995 has been prompted by plans for new displays in the refurbished Scottish National Portrait Gallery, which will re-open in November 2011.  The inclusion of Redpath’s The Mantelpiece (c.1947) reflects the results of a survey of local residents, undertaken in January 2010, which revealed an interest in seeing more modern works in the house.

Speaking of the arrival of The Vale of Dedham, Rachel Kennedy, General Manager of Duff House said, ’It’s quite a coup for Duff House and the north east to receive this key work by such a well-known artist.  Constable is a highly regarded British painter, and a household name familiar to many, so I hope people will come along and take a look.’

Dr Christian Tico Seifert, Senior Curator at the National Gallery of Scotland added, ’We’re delighted that the recent changes to the displays at Duff House will be complemented by the loan of Constable’s wonderful Vale of Dedham.  Our continuing partnership with Duff House reflects a wider ambition to have a truly national reach, and to make the works in our care available to people across Scotland.’

Notes to Editors

Duff House was designed by William Adam in 1735, for Wiliam Duff, Lord Braco and later Earls and Dukes of Fife.  This magnificent example of baroque architecture was re-opened in 1995 as a five-star country house and gallery, run in partnership by Aberdeenshire Council, Historic Scotland and the National Galleries of Scotland.  From 1^st April the house is open daily from 11am to 5pm.

Admission fees apply.

For more information contact:

Duff House, Banff, AB45 3SX
01261 818181
duff.house@aberdeenshire.gov.uk
www.duffhouse.org.uk

National Galleries of Scotland Press Office
0131 624 6247/ 325/ 332/ 314
pressinfo@nationalgalleries.org
www.nationalgalleries.org

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• LAST CHANCE TO ENTER NATIONAL GALLERIES OF SCOTLAND ART COMPETITION FOR SCHOOLS 2011

LAST CHANCE TO ENTER NATIONAL GALLERIES OF SCOTLAND ART COMPETITION FOR SCHOOLS 2011

Sponsored by Scottish Widows

Now is the last chance to enter the National Galleries of Scotland Art Competition for Schools 2011, sponsored by Scottish Widows.  Schools from across Scotland are invited to enter this innovative competition which encourages children to be inspired by the national art collection and to make their own artworks in response. The closing date for entry is the 6th May 2011, in just 7 weeks time.

Now in its eighth year the competition has attracted over 25,000 entries since its launch in 2003, all inspired by artworks from the national art collection. Exhibitions of winning work from this well established competition have travelled from Edinburgh to Glasgow, Aberdeen, Inverness, Fort William, Stirling, Banff and Berwick-upon-Tweed attracting huge audiences.

There are six categories for nursery, lower and upper primary, secondary, special education schools and group entries. As Scottish Widows is an official sponsor of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, this year young artists have been asked to respond to themes with an Olympic flavour: Celebrate; Splish, Splash, Splosh; Super Shoes – Higher, Faster, Further; Move Your Body; and Traces, Tracks and Trails.  Prizes include fabulous art materials for individuals, all expenses paid workshops (including travel costs) for classes and great resources for schools.  

John Penman, Head of Communications of Scottish Widows, sponsors of the National Galleries of Scotland Art Competition for Schools 2011, said: 'We are delighted to have been able to support such a worthwhile and inspirational competition since 2005. It is always a surprise to see the standards of the entries and the enthusiasm of young artists across Scotland. We hope this year attracts just as many as past years and very much look forward to judging the various categories alongside other panel members.'

In addition the 53 winning works will go on tour after being exhibited at the National Gallery of Scotland. Art works by the 2010 award winners are presently on show at the St. Andrew’s Building, University of Glasgow until 31st May 2011.
The National Galleries of Scotland Art Competition for Schools is a real opportunity to put into practice the approaches encouraged in the Curriculum for Excellence.  For full details, teacher notes and images to inspire, visit nationalgalleries.org.
For further information and images, please call the Press Office on 0131 624 6247/ 325/ 332/ 314

pressinfo@nationalgalleries.org
www.nationalgalleries.org
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NOTES TO EDITORS
The closing date for the National Galleries of Scotland Art Competition for Schools 2011 is 6th May 2011
The Categories for the competition are as follows:

CATEGORY A:  Nursery Schools

CATEGORY B:  Primary 1 to Primary 3

CATEGORY C:  Primary 4 to Primary 7

CATEGORY D:  S1 and S2

CATEGORY E:  Special Education Schools

CATEGORY F:  Groups

For more information visit nationalgalleries.org

• PORTRAIT GALLERY PROJECT RECEIVES £2 MILLION FUNDING BOOST

PORTRAIT GALLERY PROJECT RECEIVES £2 MILLION FUNDING BOOST

Portrait of the Nation, the project to renovate and revitalise the Scottish National Portrait Gallery, has received a £2 million funding boost from Scottish Government. Thanks to this additional grant, the initial target for the first phase of the fundraising campaign has been reached. The renovations to the building can be completed, the new services introduced and the original features restored, allowing the world’s first purpose-built portrait gallery, which opened in 1889 to be fully utilised. The completed Portrait Gallery will open on 30 November 2011.

Minister for Culture Fiona Hyslop said: 'The renovated National Portrait Gallery will be a celebration of Scottish art, culture and history displaying one of our most valued collections in an impressive and innovative space in time for the Year of Creativity in 2012. We have been a strong supporter of the redevelopment of the Portrait Gallery and I am pleased to commit this additional support to complete the building work, enabling the National Galleries to move to their next fundraising phase.'

John Leighton, Director-General of the National Galleries of Scotland commented: 'The revitalisation of the Scottish National Portrait Gallery has been a top priority for NGS. The project is fully on track and the building is set to re-open on time later this year. The transformation within the building is simply stunning and we are delighted that this boost in funding from Government will now enable us to concentrate on raising funds for the new programmes, activities and displays at the Portrait Gallery.'

This additional grant will allow the fundraising to enter into the second phase of the campaign. A further million pounds is required to allow the Scottish National Portrait Gallery to realise the original vision of the project. The collection will be presented in a reinvigorated and more engaging way, illustrating the richness of Scotland’s history and culture with a dynamic and extensive exhibition and education programme with a new emphasis on photography and Scottish art.

For further information please contact the National Galleries of Scotland Press Office on 0131 624 6325 or pconvery@nationalgalleries.org.
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• Picasso and Britain announcement

Press Release

MAJOR PICASSO EXHIBITION FOR SCOTTISH NATIONAL GALLERY OF MODERN ART IN 2012

Tate Britain, 15 February – 15 July 2012
Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art, 6 August 2012 – 4 November 2012

The first exhibition to explore Pablo Picasso’s lifelong connections with Britain will be the highlight of the summer season at the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art in 2012.  Picasso and Britain will examine Picasso’s evolving critical reputation here and British artists’ responses to his work. Originating at Tate Britain, this pioneering show marks the first time that the two organisations have collaborated on a major exhibition.

Opening in August 2012 at the height of the Olympic celebrations, Picasso and Britain will comprise over 150 works from major public and private collections around the world, including over 60 paintings by Picasso.   Highlights will include masterpieces from all periods of his career such as his great 1925 painting, The Three Dancers, which the Tate acquired from the artist following his 1960 exhibition and major cubist paintings from the Museum of Modern Art in New York.

Pablo Picasso instigated many of the most significant developments of twentieth-century art. The exhibition will explore Picasso’s rise as a figure both of controversy and celebrity, tracing the ways in which his work was shown and collected here during his lifetime.  This will demonstrate that the British engagement with Picasso and his art was much deeper than previously thought.

The artist’s enormous impact on twentieth-century British modernism will be examined, through seven exemplary figures for whom he proved an important stimulus: Duncan Grant, Wyndham Lewis, Ben Nicholson, Henry Moore, Francis Bacon, Graham Sutherland and David Hockney. While many British artists have responded to Picasso’s influence, these artists have been selected to illustrate both the variety and vitality of these responses over a period of more than seventy years. Around a dozen works by each artist will be shown, each carefully chosen to illustrate a specific feature of the dialogue between that artist and Picasso.

Announcing the collaboration, Simon Groom, Director of Modern and Contemporary Art, National Galleries of Scotland said: ‘This will be the most important exhibition of Picasso’s work to be held in Scotland for 65 years, bringing together around 60 of his greatest paintings with masterpieces by some of Britain’s finest twentieth-century artists. Filling the entire ground floor of the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art it will be an extraordinary and revelatory show. We are delighted to be collaborating with Tate on this ambitious project.’

Penelope Curtis, Director, Tate Britain commented:  ‘We are delighted that the exhibition will travel to Edinburgh.  We hope that it will be one of the highlights of the festival.’

ENDS

For further information and images please contact:

National Galleries of Scotland’s press office on 0131 624 6325/6247/6314/6332 or pressinfo@nationalgalleries.org.

Tate Press Office
Selina Jones or Alex O’Neill, Call 020 7887 8732/4906 
Email pressoffice@tate.org.uk Visit www.tate.org.uk

• ARTIST ROOMS: Jeff Koons

PRESS VIEW: 11.30 am – 1.00 pm, 18 March 2011

ARTIST ROOMS: Jeff Koons
19 March – 3 July 2011
Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art, 75 Belford Road, Edinburgh, EH4 3DR
Telephone 0131 6246 6200
www.nationalgalleries.org
Admission free

One of the most highly acclaimed and internationally successful artists working today will be the focus of a new display at the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art this spring.  ARTIST ROOMS: Jeff Koons will bring together a selection of 18 major works, in a variety of media, charting the American artist’s career from the early 1980s until 2003.  The works on display will be taken from ARTIST ROOMS, a collection of modern and contemporary art held by Tate and National Galleries of Scotland for the nation.

Following the successes of 2009 and 2010, 21 museums and galleries across the UK (including 17 venues outside of London and Edinburgh) in 2011 will be showing ARTIST ROOMS exhibitions and displays from the collection assembled by the art collector and curator, Anthony d’Offay.  ARTIST ROOMS is owned jointly by Tate and National Galleries of Scotland and was established through The d’Offay Donation in 2008, with the assistance of the National Heritage Memorial Fund, the Art Fund and the Scottish and British Governments.  ARTIST ROOMS is being shared with galleries and museums throughout the UK thanks to the support of the Art Fund - the fundraising charity for works of art - and the Scottish Government.  ARTIST ROOMS On Tour with the Art Fund has been devised to enable this collection to reach and inspire new audiences across the country, particularly young people.

Among the highlights of ARTIST ROOMS: Jeff Koons will be key examples from some of the artist’s most important and iconic series of works, including The New (which explores the seductive allure of pristine consumer goods), and Made in Heaven (a series of provocative images and sculptures featuring Koons and his former wife, the Italian politician and adult film-star Ilona Staller).  The display will also feature works from the landmark series Banality, for which Koons is perhaps most renowned.  These will include two large-scale masterpieces Winter Bears (1988), as well as Bear and Policeman (1988), an additional loan from the collection of the Kunstmuseum Wolfsburg in Germany.

Jeff Koons was born in York, Pennsylvania in 1955, and moved to New York in the mid-1970s, having studied art and design in Baltimore and Chicago.  Though he is now almost unrivalled in terms of commercial success, the artist famously supported himself during his early career by working as a commodities broker, an experience which has informed the way his work engages with the commercialism and materialism of our society.

Koons made a significant impact on the New York art scene with The New, an installation of ready-made household objects first shown in 1980.  These works, such as New Hoover Convertibles, Green, Red, Brown, New Shelton Wet/Dry 10 Gallon Displaced Doubledecker (1981 7), which will be shown here, featured familiar consumer goods (vacuum cleaners, in this instance) displayed as they might appear in a shop or perhaps a museum, enshrined within a glass case.  This renders them obsolete as functioning objects, but elevates them to a state of perpetual perfection, their pristine ‘new-ness’ being the essence of their magnetic appeal.  Encased - Four Rows (1983 93), which will also appear in the display, is one of a number of works for which Koons used basketballs as a powerful symbol of aspiration in the USA.

Using commonplace, ready-made objects, Koons consciously referred to the work of the pioneer conceptual artist Marcel Duchamp (1887-1968), calling into question the established values of the art world, and exploring ideas of culture and taste.  For the Banality series, Koons developed this approach, commissioning specialist craftsmen to reproduce inexpensive toys, dolls and figurines in polychromed wood and porcelain.  Like Bear and Policeman, Winter Bears was carved by highly skilled Bavarian woodcarvers, using centuries-old techniques to recreate a miniature child’s ornament on a disconcertingly large scale.  

Koons also used traditional craftsmen to create the sculptures in glass and marble, such the iconic Bourgeois Bust, which appeared in his 1991 exhibition Made in Heaven.  The installation included large-format photographs of Koons and Staller (also known as La Cicciolina), locked in a series of carefully staged (and sometimes intimate) embraces, including one billboard-sized image, which will form a dramatic centrepiece to the display here.

With the Easyfun mirrors series of 1999, Koons continued to evolve a visual vocabulary drawn from popular imagery, with an instant, simple appeal.  Nine of these immaculately polished works, which are based on the silhouettes of cartoon animals, are held in ARTIST ROOMS, representing the largest public holding of this aspect of the artist’s output.  The mirrors’ highly-coloured surfaces are produced by combining a complex structure of crystal glass, coloured plastic interlayer, mirrored glass and stainless steel.  

The most recent work in the display, Caterpillar Chains (2003), revives the artist’s interest in inflatable toys (a prominent feature in some of his earlier work).  The caterpillar in question is an aluminium cast of a child’s pool toy, painstakingly painted in bright colours so that it is barely distinguishable from the plastic original.  The work comes from the Popeye series, in which Koons combined cast inflatables, somewhat incongruously, with readymade objects: here the caterpillar is suspended, or perhaps constrained by vibrant red chains.



To find out more information about ARTIST ROOMS On Tour please visit www.artfund.org/artistrooms. To see the full ARTIST ROOMS collection please visit www.tate.org.uk/artistrooms and www.nationalgalleries.org/artistrooms

For further information and images, please call the Press Office on 0131 624 6247/ 325/ 332/ 314

pressinfo@nationalgalleries.org
www.nationalgalleries.org

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Notes to editors

The Art Fund is the fundraising charity for works of art and plays a major part in enriching the range, quality and understanding of art in the UK.  It campaigns, fundraises and gives money to museums and galleries to buy and show art, and promotes its enjoyment through its events and membership scheme. The Art Fund is funded by its art-loving and museum-going members and supporters who believe that great art should be for everyone to enjoy. Find out more at www.artfund.org. Media contact | 020 7225 4888 | media@artfund.org

VETTRIANO SELF-PORTRAIT TO GO ON SHOW IN NEW PORTRAIT GALLERY

A self-portrait by Jack Vettriano will go on show in the new Scottish National Portrait Gallery when it reopens in the autumn of 2011. Jack Vettriano’s painting, The Weight, which has been offered on long-term loan to the national collection from a UK private collector, will be included within the opening displays. The Scottish National Portrait Gallery will reopen in November after a £17.6 million capital project to renovate and rejuvenate the building.

James Holloway, Director of the SNPG said: 'Jack Vettriano is one of the world’s best known Scottish artists.  I am delighted that his self-portrait will hang in the new Portrait Gallery alongside the faces of the many other famous Scots in our collection.'

Jack Vettriano OBE said: 'This is a great honour and another benchmark in my career, and for it to happen in my father’s lifetime, makes it all the more special.'

Born in Fife in 1951, Jack Vettriano OBE, left school at sixteen to become a mining engineer. For his twenty-first birthday, he was given a set of watercolour paints and, from then on, he spent much of his spare time teaching himself to paint. In 1989, he submitted two paintings to the Royal Scottish Academy’s annual exhibition; both were accepted and sold on the first day. The following year he entered the Summer Exhibition at London’s Royal Academy. Over the last twenty years, interest in Vettriano’s work has grown and he has had solo exhibitions in Edinburgh, London, Hong Kong and New York.

Portrait of the Nation is the £17.6 million project to renovate and rejuvenate the Scottish National Portrait Gallery, in Edinburgh.  It will involve the repair, conservation and creative adaptation of this magnificent Arts and Crafts building, which opened in 1889 as the first purpose-built national portrait gallery in the world.

Starting from an urgent need to restore the building, the project aims to forge an innovative and exciting new gallery.  Portrait of the Nation will double the amount of gallery space within the building, and will reinvent the way in which the national collection is displayed.  The project will also create a range of enhanced visitor facilities, including an education suite, a resource and learning centre, enhanced dining and retail areas.  All of this will be underpinned by an innovative and far-reaching events programme.

The Portrait Gallery collection will be presented in a reinvigorated and more engaging way, illustrating the richness of Scotland’s history and culture with a dynamic and extensive exhibition programme with a new emphasis on photography and Scottish art. It aims to present portraits of people who have played a prominent role in Scottish history or contemporary life. Jack Vettriano’s work has attracted attention across the world and many of his images have become highly popular. The Scottish National Portrait Gallery is pleased to be presenting this self-portrait in the new context of the renewed Gallery.

For more information and images please contact the National Galleries of Scotland Press Office on 0131 624 6325/6314/6247/6332 or pressinfo@nationalgalleries.org.

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Notes to Editors:

Jack Vettriano's original painting, Let's Twist Again, chosen by Scotland's First Minister, Alex Salmond, to be his official Christmas card in 2010, is now on display at The Old Course Hotel in St Andrews, ahead of being auctioned at a special fund-raising dinner on Friday 11th February 2011.
The painting will be auctioned at the end of a special VIP dinner with all proceeds to be split equally between four Scottish charities: Bethany Christian Trust, Quarriers, Teenage Cancer Trust and Maggie's Cancer Caring Centres, which were selected by Vettriano himself.

• The Artist Up Close: Portraits of Scottish Artists from the Prints and Drawings Collection

PRESS VIEW: 11.30am, 8th February 2011
NATIONAL GALLERY COMPLEX, The Mound, Edinburgh, EH2 2EL

THE ARTIST UP CLOSE:
PORTRAITS OF SCOTTISH ARTISTS FROM THE PRINTS AND DRAWINGS COLLECTION
10 February – 5 June 2010
NATIONAL GALLERY COMPLEX, The Mound, Edinburgh, EH2 2EL
Telephone 0131 624 6200
www.nationalgalleries.org
Admission free

This spring The Artist Up Close will bring together a broad range of portraits of some of Scotland’s most admired artists created by themselves, their friends or family.  The display will include prints and drawings from the National collection spanning the last 300 years.  Portraits of Sir Henry Raeburn, Allan Ramsay and Sir David Wilkie will be shown alongside modern artists such as Eduardo Paolozzi, Anne Redpath, and Alan Davie.  Whilst these artists’ names and work may be familiar, this display will put their faces and personalities in the picture.

The exhibition will contain many insightful self portraits.  A striking image of Allan Ramsay (1713 – 1784) at the age of 20 already depicts a young, confident man who went on to become one of the most successful portrait painters in the 18th century.  Another fascinating sketch is possibly the earliest surviving work by Eduardo Paolozzi (1924-2005).  Drawn on the cover of a book of nursery rhymes, this youthful self portrait was created when he was approximately 11 years old.

The show will also feature portraits by family members.  Kate Cameron (1874 – 1965), sister of famous Scottish printmaker D. Y. Cameron (1865 – 1945), studied at Glasgow School of Art like her influential brother.  Her delicate and restrained drawing reflects his quiet and retiring personality and was probably made for her own enjoyment rather then for public display.  A study of Alexander Runciman (1736 – 1785) by his younger brother John Runciman (1744 – 1768) will also be in the show.  The siblings were great friends; Alexander taught John to draw and the pair travelled together to Italy in 1767, to further their artistic training.

Lastly close friendships will be represented in the show.  A pair of reciprocal portraits by a young Henry Raeburn (1756 – 1823) and his mentor David Deuchar (1745 – 1808) will provide a touching memento of the older and younger artists’ friendship and mutual respect.  This is a rare opportunity to see the earliest known work by Raeburn.  A portrait of Jessie Marion King (1875 – 1949) by her lifelong friend Helen Paxton Brown (1876 – 1956) will also feature.  The two women were fellow pupils at Glasgow School of Art and shared a studio from around 1898 until 1907.

These 32 works will showcase the breadth and variety of the Gallery’s world-class collection of works on paper and will offer a special glimpse at these fascinating Scottish artists, through their own eyes and those close to them.

ENDS

For further information and images, please call the National Galleries of Scotland Press Office on 0131 624 6247/ 325/ 332/ 314

pressinfo@nationalgalleries.org
www.nationalgalleries.org

• ARTIST ROOMS: August Sander

ARTIST ROOMS: August Sander
12 February – 10 July 2011
Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art, Dean Gallery, 73 Belford Road, Edinburgh, EH4 3DR, Telephone 0131 6246 6200
www.nationalgalleries.org
Admission free

PRESS VIEW: FRIDAY 11TH FEBRUARY 2011, 11.30 – 1.30PM

One of the most influential photographers of the 20th century will be celebrated this spring in an exhibition at the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art. This major exhibition will represent a comprehensive overview of August Sander’s (1876-1964) achievements as an artist, photographer, and recorder of history.  It will bring together an extraordinary group of over 170 works including his most important images and masterpieces. The works on display are taken from ARTIST ROOMS, a new collection of modern and contemporary art held by Tate and National Galleries of Scotland for the nation.

Following the successes of 2009 and 2010, 21 museums and galleries across the UK (including 17 venues outside of London and Edinburgh) in 2011 will be showing ARTIST ROOMS exhibitions and displays from the collection assembled by the art collector and curator, Anthony d’Offay. ARTIST ROOMS is owned jointly by Tate and National Galleries of Scotland and was established through The d’Offay Donation in 2008, with the assistance of the National Heritage Memorial Fund, the Art Fund and the Scottish and British Governments. ARTIST ROOMS is being shared with galleries and museums throughout the UK thanks to the support of the Art Fund - the fundraising charity for works of art, and the Scottish Government. ARTIST ROOMS On Tour with the Art Fund has been devised to enable this collection to reach and inspire new audiences across the country, particularly young people.

ARTIST ROOMS: August Sander will feature prints produced from the original negatives by the artist’s grandson, Gerd Sander and his assistant Jean Luc Differdange, both highly skilled photographic technicians and fine photographers in their own right.  The works in ARTIST ROOMS have been generously placed on long-term loan to the collection by Anthony d’Offay, who continues to work with ARTIST ROOMS. In addition the exhibition includes two portfolios of vintage photographs – the Archetypes and the Siebengebirge as well as vintage photos of the artist and his family, placed on loan from other holdings.

August Sander is best known for his lifelong effort to document the German people. He undertook this extraordinary cataloguing project by photographing individuals and classifying the resulting portraits into groups defined by the sitters’ occupations, trades or places in society. This resulted in his masterwork People of the Twentieth Century that he divided into seven distinct sections: The Farmer, The Skilled Tradesman, Woman, Classes and Professions, The Artists, The City, and The Last People. Within these areas, the prints on display will include classic examples that span all the categories of professional and social types, including Painter, Asylum Inmate, Porter, Industrial Magnate, Farm Woman, Colonel, Gypsies and Street Musicians.

Sander had a unique ability to capture simultaneously the individual and the universal; his sitters remain at once distinct characters in their own right, while also representing something more about their place as part of a larger whole. These images reflect on both how alike and different human beings are.

The Farmer was the first of the typologies that Sander photographed between 1910 and 1925, first of all as a suite known as the Archetypes Portfolio. These include male and female exemplars of figures including The Philosopher, The Fighter or Revolutionary and The Sage, as well as couples defined as demonstrating ‘propriety and harmony’ and a group portrait showing three generations of a rural family. Several images have a poignant historical resonance and an uncanny sense of prophesy for what was to happen during the Third Reich and Second World War. Images of well-dressed young Jewish women and a bespectacled Jewish man made in 1938 are each titled Victim of Persecution.

The final section of The People of the Twentieth Century is entitled The Last People representing those on the very margins of society – the blind and handicapped, the homeless and destitute.  Sander included as the last image in the whole project, a starkly lit photograph of the Death Mask of his son Erich Sander who died in prison after ten years of incarceration under the Nazis.

The exhibition will be accompanied by a specially designed education programme which includes a series of lunchtime lectures, film screenings and courses. From March onwards, The Filmhouse will be showing a season of films focusing on 'New Objectivity' to complement and contextualise the exhibition.  A four-week course led by Dr Debbie Lewer (University of Glasgow), in partnership with the Talbot Rice Gallery, is also on offer allowing participants to explore the work of Sander and German contemporary artist Rosemarie Trockel, whose work is on show at the Talbot Rice, through lectures and gallery visits from 2 March. In addition a four-week practical course exploring black and white portrait photography is on offer in collaboration with Stills from 27 April. This will be complemented by a conference organized in conjunction with the University of Edinburgh on 5 May, bringing together leading experts from the UK and Germany, details of which will be announced at a later date.

This comprehensive exhibition will offer both admirers and newcomers to August Sander’s work an unrivalled opportunity to discover more about one of the most influential photographers of the 20th century.

To find out more information about ARTIST ROOMS On Tour please visit www.artfund.org/artistrooms. To see the full ARTIST ROOMS collection please visit www.tate.org.uk/artistrooms and www.nationalgalleries.org/artistrooms

For further information and images, please call the Press Office on 0131 624 6247/ 325/ 332/ 314

pressinfo@nationalgalleries.org
www.nationalgalleries.org

-ENDS-

Notes to editors

The Art Fund is the fundraising charity for works of art and plays a major part in enriching the range, quality and understanding of art in the UK.  It campaigns, fundraises and gives money to museums and galleries to buy and show art, and promotes its enjoyment through its events and membership scheme. The Art Fund is funded by its art-loving and museum-going members and supporters who believe that great art should be for everyone to enjoy. Find out more at www.artfund.org. Media contact | 020 7225 4888 | media@artfund.org

• French Drawings: Poussin to Seurat

FRENCH DRAWINGS: POUSSIN TO SEURAT
5 February to 1 May 2011
NATIONAL GALLERY COMPLEX, The Mound, Edinburgh, EH2 2EL
Telephone 0131 624 6200
www.nationalgalleries.org
Admission free
Sponsored by Apex Hotels
Press view: 11.30 am – 1.00 pm, 4 February 2011

An outstanding collection of French master drawings will be the focus of a new display at the National Gallery Complex in Edinburgh next spring.  Over the last thirty years the Gallery has carefully and deliberately strengthened its holdings in this area, and is now home to one of the best collections of French drawings in the UK.  Among the 60 works on show, ranging in date from the Renaissance to the end of the nineteenth century, will be superb examples by artists such as Claude Lorrain, Nicolas Poussin, J A D Ingres, and Georges Seurat.  Highlights will include an exceptional preparatory drawing by Poussin for his great painting Dance to the Music of Time, and Seurat’s Seated Nude, a study for the central figure in his celebrated painting Bathers at Asnières.

Of all the major European schools of drawing the French is one of the richest and most fertile.  Its variety, as demonstrated in this exhibition, embraces the refinement and elegance of the sixteenth-century School of Fontainebleau; the playful sensualities of the Rococo period and the contrasting rigour of Neoclassicism in the eighteenth century; and the stylistic and formal innovations of nineteenth-century artists from the Romantics to the Post-Impressionists.  Reflecting this diversity, French Drawings: Poussin to Seurat will feature a wide-ranging selection of drawings, from studies for ambitious, large-scale paintings, to landscape sketches made in the open air; from designs for tapestries to intimate figure studies.  Underpinning the vigorous evolution of French drawing and uniting all of the works on show here is a constant delight in the possibilities offered by the medium.

The display will also feature exceptional images by a number of artists who will be less familiar to most, including a distinctive drawing of a young, pregnant Jewish woman wearing a sarma, an extraordinary cone-shaped metal headdress.  The drawing, by Louis Roguin (active1843-71), was made in Algeria, where the artist appears to have spent much of his career.  Also of note are a highly finished drawing by Etienne Jeaurat (1699-1789), depicting a well-to-do bourgeois Family in an Interior, and an exceptionally beautiful Study of Drapery by Joseph-Ferdinand Lancrenon (1794-1874), which points to a talent unjustly overlooked by posterity.

A richly illustrated catalogue, published to accompany the exhibition, has been written by Michael Clarke, Director of the National Gallery of Scotland.  French Drawings: Poussin to Seurat was recently shown, to great acclaim, at the Wallace Collection in London.

For further information and images please contact the National Galleries of Scotland’s press office on 0131 624 6247/6325/6314/6332 or pressinfo@nationalgalleries.org.

ENDS

• Miss Scotland launches new charity partnership

Press Release: 13 January 2011

In the picture
Miss Scotland launches new charity partnership

Miss Scotland brought a splash of colour to the launch of a new partnership between the National Galleries of Scotland and the People’s Postcode Lottery today.

Nicola Mimnagh admired masterpieces on show at Edinburgh’s National Galleries and showed off her own artistic skills to help mark the new relationship which will see the Galleries receive vital unrestricted funding from the charity lottery.

The 24-year-old also handed over a cheque for £159,364, the amount raised by People’s Postcode Lottery players for the National Galleries of Scotland to date.

The funding will help fund new exhibition and education programmes at Edinburgh’s National Galleries, the Dean Gallery, the Modern Art Gallery and the soon to be reopened Portrait Gallery, making art more accessible for people in Scotland.

John Leighton, Director-General at the National Galleries welcomed the launch of the new partnership, saying:
'The People’s Postcode Lottery provides fantastic support to a range of charities across Scotland and we are delighted to become one of their beneficiaries. The National Galleries of Scotland looks after amazing collections of art from Scotland and from all over the world. The funding from the People’s Postcode Lottery will be a major boost to our efforts to increase access to these great collections and will be used to fund exhibitions, displays and educational activities that will help the public and especially younger people to enjoy and to be inspired by our national art collections.'

Clara Govier, Head of Charities for the Lottery added:
'The People’s Postcode Lottery is delighted to bring the National Galleries on as our newest charity partner here in Scotland. The National Galleries of Scotland hosts one of the most impressive collections of national and international art in the world. Scotland has an incredible wealth of artistic heritage and we’re very proud that our players can contribute to this legacy.'

People’s Postcode Lottery – a charity lottery where members play with their postcodes to win prizes and raise cash for good causes – has raised over £11 million for charities to date.  Here in Scotland, over £7.4 million has been awarded to charity partners including the Woodland Trust Scotland, Maggie’s Cancer Caring Centres, Scottish Wildlife Trust and CHILDREN 1ST.

-ENDS-

Notes to Editors

About People’s Postcode Lottery
People’s Postcode Lottery is the lottery for local charities in Scotland, England and Wales. Our mission is to raise funds for charities and to increase awareness for their work.

People’s Postcode Lottery represents a unique fundraising concept where players play with their postcode to win cash prizes whilst supporting local charities. 20% of the proceeds from ticket sales go to our selected charities (£2 from every monthly ticket) and the money raised by players in each individual country (Scotland, England, Wales) stays in that country.

How to play
For £10 per month players are given a unique ticket number which is based around their postcode. That number is entered into a £1,000 Daily Draw and five Street Prize draws each month. Once a month, one lucky player also wins an Audi A3.

Over 500 postcodes win prizes in each Street Prize draw and one lucky postcode is drawn as the Street Prize winner. All players with the winning postcode (eg AB1 2CD) share a £30,000 Street Prize while all players in the winning postcode sector (eg AB1 2) share a £5,000 Sector Prize.

Three times a year we hold ‘Postcode Million’ events, which see players in one lucky postcode area share a massive prize pot of at least £1 million.

Prizes for all People’s Postcode Lottery draws are awarded and shared out by ticket so the more tickets you play with, the more money you stand to win if your postcode is drawn.

Players can sign up by Direct Debit or credit card online at www.postcodelottery.com, by calling 0808 10-9-8-7-6-5 or through coupons they receive in direct mailings.  Winnings are transferred directly into the player’s bank account.

Why Direct Debit?
People’s Postcode Lottery is a monthly subscription lottery. A player’s participation in our five monthly draws is guaranteed by a Direct Debit payment of £10 per month.

The monthly subscription model allows us to raise regular financial support for our charity partners. It also allows us to pay prize money directly into our winners’ bank accounts. A player’s Direct Debit is their proof of purchase so with People’s Postcode Lottery there are no lost tickets.

People’s Postcode Lottery Charity Partners
People’s Postcode Lottery players have raised over £11 million for selected charities across Great Britain to date. Our charity partners include Maggie’s Cancer Caring Centres in England, Scotland and Wales, Missing People in England Scotland and Wales, CHILDREN 1st, Children North East, Daisy Chain, Scottish, Northumberland and Yorkshire Wildlife Trusts, Woodland Trust Scotland, Yorkshire Dales Millennium Trust, WWF and People’s Postcode Trust (a grant-giving charity funded entirely by People’s Postcode Lottery which funds projects that benefit local communities).We believe our charity partners charities are the experts when it comes to investing financial support, that’s why we provide them with unrestricted funding so that they can use the money raised by our players where they feel it will make the biggest difference.

Lottery Regulation
The People’s Postcode Lottery is regulated by the Gambling Commission and has External Lottery Manager’s Licence to operate in the Great Britain.

Novamedia and the Postcode Lottery
The Postcode Lottery was founded in 1989 by Novamedia BV, an international charity lottery operator. Novamedia operates Postcode Lotteries in the Netherlands, Sweden and Great Britain with over 4.3 million players each week. The aim of the Novamedia’s Postcode Lottery is to raise funds for regional and international charities. Novamedia have given over 3.8 billion Euros to charities.

For further information please contact:

Patricia Convery, Head of Press and Marketing, National Galleries of Scotland
Tel:(0)131 624 6325 or pconvery@nationalgalleries.org or mob: 07967 088313

Or

Lisa Imlach, Head of Communications, People's Postcode Lottery
Tel:(0)131 555 7284 or lisa@postcodelottery.com or mob: 07507 839588

• The Queen: Art and Image

Press Release

Wednesday 12 January 2011

THE QUEEN: ART AND IMAGE
A touring exhibition organised by the National Portrait Gallery, London

National Gallery Complex, Edinburgh 25 June–18 Sept 2011
Ulster Museum, Belfast 14 October 2011–15 Jan 2012
National Museum Cardiff 4 February – 29 April 2012
National Portrait Gallery, London 17 May – 21 Oct 2012

London presentation sponsored by KPMG
Edinburgh presentation sponsored by Turcan Connell

To mark The Queen’s Diamond Jubilee in 2012, the National Portrait Gallery will stage an innovative touring exhibition bringing together 60 of the most remarkable and resonant images of Elizabeth II spanning the 60 years of her reign and some on public display for the first time. The Queen: Art and Image will tour to British venues before being shown in London, opening in Edinburgh in June, Belfast in October and Cardiff and London in 2012.

From Beaton and Leibovitz to Annigoni and Warhol, The Queen: Art and Image will be the most wide-ranging exhibition of images in different media devoted to a single royal sitter. Formal painted portraits, official photographs, media pictures, and powerful responses by contemporary artists will be shown in an exhibition which explores both traditional representations and works which extend the visual language of royal portraiture.

Documenting the changing nature of representations of the Monarch, the exhibition will show how images serve as a lens through which to view shifting perceptions of royalty. This perspective reflects changes in the social scene and historical context and the exhibition highlights important developments and events: from The Queen’s relationship with the press and the miner’s strike, to the death of Diana, Princess of Wales, and the advent of new technology. This textured view of the period is supplemented by archival material – from newspapers to film footage, from postage stamps to consumer ephemera.

Among the highlights from the works from life are Annigoni’s hugely popular life-size 1969 commission for the National Portrait Gallery, Lucian Freud’s 2000-01 portrait from the Royal Collection and Justin Mortimer’s painting where The Queen’s head floats away from her body against a huge background of flat vibrant yellow. Among the exhibited photographers for whom The Queen sat are Annie Leibovitz, Dorothy Wilding and Cecil Beaton - including his iconic Westminster Abbey Coronation image - and Chris Levine’s highly unusual photograph from a 2004 sitting of The Queen with her eyes closed.

The Queen: Art and Image will show a significant selection of unofficial portraits of the British monarch from major 20th century artists including those of Gilbert and George, Andy Warhol and Gerhard Richter as well as less formal portraits by such photographers as Eve Arnold, Patrick Lichfield and Lord Snowdon.

Collectively, the exhibition celebrates and explores the startling range of artistic creativity and media-derived imagery that The Queen has inspired. It also probes the relation of this imagery to a world of changing values during a reign that has engaged the attention of millions.

Sandy Nairne, Director of the National Portrait Gallery, London, says: 'The Queen is the most portrayed person in British history, reflecting her long reign and also the respect and affection which is felt towards her. The Diamond Jubilee is a wonderful celebration and the National Portrait Gallery is very pleased to be sharing this exhibition with our other national partners in Edinburgh, Belfast and Cardiff.’

James Holloway, Director of Scottish National Portrait Gallery, Edinburgh, says: ‘I am delighted that Scotland will be able to enjoy this remarkable jubilee exhibition, which will be presented in the heart of the capital city of Her Majesty’s Stewart ancestors.’

Jim McGreevy, Director of Collections & Interpretation, National Museums Northern Ireland, said: ‘We are pleased to participate in this UK wide tour of The Queen: Art and Image. This novel exhibition offers our visitors an opportunity to see the work of world-renowned artists and photographers such as Andy Warhol, Gerhard Richter, Annie Leibovitz and Lord Snowden for the first time at the Ulster Museum. Across six decades the works on display chart the changing portrayal of a Monarch whose image has, of course, had such global and local significance.’

David Anderson, Director General of Amgueddfa Cymru - National Museum Wales, says: ‘Amgueddfa Cymru is pleased to be working in collaboration with the UK’s other national museums. This is an example of how effective partnerships between museums and galleries can make works by such influential artists such as Andy Warhol and Gerhard Richter, accessible to visitors across the country.’

John Griffith-Jones, Senior Partner and Chairman of KPMG in the UK, says: ‘KPMG is pleased to support what will be a fascinating visual chronology of The Queen’s reign. With such a wide range of imagery and artistic styles, I am sure the exhibition will be of huge interest to many people, and will form a significant part of the Diamond Jubilee celebrations.’

Douglas Connell, Joint Senior Partner of Turcan Connell, says:  ‘As we move towards this historic anniversary of Her Majesty's accession, Turcan Connell is delighted that this wonderful exhibition opens at the National Galleries of Scotland and that we in Scotland will have the first chance to view this very special range of images.’

The exhibition is curated by Paul Moorhouse, the National Portrait Gallery’s 20th Century Curator. At the National Portrait Gallery he has curated the major retrospectives: Gerhard Richter Portraits and Pop Art Portraits. As part of the Gallery’s on-going Interventions series of displays he has curated John Gibbons: Portraits, Frank Auerbach: Four Portraits of Catherine Lampert, Andy Warhol: 10 Portraits of Jews of the 20th Century and Anthony Caro: Portraits. 

THE QUEEN: ART AND IMAGE – THE TOUR

National Gallery Complex, Edinburgh 25 June–18 Sept 2011
Sponsored by Turcan Connell 
Admission £7 Concs £5 – Tickets available online from 1 June 2011 at www.nationalgalleries.org

Ulster Museum, Belfast 14 October 2011–15 Jan 2012
Admission Free www.nmni.com

National Museum Cardiff 4 February – 29 April 2012
Admission Free
More information at www.museumwales.ac.uk

National Portrait Gallery, London 17 May – 21 Oct 2012
Sponsored by KPMG
Admission Charge to be confirmed 
For more information please go to www.npg.org.uk
Spring Season 2012, sponsored by Herbert Smith LLP

PUBLICATION
The exhibition will be accompanied by a fully-illustrated catalogue, with essays by historian and writer Sir David Cannadine and curator Paul Moorhouse and featuring over 60 portraits. Published by the National Portrait Gallery, London, priced £30 (hardback). Available June 2011.

CONFERENCES AND EVENTS
A programme of events including lectures, tours and lunchtime talks will accompany this landmark exhibition at all venues.

For further press information, please contact: Neil Evans, Senior Press Officer, National Portrait Gallery: Tel. 020 7312 2452 (not for publication) / Email nevans@npg.org.uk

To download press releases and images, please go to: www.npg.org.uk/press

National Portrait Gallery, St Martin’s Place WC2H 0HE, opening hours Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Saturday, Sunday: 10am – 6pm (Gallery closure commences at 5.50pm) Late Opening: Thursday, Friday: 10am – 9pm  (Gallery closure commences at 8.50pm) Nearest Underground: Leicester Square/Charing Cross General information: 0207 306 0055  Recorded information: 020 7312 2463  Website/Tickets: www.npg.org.uk

NOTES TO EDITORS

National Museums Northern Ireland
National Museums Northern Ireland comprises Northern Ireland’s premier cultural, learning and visitor attractions, including the Ulster Museum, Ulster Folk & Transport Museum, Ulster American Folk Park and Armagh County Museum. The award-winning museums have achieved international recognition and UK acclaim for their outstanding visitor offering, education programme and care for collections. The Ulster Museum – Northern Ireland’s principal museum – has become one of Northern Ireland’s most popular tourist attractions since reopening in 2009 following a multi-million pound rejuvenation. As well as a phenomenal visitor response to the new-look museum, the quality of the Ulster Museum was further recognised in 2010 when it was awarded the UK Art Fund prize - one of the most prestigious museums prizes in the world.

Amgueddfa Cymru – National Museum Wales
Amgueddfa Cymru – National Museum Wales operates seven museums across Wales National Museum Cardiff, St Fagans: National History Museum, National Roman Legion Museum, Caerleon, Big Pit: National Coal Museum, Blaenafon, National Wool Museum, Dre-fach Felindre, National Slate Museum, Llanberis and the National Waterfront Museum, Swansea. For more information, please visit www.museumwales.ac.uk

KPMG 
KPMG LLP, a UK limited liability partnership, is a subsidiary of KPMG Europe LLP and operates from 22 offices across the UK with nearly 11,000 partners and staff.  The UK firm recorded a turnover of £1.6 billion in the year ended September 2010. KPMG is a global network of professional firms providing Audit, Tax, and Advisory services. We operate in 150 countries and have more than 138,000 professionals working in member firms around the world. The independent member firms of the KPMG network are affiliated with KPMG International Cooperative ("KPMG International"), a Swiss entity.  KPMG International provides no client services.

Turcan Connell
Turcan Connell was founded on the belief that the needs of private clients, charities and the owners and managers of land are most effectively served by a firm which focuses exclusively on everything that matters to these clients. Today, 18 partners and a team of nearly 300 serve our clients from offices in Edinburgh, London and Guernsey. Our legal services include trust and tax, land and property, family law, employment law and charity law. We also offer a comprehensive range of tax and financial planning advice and investment management services. To learn more visit us at www.turcanconnell.com

• A feast of festive fun at the National Galleries of Scotland this Winter

A FEAST OF FESTIVE FUN AT THE NATIONAL GALLERIES OF SCOTLAND THIS WINTER
NATIONAL GALLERY COMPLEX, The Mound, Edinburgh, EH2 2EL
SCOTTISH NATIONAL GALLERY OF MODERN ART, 75 Belford Road, Edinburgh, EH4 3DR
DEAN GALLERY, 73 Belford Road, EH4 3DS

This Christmas the National Galleries of Scotland will be celebrating the festive period in style with a range of activities for all the family to enjoy.

Christmas themed activities will include:

• A unique shopping event at the National Gallery Complex on 2 December
• Santa Claus visiting the National Gallery Complex for the first time
• A Scottish choir performing seasonal favourites at the National Gallery Complex
• Christmas inspired curatorial tours of the National Collection

A unique shopping event will take place on the 2 December at the National Gallery Complex between 5pm and 7pm.  All purchased presents will be specially gift-wrapped and complementary tastings of local produce and warming winter drinks will be available from The Scottish Café and Restaurant.

Throughout December Santa Claus will visit the National Gallery Complex to tell stories and listen to Christmas wishes.  He will appear on the 4 and 5 December at 11am and 4pm and then everyday from 11 December until Christmas Eve.  He will also spend Sundays in the Cup Cake Caffe between 4pm and 5pm telling festive stories.

Vocal Fusion, a Scottish quartet will also visit the National Gallery Complex on 11 and 12 December to perform a mixture of favourite Christmas carols with modern holiday songs to add a festival ambience whilst people shop and eat.  They will be singing at 1.30pm and 3pm on both days.

As well as these festive activities the National Collection can also be explored with the help of curators who will give their own Christmas inspired tours on the 11 and 12 December.  The tours will be available each day at 11.30am and 2.30pm.

The National Galleries of Scotland will add a festive sparkle to Edinburgh’s Christmas celebrations.  With heart-warming entertainment, quality shopping experiences and delectable eating opportunities available on all sites return visits are a must throughout the merry season.

For further information please contact the National Galleries of Scotland’s press office on 0131 624 6325/6247/6314/6332 or pressinfo@nationalgalleries.org

Note to Editor

The National Galleries of Scotland will be closed on 25 and 26 December.
All sites will open on 1 January from 12 noon until 5 pm; from 2 January opening hours will revert to normal.

• The Henry And Sula Walton Collection

PRESS VIEW: 11.30 am – 1.00 pm, 26 November 2010

THE HENRY AND SULA WALTON COLLECTION
From 27 November 2010
SCOTTISH NATIONAL GALLERY OF MODERN ART,
75 Belford Road, Edinburgh, EH4 3DR
Telephone 0131 624 6200
www.nationalgalleries.org
Admission free

This winter, the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art will be showing part of an extraordinary private collection. Featuring twentieth-century work by artists as varied as Pablo Picasso, Joan Eardley, Joan Miró, Hans Hofmann, Howard Hodgkin and David Hockney, it also contains superb etchings by Rembrandt, Goya, Manet, Odilon Redon and others.

The collection has been assembled over a period of more than fifty years by Henry Walton and his late wife, Sula Walton. Henry Walton was Professor of Psychiatry and Professor of International Medical Education at the University of Edinburgh, and Past-president of the World Federation for Medical Education. Sula Wolff was a famous child psychiatrist, her books internationally acclaimed: Loners: The Life Path of Unusual Children and particularly Children Under Stress are globally known classics.

Together, the Waltons formed a fabulous collection not only of modern art, but also of Japanese prints, oriental ceramics, and African and Oceanic sculpture. Their fine art collection centres in particular on printmaking.  Works on show will include Picasso’s linocut Portrait of a Young Girl, after Cranach the Younger, one of the artist’s greatest prints; a huge seascape by Eardley; and works by Anthony Gross, Elisabeth Frink, Richard Hamilton, Graham Sutherland and European artists such as Alexei Jawlensky and Max Pechstein.  The display will feature some sixty works, but this is still only a fraction of the collection.

Henry Walton was born in South Africa in 1924 and Sula Wolff in Berlin in 1924. They met in London while undertaking postgraduate psychiatric training, and married in 1958. They lived and worked in Cape Town and New York before coming to Edinburgh in 1962. Their house in Blacket Place, photographed for the National Galleries by Antonia Reeve, was celebrated both for their collection and as much for their hospitality. The collection is a promised bequest to the National Galleries of Scotland.

Speaking of his lifelong passion for collecting, and his belief in the benefits of living with art, Professor Walton said: "Art trains you, through a lifetime, to tell a good picture.  Good art grabs you and enables you to regenerate yourself, humanize yourself. It makes you an immeasurably better person."

Simon Groom, Director of Modern and Contemporary art at the National Galleries of Scotland, said: “We are delighted to be showing such an extraordinary collection which promises not only a pure visual delight, but also invokes a sense of awe and admiration for the sheer verve of what a collector on limited means can achieve with dedication, determination, and desire.”

For further information and images please contact the National Galleries of Scotland’s press office on 0131 624 6247/6325/6314/6332 or pressinfo@nationalgalleries.org.

• The Turner in January tradition continues at the National Gallery of Scotland

PHOTOCALL: 11.30AM, 23rd DECEMBER 2010, NATIONAL GALLERY OF SCOTLAND

TURNER IN JANUARY: THE VAUGHAN BEQUEST
1 – 31 January 2011
THE NATIONAL GALLERY COMPLEX, The Mound, Edinburgh
Telephone 0131 6246 6200
www.nationalgalleries.org
The Gallery is open on 1 January from 12 noon until 5 pm; from 2 January opening hours revert to normal: Monday to Sunday 10 am – 5 pm, Thursday 10 am –7 pm
Admission free
Exhibition sponsored by Artemis Investment Management Ltd

In keeping with a century-old tradition, New Year’s Day at the National Gallery Complex in Edinburgh will be marked by the opening of the annual exhibition of watercolours by J M W Turner (1775–1851).  The 38 works on display were bequeathed in 1900 by Henry Vaughan, a London art collector who amassed an outstanding group of watercolours by the British painter.  A perennial favourite in the Gallery’s exhibition calendar, the display runs throughout January, providing a thoughtful counterpoint to the more energetic celebrations of Edinburgh’s Hogmanay, and a welcome injection of light and colour during the darkest month of the year.

Recognised as perhaps the greatest of all British artists, Turner was a master of watercolour painting, using the medium to create stunning land and seascapes, topographical views and designs for book illustrations.  Vaughan acquired examples from every period of the artist’s career, and chose each with a connoisseur’s eye for quality.  The exquisite works in his bequest range from early wash drawings of the 1790s, to colourful and atmospheric watercolour sketches of Continental Europe, executed in the 1830s and 1840s.

For Turner, as for many artists and writers at the end of the eighteenth century, the vastness and violence of nature inspired a sense of awe, or even a terror, which was described as an experience of the ‘Sublime’.  It was the opportunity to express these emotions through landscape painting which attracted Turner repeatedly to the mountains of Britain and the Continent, and to paint the savage elemental forces seen in avalanches, storms and mountainous seas. These experiences can be seen in works such as Loch Coruisk, Skye which was painted after one of the artist’s trips to the Scottish Highlands, in 1831, and Sion, Capital of the Canton Valais, which was created following one of his many journeys to the Swiss Alps.

Turner also visited Venice on three occasions, in 1819, 1833 and 1840, and the Vaughan Bequest features six of the artist’s stunning views of the city.  In The Piazzetta, Venice, one of Turner’s most spectacular Venetian studies, a bolt of lightening dramatically illuminates the Doge’s Palace and St. Mark’s Basilica.  Turner created such effects by scratching away to reveal the paper once he had painted on it: he sometimes used his thumbnail, which he is reputed to have grown like an ‘eagle-claw’, for such a purpose.

Other works, such as The Grand Canal by the Salute, Venice, and The Sun of Venice, which were made in the city in 1840, demonstrate Turner’s consummate mastery of atmospheric lighting effects.  In these watercolours, light itself seems to have become the main subject.

For much of his career, Turner was engaged in commissions to provide illustrations for books, and many of his trips were undertaken with a specific publishing project in mind.  The artist’s prolific activities as an illustrator are represented here by a number of images, including scenes painted for Robert Cadell’s collected editions of the Poetical and Prose Works of Sir Walter Scott.

In his will Henry Vaughan stipulated that the Turner watercolours must not be subjected to permanent display, since continual exposure to light would result in their fading. He specified that the collection could only be shown in January, when daylight is at its weakest, and as a result the annual exhibition has become a much-loved tradition at the National Gallery of Scotland.

-ENDS-

For further information and images, please call the Press Office on 0131 624 6325/ 332/ 314
pressinfo@nationalgalleries.org

Notes to Editor

Events in conjunction with Turner in January include:

Thomas Campbell; Turner's Other Scottish Poet
Friday, 7th January 2011, 12.45-1.30pm
National Gallery Complex, Hawthornden Lecture Theatre
Free

'Behold the light of nature' - Ruskin on Turner, Edinburgh 1853
Wednesday, 12th January 2011, 12.45-1.30pm
National Gallery Complex, Hawthornden Lecture Theatre
Free

Retail stock related to Turner in January:

J.M.W. Turner The Vaughan Bequest catalogue by Christopher Baker - £12.95

Turner in January exhibition poster - £4.95

For further information please visit our website: http://www.nationalgalleries.org

• The Young Vermeer final extended release

PRESS VIEW: 11.30am – 1.30pm, 7th December 2010
NATIONAL GALLERY COMPLEX, The Mound, Edinburgh, EH2 2EL

THE YOUNG VERMEER
8 December 2010 – 13 March 2011
NATIONAL GALLERY COMPLEX, The Mound, Edinburgh, EH2 2EL
Telephone 0131 624 6200
www.nationalgalleries.org

Three early paintings by Johannes Vermeer will be reunited in a rare display at the National Galleries of Scotland this December. The Young Vermeer will present a unique opportunity to see three magnificent works by this much loved artist and discover how he became one of the most iconic painters of the Dutch Golden Age. This is the first exhibition in Scotland devoted to the artist and the only UK showing of this exhibition.

Johannes Vermeer (1632-75) is world-renowned for his meticulous paintings of Dutch interiors. Considering his current popularity, surprisingly little is known about his early career. He was born the son of an innkeeper and art dealer in 1632 in Delft. Nothing is known for certain about his training but he obviously was familiar with the latest trends in Dutch and Flemish painting.  He produced few works during his career, of which less than forty survive. The National Gallery of Scotland is one of only 17 galleries worldwide that holds a work by Vermeer in its collection. The three paintings on show in this exhibition are strikingly different from his later works which concentrate almost exclusively on domestic interiors. These paintings, created before the artist was 25, suggest a tantalising experimental phase in his early career as he explored classical and biblical subjects. Nonetheless, each picture reveals his fascination with light and colour that so captivates audiences today.

The first painting, Diana and her Nymphs, is thought to have been created soon after Vermeer had entered the painters’ guild in 1653. It is a serene and intimate painting, showing the goddess Diana and her companions in a wooded landscape. Recent examination has shown that the blue sky that once covered the upper right of the painting contains pigments that were only introduced after Vermeer’s death and so could not have been painted by the artist himself. Following meticulous research into the paint layers, it was decided to over-paint this part in a dark tone that matches the foliage of the adjacent trees.

Christ in the House of Martha and Mary, from the National Gallery of Scotland’s collection, is the largest of Vermeer’s surviving works and possibly dates from slightly later than Diana and her Nymphs. The subject is taken from St Luke’s gospel and can perhaps be linked to Vermeer’s conversion to Catholicism in 1653.  This painting may have been intended as a gift for his mother-in-law or for a clandestine Catholic church. The signature on the painting was not found until 1901 and the re-discovery of this early Vermeer sparked considerable attention in Dutch and British newspapers. It was subsequently bought by the wealthy Scottish collector W. A. Coats and after his death presented in his memory by his sons to the National Gallery of Scotland in 1927.

The last of the three paintings featuring in this exhibition is The Procuress, a brothel scene signed and dated 1656. The painting’s title, which was not given to this work until the mid-19th century, refers to the older woman who has arranged the meeting between the man and the young woman. The Procuress marks two significant shifts in the artists work: his move towards painting ‘genre scenes’, which show figures in everyday activities, and the development towards his mature style, rendering shapes in smooth and colourful hues of light and shade. Recent cleaning has revealed the magnificent vibrant colours and delicate treatment of the different surfaces and materials in this arresting picture.

This exhibition has successfully toured to the Royal Picture Gallery Mauritshuis in The Hague, and the Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister, in Dresden and has received much critical acclaim, being described as “a captivating exhibition”, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, 10 Sept 2010,

The Young Vermeer is a collaboration between the National Gallery of Scotland, the Royal Picture Gallery Mauritshuis in The Hague, and the Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister, Dresden.

For further information and images please contact the National Galleries of Scotland’s press office on 0131 624 6325/6247/6314/6332 or pressinfo@nationalgalleries.org.

-Ends-

Exhibition Tour

12 May – 22 August 2010 The Royal Picture Gallery Mauritshuis, The Hague
3 September – 28 November 2010 Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister, Staatliche Kunstsammlungen, Dresden
8 December 2010 – 13 March 2011 National Gallery of Scotland, Edinburgh

• IMPRESSIONIST GARDENS DELIGHTS 100, 000 VISITORS

IMPRESSIONIST GARDENS DELIGHTS 100, 000 VISITORS

The National Galleries of Scotland is delighted to announce that the blockbuster exhibition Impressionist Gardens has ended its hugely successful run on a high note, with total visitor figures of nearly 100,000. Extended opening hours allowed almost 17,000 people to see the exhibition in its final week at the National Gallery Complex in Edinburgh, and the show attracted an average daily attendance of 1,250 over its 78-day run, from 31 July to 17 October. In total, there were 99,509 ticketed visitors to Impressionist Gardens, making this ground-breaking exhibition the third most successful in the Galleries’ history. The exhibition has comfortably surpassed its ambitious target of 80,000 visitors and the entire print run of the catalogue has sold out.

Impressionist Gardens brought together around 100 spectacular paintings, by artists such Monet, Pissarro, Renoir, Manet and Sisley, from collections around the world, and was the first ever to be devoted to this fascinating subject.  The exhibition was sponsored by BNY Mellon, and jointly organised with Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza in Madrid, where it will open in November. It was curated by Michael Clarke, Director of the National Gallery of Scotland and organiser of many exhibitions on Impressionism, and Dr Clare Willsdon, Reader in History of Art at the University of Glasgow and a world expert on the subject.

Commenting on the exhibition’s success, Michael Clarke said: “We are thrilled by the success of this international hit show which was created entirely here in Scotland.”

John Leighton Director-General of the National Galleries of Scotland added: “We are absolutely delighted by the way that the public has responded so enthusiastically to this show.  The high volume of visitors to ambitious exhibitions such as The Glasgow Boys at Kelvingrove and Impressionist Gardens here is not only a sign of a vibrant cultural life in this country it is also good news for our economy at a time when we must do all we can to boost revenues from tourism.”

ENDS

For further information and images, please call the Press Office
on 0131 624 6325/ 6314

pressinfo@nationalgalleries.org
www.nationalgalleries.org

NOTES TO EDITORS

Throughout its 225 year history, BNY Mellon has supported non-profit organisations addressing cultural awareness and access, economic vitality, education and urgent human needs.  It is proud to have worked with many of the world’s leading art, cultural and philanthropic institutions, and to have supported them with charitable investments, sponsorships and through the volunteer efforts of our employees.

BNY Mellon is the corporate brand of The Bank of New York Mellon Corporation. BNY Mellon is a global financial services company focused on helping clients manage and service their financial assets, operating in 34 countries and serving more than 100 markets. BNY Mellon is a leading provider of financial services for institutions, corporations and high-net-worth individuals, providing superior asset management and wealth management, asset servicing, issuer services, clearing services and treasury services through a worldwide client-focused team. It has $22.4 trillion in assets under custody and administration, $1.1 trillion in assets under management, services $11.8 trillion in outstanding debt and processes global payments averaging $1.5 trillion per day.

• OPENING HOURS EXTENDED FOR BLOCKBUSTER IMPRESSIONISM SHOW

OPENING HOURS EXTENDED FOR BLOCKBUSTER IMPRESSIONISM SHOW

With a week to go before the hugely popular exhibition Impressionist Gardens draws to a close, the National Galleries of Scotland is delighted to announce that it will be extending its opening hours, for visitors hoping to grab a last chance to see this ground-breaking show. The gallery will open from 10am until 6pm from Monday to Wednesday and on Sunday, 7pm on Thursday and 8pm on Friday and Saturday.

Over the last two months Impressionist Gardens has drawn crowds of around 1000 visitors per day on average, with attendances over recent weekends surpassing even the busiest period of the Edinburgh Festival. Edinburgh is the only UK venue for this fascinating exhibition, which has been organised by the NGS and Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza, Madrid, and the visitor figures are expected to approach the ambitious target of 80,000 this weekend, ahead of the final week. If the exhibition attracts more than 84,000 visitors it will be the third most popular exhibition in the last 25 years.

John Leighton Director-General of the National Galleries of Scotland commented: “We are absolutely delighted by the way that the public has responded so enthusiastically to this show; The high volume of visitors to ambitious exhibitions such as the Glasgow Boys at Kelvingrove and Impressionist Gardens here is not only a sign of a vibrant cultural life in this country it is also good news for our economy at a time when we must do all we can to boost revenues from tourism.”

This major international exhibition of around 100 works is sponsored by BNY Mellon and is the first ever to be devoted to this fascinating subject, with spectacular loans from collections around the world. Impressionist Gardens has been the highlight of the 2010 summer season at the National Gallery Complex, bringing together spectacular paintings by the famous names of Impressionism, including Monet, Pissarro, Renoir, Manet and Sisley.  Lenders to Impressionist Gardens include the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; the National Gallery of Art, Washington; the Musée d’Orsay, Paris; the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston; the Staatsgalerie, Stuttgart; the Carlsberg Glyptotek, Copenhagen; Tate, London; and the Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Moderna e Contemporanea, Rome.

Impressionist Gardens is curated by Michael Clarke, Director of the National Gallery of Scotland and organiser of many exhibitions on Impressionism, and Dr Clare Willsdon, Reader in History of Art at the University of Glasgow and a world expert on the subject. 

ENDS

For further information and images, please call the Press Office
on 0131 624 6325/ 6314

pressinfo@nationalgalleries.org
www.nationalgalleries.org

NOTES TO EDITORS

Throughout its 225 year history, BNY Mellon has supported non-profit organisations addressing cultural awareness and access, economic vitality, education and urgent human needs.  It is proud to have worked with many of the world’s leading art, cultural and philanthropic institutions, and to have supported them with charitable investments, sponsorships and through the volunteer efforts of our employees.

BNY Mellon is the corporate brand of The Bank of New York Mellon Corporation. BNY Mellon is a global financial services company focused on helping clients manage and service their financial assets, operating in 34 countries and serving more than 100 markets. BNY Mellon is a leading provider of financial services for institutions, corporations and high-net-worth individuals, providing superior asset management and wealth management, asset servicing, issuer services, clearing services and treasury services through a worldwide client-focused team. It has $22.4 trillion in assets under custody and administration, $1.1 trillion in assets under management, services $11.8 trillion in outstanding debt and processes global payments averaging $1.5 trillion per day.

• THIRD SUCCESSFUL YEAR OF ARTIST ROOMS

Press Release
5 October 2010

THIRD SUCCESSFUL YEAR OF ARTIST ROOMS

The Art Fund grants funding for 2011 tour

23 ROOMS will go on show at venues across the UK in 2011

Building on the outstanding successes of the ARTIST ROOMS tours in 2009 and 2010, which have seen over 60% of the ARTIST ROOMS Collection shown at institutions across the UK in the first two years, with 377 works lent in 2010 alone, National Galleries of Scotland and Tate are delighted to announce plans for 2011. The tour in 2011 will include venues in Dumfries, Hull, Kendal, Kilmarnock, Leeds, Llandudno and Orkney and 23 ROOMS will open in that year. The Art Fund, the national fundraising charity for works of art, also announced today that, for the third year running, it is sponsoring the UK tour with funding of £250,000 including funds set aside for regional galleries to spend on promotional, community and educational activities.

Nineteen venues will show ARTIST ROOMS exhibitions and displays in the new programme for 2011 from the collection created by Anthony d’Offay and acquired by the nation in February 2008. A further two venues will show Ed Ruscha as part of the Highland tour of this artist’s work which began in 2010. ARTIST ROOMS On Tour with the Art Fund and supported by the Scottish Government has been devised to enable this collection held by Tate and the National Galleries of Scotland, to reach and inspire new audiences across the country, particularly young people.

Highlights of the 2011 tour will include:

• A Damien Hirst ARTIST ROOMS display at Leeds Art Gallery, in Hirst’s home town and place of study. This will be the first time Hirst’s work has been shown in a major display in Leeds and will include his seminal piece Away from the Flock 1994

• Ed Ruscha’s The Music from the Balconies 1984, a major oil painting given to ARTIST ROOMS by the artist in 2009, will be included in an extended exhibition at Wolverhampton Art Gallery. This work has never before been seen in the UK outside London.

• Major Warhol exhibitions will go on show at venues in the south of England. At Southampton City Art Gallery, for the first time, all of the paintings by Warhol in the ARTIST ROOMS collection will be shown together while Warhol’s film and photography works will be shown simultaneously at Southampton University’s John Hansard Gallery. Warhol’s practice will also be the subject of a significant show at The De La Warr Pavilion in Bexhill which will feature additional loans alongside key works from ARTIST ROOMS.

• A selection from Anthony d'Offay's long loan to ARTIST ROOMS of 177 photographs by the master photographer August Sander will go on display at the Dean Gallery in Edinburgh, providing an opportunity for an increasingly wide audience to view his extraordinary works

The ARTIST ROOMS tours are estimated to have reached around 12 million people nationally, including those in London and Edinburgh. Outside the Capitals, ARTIST ROOMS will have been seen by the end of the second year of the tour by over one million people, from Thurso to Bexhill, Eastbourne to Helmsdale and from Llandudno to Stornoway. And by the end of the third year, 70 ARTIST ROOMS will have been shown across the UK, the work of 28 artists will have been shown and 39 venues, including Tate and National Galleries of Scotland will have taken part. A total of 372 works went on tour in 2009 with a further 377 lent in 2010. Works will travel in 2011 to six venues participating in the tour for the first time ensuring the collection will continue to reach new geographical areas and audiences. Six of the venues in 2011 being announced today have shown ARTIST ROOMS in previous tours, thereby continuing to build a network for contemporary-art audiences locally.

Individual ARTIST ROOMS which have proved especially popular have included, Beuys at the Hunterian Art Gallery in Glasgow in 2010 which attracted over 37,000 visitors, Beuys at the De La Warr Pavilion in Bexhill in 2009 with 56,000 visitors, Warhol at Wolverhampton Art Gallery in 2009 with 87,000 visitors, Diane Arbus at the National Museum in Cardiff in 2009 with over 33,000 visitors, Diane Arbus at Nottingham Contemporary in 2010 with approximately 64,000 visitors, Ron Mueck at Manchester Art Gallery in 2010 with 66,000 visitors and Andy Warhol at Perth Museum and Art Gallery attracting over 50,000 visitors in the first four months. The collection has also been seen in more remote parts of the country including the Pier Art Centre in Orkney with Bill Viola attracting over 14,000 and An Lanntair in Stornoway attracting around 10,000 to the Ian Hamilton Finlay ARTIST ROOMS exhibition in the last month.

The full 2011 ARTIST ROOMS tour will be as follows:

Aberdeen Art Gallery 
Diane Arbus - 5 February - 9 April 2011

The Pier Arts Centre, Stromness, Orkney 
Alex Katz and Cy Twombly - 26 March – 4 June 2011

Southampton City Art Gallery and
John Hansard Gallery, Southampton 
Andy Warhol - 27 March - 26 June 2011

Gracefield Arts Centre, Dumfries  
Vija Celmins - 21 May – 31 July 2011

Wolverhampton Art Gallery
Ed Ruscha - 28 May – 29 October 2011

Ferens Art Gallery, Hull
Francesca Woodman - 11 June - 23 October 2011

Leeds Art Gallery 
Damien Hirst - July – September 2011

Dick Institute, East Ayrshire Council, Kilmarnock
Bill Viola - 3 September - 24 December 2011

The De La Warr Pavilion, Bexhill on Sea 
Andy Warhol - 24 September 2011 – 8 January 2012

Abbot Hall Art Gallery, Lakeland Arts Trust, Kendal
Richard Long - October – December 2011

National Museum Cardiff
Joseph Beuys - 22 October 2011 - 15 January 2012

Mostyn, Llandudno
Anselm Kiefer – 26 November 2011 – 10 March 2012

Continuing into 2011 will be the Ed Ruscha ARTIST ROOMS Highland tour that began in 2010 at Inverness Museum & Art Gallery:

Swanson Gallery, Thurso
Ed Ruscha - 15 January - 26 February 2011

Timespan in Helmsdale
Ed Ruscha - 5 March - 16 April 2011

ARTIST ROOMS exhibitions in 2011 at National Galleries of Scotland and Tate galleries will include:

Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art, Edinburgh
Jeff Koons - February – June 2011

Dean Gallery, Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art, Edinburgh
August Sander - February – June 2011

Tate Modern, London
Diane Arbus, Joseph Beuys, Jenny Holzer - spring 2011 - spring 2012

Tate Britain, London
artist to be confirmed - September 2011 - April 2012

Tate Liverpool
Robert Therrien - 24 June - 16 October 2011

Tate St Ives
Agnes Martin - 14 May - 25 September 2011

To find out more information about ARTIST ROOMS on Tour please visit www.artfund.org/artistrooms. To see the full ARTIST ROOMS collection please visit www.tate.org.uk/artistrooms and www.nationalgalleries.org/artistrooms

For further information
Ruth Findlay, Senior Press Officer, Tate
Tel: 020 7887 4940 Email: ruth.findlay@tate.org.uk

Patricia Convery, Head of Press and Marketing, National Galleries of Scotland
Tel: 0131 624 6325 Email: pconvery@nationalgalleries.org

Lizzie Bloom, Press and Campaigns Manager, the Art Fund
Tel: 020 72254804 Email: lbloom@artfund.org

For 2011 tour announcement images, contact pressinfo@nationalgalleries.org

Notes to editors

The Art Fund is the UK’s national fundraising charity for works of art. We believe that everyone should have access to great art and that by bringing together the contributions of all our members and supporters, we can play a part in enriching the range, quality and understanding of art for all to experience. We campaign, fundraise and give money to help museums and galleries buy and show art, and we promote its enjoyment through our events and membership scheme. Recent grant highlights include leading the £3.3 million campaign to save the Staffordshire Hoard, and helping to buy a new commission, Antony Gormley’s 6 Times, for the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art. We don’t receive government funding; our members and supporters make our work possible. For more information, contact the Press Office on 020 7225 4888 or visit www.artfund.org

• SCOTTISH NATIONAL GALLERY OF MODERN ART LAUNCHES 2011 PUBLIC PROGRAMME

Press Release

SCOTTISH NATIONAL GALLERY OF MODERN ART LAUNCHES 2011 PUBLIC PROGRAMME

Following on from the success of the 50th anniversary celebrations, the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art is delighted to announce the key components of the forthcoming public programme for 2011. There are three major exhibitions planned:

ELIZABETH BLACKADDER
National Gallery Complex
2 July – 23 October 2011

The major summer exhibition at the National Gallery Complex in 2011 will be devoted to the art of Dame Elizabeth Blackadder, organised in honour of the artist’s 80th birthday. Elizabeth Blackadder’s first exhibition was held at the 57 Gallery in Edinburgh in 1959; she has since become celebrated for her paintings, watercolours and drawings, and was the first woman artist to be elected to both the Royal Academy and Royal Scottish Academy

Born in Falkirk, Elizabeth Blackadder studied at Edinburgh University and Edinburgh College of Art. She knew well the Scottish painters William Gillies, William MacTaggart and Anne Redpath, and like them has developed an art based on her observations of the world. Blackadder has a thirst for travel: she went to Yugoslavia, Greece and Italy early in her career and in more recent years has made several visits to Japan. Such experiences, as well as subject matter closer to home - in particular the plant forms and animals she loves to draw and paint – have provided her with an endlessly diverse range of subjects which she explores through many media. Blackadder’s talent lies in her deeply analytical eye, which allows her to see the underlying structure, design and colour harmony in both the exotic and the everyday. From this she develops highly original works of art that seem to breathe with their own life. This exhibition will be a rare chance to experience a retrospective of work by one of this country’s best loved and most active artists.

TONY CRAGG
Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art
30 July – 6 November 2011

Born in 1949, Tony Cragg is one of the most celebrated and popular sculptors alive. He was born in Liverpool and moved around Britain with his parents (he spent two years living in Lossiemouth). His first job was working as a laboratory technician; only later did he study art, entering the Royal College of Art in 1973. His background in laboratory work has had an enormous impact on his work, which fuses art and science in an incredibly rich and arresting way. His first exhibition was held at the Lisson Gallery in 1979, where he still exhibits.

Cragg moved with his German wife to Wuppertal, Germany, in 1977; he has remained there ever since. Basing himself in Germany has meant that Cragg’s career has developed in unusual ways. He has a huge international following in Europe (a solo exhibition opens at the Louvre in Paris in spring 2011) and America but his profile in Britain is probably not as high as contemporaries such as Antony Gormley and Anish Kapoor. He won the Turner Prize in 1988 and the Praemium Imperiale in 2007 yet he has never had a major museum exhibition in London; his most important shows in Britain are retrospectives at Tramway Glasgow 1992 and Tate Liverpool 2000 – the latter being his last major exhibition in Britain.

Cragg works from a huge studio (a former armaments factory) in Wuppertal. He is Co-director of the Kunstakademie Düsseldorf. Working in an astonishing variety of styles and materials, including bronze, glass, plaster, wood, fibreglass, and plastics, he has become one of the most successful and respected artists working anywhere in the world today.

The exhibition will fill the whole ground floor of the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art. Concentrating on work made in the last ten years, it nonetheless includes earlier work, to give the exhibition a retrospective character.

F. C. B. CADELL
Dean Gallery
15 October 2011 – 18 March 2012

In the Autumn of 2011 the National Galleries of Scotland will stage the first of its Scottish Colourists Series with a retrospective of the work of FCB Cadell.  Francis Campbell Boileau Cadell (1883-1937) is one of the four artists popularly known as ‘The Scottish Colourists’ (the others being J. D. Fergusson, G. L. Hunter and S. J. Peploe). He was born in Edinburgh, where he lived for most of his life, and studied in Paris and Munich. Cadell is celebrated for his stylish portrayals of Edinburgh New Town interiors and the elegant society that occupied them, his vibrantly coloured, daringly simplified still lives of the 1920s and for his evocative landscapes of the west of Scotland and the south of France. This is the first retrospective exhibition of his work ever mounted at a public gallery and will consist of approximately 70 paintings, from public and private collections. It will be accompanied by a lavishly illustrated catalogue based on new research.

For further information and images please contact the National Galleries of Scotland press office on 0131 624 6325 or pressinfo@nationalgalleries.org.

-ENDS-

• Put Yourself in the Picture press release

SCOTTISH NATIONAL PORTRAIT GALLERY
INVITES PUBLIC TO PUT THEMSELVES
IN THE PICTURE

PORTRAIT OF THE NATION AT THE NATIONAL GALLERY COMPLEX
From 2 October 2010
NATIONAL GALLERY COMPLEX, The Mound, Edinburgh, EH2 2EL
Telephone 0131 6246 6200
www.nationalgalleries.org

Admission free

The National Galleries of Scotland will this week launch a new initiative, which will give members of the public the chance to show their own favourite images alongside the national collection. From this week, the public can contribute their own images to Portrait of the Nation, as part of the fund-raising campaign for the ambitious £17.6m project to transform and redefine the Scottish National Portrait Gallery.  Put Yourself in the Picture will allow people to upload their favourite photograph and to add a personal caption, using a dedicated feature on the National Galleries’ website at www.nationalgalleries.org/yourpicture.

Aiming to bring together as many of the faces of Scotland as possible (along with pictures of our supporters from across the globe), Put Yourself in the Picture will have a prominent place in the refurbished Portrait Gallery, in recognition of the people who have helped to complete the building’s dramatic refurbishment.  The uploaded images will feature in a continuous display, and each photo will be given a unique code, allowing visitors to access to their own contribution both in the gallery and online.  Donors will be able to use the caption facility to record the particular significance of the image they have chosen to add, either in celebration of a significant occasion or person, to say thank you to someone special, or perhaps to remember someone who has touched their life.  Their gift of an image will then help to create a more inclusive and rounded picture of Scotland.

To mark the launch of Put Yourself in the Picture on nationalgalleries.org, a new display opens on 2nd October at the National Gallery Complex in Edinburgh charting the progress of Portrait of the Nation, illustrating some of the ways in which the Portrait Gallery is being transformed.  It will also offer a taster of the exhibitions that visitors can expect to see when the new-look Gallery is revealed in autumn 2011.  These will place a much greater emphasis on the Gallery’s world-renowned collection, exploring different strands of Scottish history and culture to create a cohesive and celebratory portrait of Scotland.

The display will also underline the importance of photography, which will be integrated into displays throughout the new Portrait Gallery, and which also have its own major gallery space.  In addition, there will be a preview of Faces and Places, a new digital suite that will allow visitors to experience the rich voice of Scotland’s writers and musicians by listening to poetry readings, music and songs relating to the works of art on display.

For information on Put Yourself in the Picture please visit www.nationalgalleries.org/yourpicture or call 0131 624 6279.

For press information please contact the NGS Press Office on 0131 624 6325 / 6247 / 6314 / 6332 or pressinfo@nationalgalleries.org

ENDS

Notes to editors

An iconic landmark within Edinburgh’s World Heritage site, the SNPG was the first purpose-built portrait gallery in the world.  This magnificent Arts and Crafts building was designed by the celebrated architect, Sir Robert Rowand Anderson, and opened in 1889.  In its 120-year history it has never had a major refurbishment.  Portrait of the Nation will involve the repair, conservation and creative adaptation of the Gallery, retaining the character and authentic appearance of the building whilst introducing much-needed new services: a large, designated education suite; an adjoining auditorium for talks; a larger café and shop; a new glass feature lift; and a Learning and Resource Centre.  The removal of twentieth-century interventions will help to increase the amount of public and gallery space by more than 50% and the magnificent suite of five top-lit galleries on the upper floor will be restored to their intended splendour, creating one of the finest display spaces in Scotland.  For the first time, Photography will be given its own major gallery space, which will feature both historic displays drawn from the national collections and newly-commissioned work by contemporary photographers.

Major funders of Portrait of the Nation include the Scottish Government, which announced a contribution of £5.1 million in December 2007; the Heritage Lottery Fund, which confirmed its grant of £4.5 million in March 2009; and The Monument Trust, which made a grant of £2 million in November 2009.

• SCOTTISH GOVERNMENT APPOINTS NEW TRUSTEES TO THE BOARD OF THE NATIONAL GALLERIES OF SCOTLAND

Released: September 2010

SCOTTISH GOVERNMENT APPOINTS NEW TRUSTEES TO THE BOARD OF THE NATIONAL GALLERIES OF SCOTLAND

Fiona Hyslop, the Minister for Europe, External Affairs and Culture today announced the appointment of three new members – Lesley Knox, Nicky Wilson and Professor Ian Howard – to the Board of Trustees of the National Galleries of Scotland.

Speaking of the appointments, Ben Thomson, Chairman of the Trustees said, “We welcome Leslie, Ian and Nicky to the board and look forward to their contributions at this exciting time for the Gallery particularly with the reopening of the Portrait Gallery next year.”

Lesley Knox
Lesley Knox was brought up in Edinburgh and as well as a career in business has, for a number of years , been involved with organisations concerned with fine arts, culture and heritage. She was a Governor of the Museum of London for 9 years and prior to that for 5 years Chairman of the Finance Committee of the Federation of British Artists. She is currently Chairman of DDL, the charitable company formed to build a new design centre in Dundee to provide, in partnership with the V & A museum, a showcase for the best in international design.  She has also been a Member of the Steering Group being carried by George Reid for the National Trust for Scotland.

She is Chairman of the Alliance Trust Plc, a Director of Hays plc and a Director of Grosvenor Group Limited.

Nicky Wilson   
Founder and Director of Jupiter Artland Foundation.  This is a private collection open to the public containing work by many of today’s leading sculptors including Anthony Gormley, Anish Kapoor and Ian Hamilton Finlay.  Jupiter Artland is a charitable foundation and central to it is the provision of educational resources to local children. Nicky was previously Co-Director and Founder of Beautiful Bump skincare products and also worked at WCRS Advertising Agency and LSDC Ayer Advertising and managed accounts including the launch of Orange. She previously won the prestigious year long British School of Rome Sculpture Scholarship, trained at Chelsea School of Art MA (Sculpture) and Camberwell College of Fine Art. She is also a Fruitmarket Gallery board member.

Professor Ian Howard   
Professor Ian Howard, MA (Hons) RSA Dr hc is Principal of Edinburgh College of Art.  He was formerly Dean of Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art, University of Dundee and prior to that, a Professor in the School of Fine Art there.  He was a leading force behind the internationally significant Dundee Contemporary Arts.

He has been a member of the Faculty of Fine Art at the British School in Rome, a visiting professor at many art and design institutions worldwide and in 2007 was given an Honorary Doctorate by the University of Edinburgh and also elected Treasurer of the Royal Scottish Academy. He is a painter and printmaker of international standing and winner of the Chicago Prize 2000.

These appointments will be for four years and will run from October 01, 2010 to September 30, 2014.

All these posts are part-time, attract no remuneration and have a time commitment of ten days per year.

None of the appointees hold any other Scottish Ministerial appointments.

These Ministerial public appointments were made in accordance with the Commissioner for Public Appointments in Scotland’s Code of Practice.

All appointments are made on merit and political activity plays no part in the selection process.  However, in accordance with the original Nolan recommendations, there is a requirement for appointees’ political activity within the last 5 years (if there is any to be declared) to be made public.  None of the appointees declared any political activity in the last 5 years.

For further information please contact the National Galleries of Scotland Press Office on
0131 624 6247 / 6325 / 6314 / 6332
pressinfo@nationalgalleries.org
www.nationalgalleries.org

- ENDS -

• The National Galleries of Scotland celebrates the life and work of William McTaggart

PHOTOCALL: 11.30am, Thursday 9 September 2010
NATIONAL GALLERY COMPLEX, The Mound, Edinburgh, EH2 2EL

WILLIAM MCTAGGART (1835 – 1910)
11 September – 19 December 2010
NATIONAL GALLERY COMPLEX, The Mound, Edinburgh, EH2 2EL
Telephone 0131 624 6200
www.nationalgalleries.org
Admission free

This year marks the centenary of the death of William McTaggart, one of Scotland’s best-loved artists. The National Gallery of Scotland will celebrate his life and work with a small exhibition featuring over 25 stunning watercolours, small oil paintings and compositional studies as well as a selection of rarely seen personal memorabilia.

William McTaggart has long been regarded as one of the most outstanding and innovative Scottish artists. He was the son of a crofter, born near Aros in Kintyre on the west coast of Scotland and, unlike many of his contemporaries, he chose to work almost exclusively in Scotland. His native land was a constant source of inspiration and provided him with a wealth of subject matter – everyday scenes of fishing communities, breathtaking views of the ocean, and sheltered bays along the Scottish coast all feature heavily in his work. His pictures have a strong emotional content linking people with nature, such as children playing in the surf, fishermen battling with storms or emigrants setting sail for America.

Highlights of the exhibition include studies for some of McTaggarts best known oil paintings such as a delicate pencil study for Spring and an atmospheric study in watercolour for Dawn at Sea. Homewards. There will also be a selection of rarely seen personal memorabilia including the artist’s paint palette, brushes, sketchbooks and Royal Scottish Academy medals. Touching photography from the McTaggart family album will also be on display depicting his true inspiration – his family and surroundings.

The exhibition will be complemented by a small display which will examine McTaggart’s early artistic training at Edinburgh College of Art and features rare studies made by McTaggart when he was a young student.

-ENDS-

For further information and images, please call the National Galleries of Scotland Press Office on 0131 624 6247/ 325/ 332/ 314

pressinfo@nationalgalleries.org
www.nationalgalleries.org

• Apply Yourself To Impressionist Gardens With Our New iPhone App

APPLY YOURSELF TO IMPRESSIONIST GARDENS WITH OUR NEW IPHONE APP

The National Galleries of Scotland is delighted to announce the launch of their first ever iPhone app. Created for the major summer exhibition Impressionist Gardens, it is now free to download from the iTunes store.

The Impressionist Gardens app includes video and audio specially created to enrich the exhibition experience, allowing visitors to discover more about the beautiful works on display. In addition an interactive map of the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh will enable visitors to explore the world of the Impressionists beyond the Gallery’s walls, highlighting six inspiring viewpoints which echo some of the works on show. Visitors will also be able to see our programme of Impressionist Gardens events in the app calendar. 

The launch of this exciting new app will be followed by the release of the Another World app, scheduled for September 2010, to compliment the blockbuster Surrealism exhibition at the Dean Gallery.

For further information and images please contact the National Galleries of Scotland’s press office on 0131 624 6325/6247/6314/6332 or pressinfo@nationalgalleries.org.

-Ends-

Notes to Editors

Impressionist Gardens is a major international exhibition examining the significance, origins, and influence of the impressionist garden. The exhibition runs from 31 July to 17 October 2010 at the National Gallery Complex, Edinburgh. Impressionist Gardens is sponsored by BNY Mellon

• Internationally Renowned Artist Robert Therrien Donates Two Sculptures To Artist Rooms Collection

INTERNATIONALLY RENOWNED ARTIST ROBERT THERRIEN DONATES TWO SCULPTURES TO ARTIST ROOMS COLLECTION

The National Galleries of Scotland and Tate are delighted to announce that the internationally renowned American artist, Robert Therrien has very generously given two major sculptures to the ARTIST ROOMS collection. These two seminal pieces, No Title (Beard Cart) (2004) and No Title (Stacked Plates) (2010) will significantly enhance the group of five important works by the artist already featured in the ARTIST ROOMS collection that was created by the collector Anthony d’Offay in 2008. The addition of these two gifts establishes a world-class holding of Therrien’s work that will allow visitors around the UK to explore the artist’s remarkable work in even greater depth.

The two sculptures being given by the artist will shortly go on show at the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art in an extended ARTIST ROOMS display of Therrien’s work that will also feature one of the artist’s best-known installations, the giant No Title (Table and Four Chairs) and a large stainless-steel sculpture not yet seen as part of ARTIST ROOMS, No Title (Oil Can).

The display will form part of phase three of What you see is where you’re at, a dynamic programme of changing displays that celebrates the 50th anniversary of the founding of the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art.

ARTIST ROOMS is jointly owned by Tate and National Galleries of Scotland and was established through The d’Offay Donation in 2008, with the assistance of the National Heritage Memorial Fund, the Art Fund and Scottish and British Governments. ARTIST ROOMS also includes Robert Therrien’s important room-installation RED ROOM (2000-7) which the artist generously made available especially for the collection. ARTIST ROOMS has the special purpose of inspiring young people all over the country and ARTIST ROOMS exhibitions have been touring galleries and museums nationwide since 2009, thanks to the generous additional support of the Art Fund, and within Scotland, the Scottish Government.

ARTIST ROOMS is an evolving collection, intended to grow over time in order to both extend the representation of existing artists and to introduce the work of younger artists to ensure it remains a dynamic and contemporary collection. Thanks to the continued involvement and support of Anthony d’Offay, ex-officio curator of ARTIST ROOMS, the collection is now being extended in remarkable ways; Robert Therrien is one of a number of artists who are generously donating work to the collection in recognition of its importance within the UK and its significant role in bringing great art into the lives of young people. To date, works have been donated to ARTIST ROOMS by the artist Ed Ruscha and the estate of Ian Hamilton Finlay.

The first of the two sculptures given by Robert Therrien, No Title (Beard Cart) (2004), is one of a series of works in which the artist has incorporated beards of various sizes. This apparently unlikely subject recalls modes of disguise, as well as the bearded men of folklore and children’s stories. The most recent work, No Title (Stacked Plates) (2010), comprises twenty giant beige-coloured plates and bowls stacked to form a precarious tower over two metres high. The plates are modelled on a style of kitchenware found in American roadside diners in the first part of the twentieth century, evoking nostalgia for a lost era, while their larger than life size transforms them into an abstracted sculpture.

Born in Chicago, Robert Therrien grew up in San Francisco and moved to Los Angeles in 1971 where he still lives and works. In the early 1980s he became known for making objects with simple recognizable shapes such as pitchers, coffins and doors, created in a variety of media including copper, wood and bronze. He is renowned for transforming everyday things into extraordinary sculptures, often by increasing their scale many times. These larger than life works suggest a world of fairy tales and childhood games and provoke an interaction between the viewer, the object and the environment.

Therrien’s work has often been associated with Pop art. It has also been related to the legacy of Surrealism in the evocation of the uncanny and extraordinary. However, his ability to reveal surprising perspectives and to convey an array of moods, from the haunting to the playful, defy such definitions and he remains one of the most compelling artists working today.

The display of Robert Therrien’s work featuring the two gifts will be on show at the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art, Edinburgh from 24 July 2010 until early 2011.

For further information and images please contact the National Galleries of Scotland’s press office on 0131 624 6325/6247/6314/6332 or pressinfo@nationalgalleries.org.

ENDS

• Impressionist Gardens

IMPRESSIONIST GARDENS
31 July to 17 October 2010
NATIONAL GALLERY COMPLEX, The Mound, Edinburgh, EH2 2EL
Telephone 0131 6246 6200; recorded information 0131 332 2266
www.nationalgalleries.org

Sponsored by BNY Mellon
Admission £10/£7
Exhibition organised by the National Galleries of Scotland
and Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza, Madrid
Part of the Edinburgh Art Festival

The highlight of the 2010 summer season at the National Gallery Complex will be a ground-breaking exhibition on the subject of paintings of Impressionist Gardens. This major international exhibition of around 100 works is sponsored by BNY Mellon and is the first ever to be devoted to this fascinating subject, with spectacular loans from collections around the world. The famous names of Impressionism will be well represented, with fine examples by Monet, Pissarro, Renoir, Manet and Sisley. In addition, the exhibition will examine the continued significance of the impressionist garden to the generation of artists working immediately after the Impressionists, such as Cézanne and Pierre Bonnard. Lenders to Impressionist Gardens, which has been organised in partnership with the Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza in Madrid, will include the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; the National Gallery of Art, Washington; the Musée d’Orsay, Paris; the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston; the Staatsgalerie, Stuttgart; the Carlsberg Glyptotek, Copenhagen; Tate, London; and the Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Moderna e Contemporanea, Rome. This will be the only UK showing.

Gardens and flowers were a constant theme in impressionist painting and inspired these great artists to produce some of their most beautiful and memorable paintings. Claude Monet is perhaps the best known in this respect, for the garden he created at Giverny in rural Normandy, with its celebrated water lily ponds. All the Impressionists, however, featured gardens in their work, ranging from Sisley’s ordered views of market gardens at Louveciennes to the wild profusion of Renoir’s semi-cultivated garden, which adjoined his studio in Montmartre, as seen in his Woman with Parasol in a Garden (1875-6).

This exhibition will trace the origins of the impressionist garden, beginning with examples by the great school of early 19th-century flower painters at Lyons and looking at such important precursors as Delacroix and Corot, before moving on to the ambitious central section of the show which will feature many outstanding paintings by the Impressionists themselves. A final section will examine the ‘spread’ of the impressionist garden in the late 19th and early 20th century.  European and American artists will feature in this section and will include Vincent van Gogh, Paul Gauguin, Gustav Klimt and John Singer Sargent.

The birth of Impressionism in France coincided with an explosion of enthusiasm for gardening. A massive programme of urban renewal had seen Paris transformed, under the Second Empire, into a city of gardens. Purpose-built nurseries and greenhouses supplied vast quantities of bedding plants to the city’s public parks, which were filled with rare and exotic species of flowers and shrubs, imported from France’s colonial possessions and beyond.

To the Impressionists, who drew their subject matter exclusively from modern life, the public spaces of Paris became a natural focus of their activities (highlights of the exhibition will include two of Monet’s paintings of the Parc Monceau, as well as Pissarro’s The Public Garden at Pontoise, (1874)).  In a conscious attempt to regenerate French art, the Impressionists rejected the historical narratives, mythological scenes and religious themes of academic painting in favour of an art of the senses, concerned with capturing the flux and transience of experience. Working outdoors, they treated gardens as their ‘studio’, a perfect setting to observe figures in the open air, or to register the variations in colour, light and atmosphere produced by the ever-changing weather and passing seasons. For the Impressionists, the garden represented a complex and infinitely varied motif, which had become, for the first time in art history, a subject in its own right – an inspiration for art, rather than merely a useful backdrop or setting.

Hand-in-hand with the proliferation of public gardens, the 19th century saw an enormous growth of interest in gardening among the middle classes, who had left the crowded city centres to live in houses with gardens in the suburbs. By the 1860s, growing and enjoying flowers in a jardin d’agrément (decorative or leisure garden) had become a favourite pastime in France, and horticultural societies, exhibitions and publications abounded.  Given the central importance of gardens their work it is hardly surprising that the Impressionists became enthusiastic adherents of this new cult.

In private gardens, and in particular the gardens which they planted and tended themselves (see Monet’s The Artist’s Garden in Argenteuil (A Corner of the Garden with Dahlias) (1873); and The Garden at Vétheuil (1881)), Impressionists painted with great freedom to experiment with new techniques and approaches.  This was not only true artistically but also horticulturally, with the layout and character of the garden being carefully devised or selected by the artist to suit his particular aesthetic needs. For Monet the distinction between gardening and painting would eventually dissolve, and he went so far as to claim that in establishing the garden at Giverny he had created his ‘most beautiful work of art’.

For an art ‘based on sensations’, as Pissarro termed it, decorative flowers and shrubs, with their infinitely varied colours and scents, had an obvious appeal.  However, a number of the Impressionists – Pissarro, Sisley and Morisot in particular – championed the beauty of the more humble, productive garden, drawing inspiration from small vegetable, market and orchard gardens in the villages and towns around Paris (see Pissarro’s Kitchen Gardens at L’Hermitage, Pontoise (1874) and Sisley’s The Fields of the same year).

These paintings also reveal an undercurrent of association, and even symbolism, which is often overlooked in relation to Impressionism, and which will be examined in Impressionist Gardens. Pissarro’s paintings of peasant gardens were derided by some critics for their lowly subject matter, but significantly they are strongly suggestive of the democratic, Republican and utopian sympathies that often motivated the Impressionists. They also represent, in part, an unsentimental reflection upon the loss of a working relationship with the soil enjoyed by earlier generations, a fundamental shift in lifestyle which perhaps explains the explosion of interest in gardening in general.

The Impressionists deployed other powerfully resonant motifs in their garden imagery. With young children to bring up, artists such as Monet or Morisot had even greater cause to use their gardens as motifs in the 1870s and 80s (see Morisot’s Child amongst the Hollyhocks (1881), and Monet’s The Artist’s House at Argenteuil (1873)). In addition, the theme of the family was highly topical in France in these years, following the turbulent events of the Franco-Prussian War and the Paris Commune. Families, mothers and children, who appear frequently in paintings of impressionist gardens, were strongly identified with an optimistic vision of the future, and were closely associated with gardens themselves, the cultivation of which was seen as a tangible means to ‘turn swords into ploughshares’.

In some instances, meaning or association was triggered by the inclusion of plants or flowers that carried a specific symbolism. The curators of Impressionist Gardens have worked closely with colleagues at the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh on a careful exploration of the paintings in the show, identifying, where possible, the specific plants that are depicted. This invaluable and uniquely revealing research, which has been undertaken by David Mitchell, curator at RBGE, has also helped to demonstrate the high level of horticultural knowledge and expertise developed by some of the Impressionists.

From the early 1880s, Impressionism underwent substantial changes and in turn acted as a springboard for new styles and approaches by artists both in France and beyond. The final section of Impressionist Gardens will consider some of the ways these found expression in – and were given impetus by – garden motifs. Impressionism’s increasing proximity to Symbolism will be illustrated by works such as Bonnard’s The Large Garden (1895-6) and the The Fragrant Air (1894) by the Belgian artist Léon Frédéric; Van Gogh’s response to Impressionism’s expressive and decorative use of colour can be seen in his paintings Garden with Path (1888) and Undergrowth (1889); and the influence of Seurat’s Neo-Impressionism (which emerged at the final Impressionist group exhibition in 1886) can be seen in the styles developed by Henri Martin and Theo Van Rysselberghe in Belgium, and Gustav Klimt in Austria (see Klimt’s stunning Italian Garden Landscape (1913)). This section of the show will also re-unite three paintings included in Monet’s hugely successful Waterscapes exhibition, held in Paris in 1909, in which his now-famous depictions of the water lily ponds at Giverny were first shown.

Impressionist Gardens is being curated by Michael Clarke, Director of the National Gallery of Scotland and organiser of many exhibitions on Impressionism, and Dr Clare Willsdon, Reader in History of Art at the University of Glasgow and a world expert on the subject. In addition to providing a dazzling array of world-class masterpieces, the exhibition will demonstrate how the Impressionists’ passionate interest in gardening gave rise to some of their most memorable and significant paintings, and in doing so will offer a fascinating insight into a very significant chapter in the history of horticulture. It will therefore have a twin appeal, both to those who love great art and to the great army of gardening enthusiasts everywhere. The exhibition will be accompanied by a fully illustrated catalogue, priced £14.95.

Impressionist Gardens is generously sponsored by BNY Mellon. This is the first time that BNY Mellon, which recently sponsored The Real Van Gogh: The Artist and his Letters at the Royal Academy of Arts in London, has supported the National Galleries of Scotland.

‘Edinburgh is one of our businesses’ key centres and it is a special privilege to support this landmark project and the National Galleries of Scotland, whose championing of public access and education is very much in tune with the key principles that inform our own international programme of arts sponsorship,’ said Woody Kerr, Vice-Chairman of Europe at BNY Mellon. 'I have no doubt that this remarkable exhibition will prove a huge success for both the National Galleries and the city of Edinburgh itself.'

Commenting on the sponsorship, John Leighton, Director-General of the National Galleries of Scotland, said, ‘Impressionist Gardens will be the big festival exhibition at the National Galleries of Scotland this year, and a highlight of our summer season. This is the first time that this fascinating subject has been the focus of a major exhibition and we are delighted to have secured some spectacular loans from collections around the world. To organise an exhibition on this scale would have been almost impossible without the generous support we have received from BNY Mellon, and we are extremely grateful to them for helping us to stage this landmark show.’

ENDS

For further information and images, please call the Press Office
on 0131 624 6247/ 325/ 332/ 314

pressinfo@nationalgalleries.org
www.nationalgalleries.org

NOTES TO EDITORS

BNY Mellon is a global financial services company focused on helping clients manage and service their financial assets, operating in 36 countries and serving more than 100 markets. BNY Mellon is a leading provider of financial services for institutions, corporations and high-net-worth individuals, providing superior asset management and wealth management, asset servicing, issuer services, clearing services and treasury services through a worldwide client-focused team. It has $21.8 trillion in assets under custody and administration and $1.0 trillion in assets under management, services $11.6 trillion in outstanding debt and processes global payments averaging $1.5 trillion per day. BNY Mellon is the corporate brand of The Bank of New York Mellon Corporation. Additional information is available at www.bnymellon.com.

Throughout its 225 year history, BNY Mellon has supported non-profit organisations addressing cultural awareness and access, economic vitality, education and urgent human needs.  It is proud to have worked with many of the world’s leading art, cultural and philanthropic institutions, and to have supported them with charitable investments, sponsorships and through the volunteer efforts of our employees.

• Another World: Dalí, Magritte, Miró And The Surrealists

ANOTHER WORLD 
DALÍ, MAGRITTE, MIRÓ AND THE SURREALISTS 
10 July 2010 - 9 January 2011
DEAN GALLERY, 75 Belford Road, Edinburgh, EH4 3DR
Admission £7 (£5 concessions)
Press view - Friday 9 July 2010, 11.30am – 1pm

A comprehensive survey of surrealist art, featuring European and British masterpieces, will be the major summer exhibition at the Dean Gallery in 2010. Another World will offer a fascinating overview of arguably the most important art movement of the twentieth century featuring works by internationally renowned artists such as Salvador Dalí, René Magritte, Pablo Picasso, Alberto Giacometti and Joan Miró, alongside their British counterparts including John Armstrong, Edward Wadsworth, Eileen Agar, and Ithell Colquhoun.  This is the only showing of this major exhibition which will feature loans from public and private collections and will be the centrepiece of the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art’s 50th anniversary celebrations.

Surrealism is the name given to an art movement which began in Paris in the 1920s and soon spread around the globe. Meaning ‘beyond realism’, the term refers to the world of dreams, nightmares, the irrational and the strange. Today Surrealism has become part of our daily visual language, infiltrating every aspect of art, design and advertising. Befitting an art movement which championed the irrational, Another World will be displayed in an unusual and exciting manner. Coloured walls will be densely hung alongside display cases filled with the Gallery’s extensive collection of books and manuscripts. In this dynamic setting visitors will be able to experience the visceral intensity of surrealist art shown as it was originally intended.

The beginnings of Surrealism lie in Dada, a radical artistic and literary movement that was a direct reaction against the horrors of the First World War. Dada artists took an anti-establishment attitude and favoured the irrational and the absurd. This is explored in the opening room of the exhibition including an eye-catching sculpture comprised entirely of wooden coat hangers by Man Ray, alongside Marcel Duchamp’s iconic Fountain on loan from the Tate.

After the First World War, Paris became a melting pot for artists and writers, and between 1919 and 1922, Francis Picabia, Man Ray, Duchamp and Ernst all moved to the city. André Breton emerged as the leader, shifting Dada's focus away from its love of anarchy and nonsense, and towards more intellectual pursuits. By 1922, Breton was using Apollinaire's term ‘surrealist’ and overseeing sessions involving hypnosis, automatic writing, and the exploration of dreams and the unconscious. This portion of the exhibition includes spectacular paintings such as René Magritte’s Threatening Weather (Le Temps menaçant) (1929) and Yves Tanguy’s Never Again (Plus Jamais) (1939) complimented by a wealth of archival material including letters, sketches, publications and photography.

Although Surrealism had become a potent force in many countries by the 1930s, in Britain interest was only just beginning to stir. In the late 1920s and early 1930s, a small band of British artists, including Paul Nash, John Banting, Edward Wadsworth and John Armstrong, were responding to Continental Surrealism. A key figure in British Surrealism was Roland Penrose, whose collection was acquired by the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art in 1995 and which is included in its totality in the exhibition. This display also includes significant work by female British Surrealists such as beautiful large paintings by Ithell Colquhoun Gouffres Amers (1939) and Rivieres Tièdes (1939) and intricate collages and sculpture by Eileen Agar.

The exhibition ends with an examination of the movement as it progressed towards abstraction in the 1940s and 1950s. Works on display include Birth (1941) by Jackson Pollock and Jingling Space (1950) by Alan Davie alongside sculptures such as St Sebastian I (1957) and His Majesty the Wheel (1958 – 1959) by celebrated Scottish artist Eduardo Paolozzi.

The Surrealist collection of the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art (SNGMA) is one of the largest anywhere in the world and rivals those found in New York, Paris, Chicago and London. As well as containing dozens of famous paintings and sculptures, it also includes a substantial number of prints, archival material, periodicals, books, letters and other publications. Another World will explore this collection in its entirety and will include several print portfolios which have never been shown before by artists such as Salvador Dalí, Max Ernst and Yves Tanguy.  The holdings of surrealist art are particularly rich thanks to two major acquisitions: in 1995 the SNGMA purchased part of the collection formed by the English surrealist artist Roland Penrose; and that same year, Gabrielle Keiller bequeathed her magnificent collection to the Gallery.

Simon Groom, Director of Modern and Contemporary Art, said: ‘The 50th anniversary of the Gallery provides us with a wonderful opportunity to celebrate our world-famous collection of surrealist art. The collection contains over sixty paintings, including masterpieces by artists such as Dalí, Miró and Picasso, as well as four of Magritte’s best paintings, collages and prints by Max Ernst, major sculptures by artists including Giacometti and Duchamp, and a vast collection of rare and beautiful, illustrated books. This will be the first time the entire collection will have been shown together, and will occupy the whole of the Dean Gallery. We have also negotiated some outstanding loans, to produce a really comprehensive and stunning exhibition.’

ENDS

For further information and images, please call the Press Office on 0131 624 6247/ 325/ 332/ 314

pressinfo@nationalgalleries.org
www.nationalgalleries.org

NOTES TO EDITORS

Another World catalogue
Published by: National Galleries of Scotland

This handsome catalogue provides a rich survey of the world-class Dada and Surrealism collection at the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art. Over 150 works are illustrated, ranging from celebrated paintings by Dalí, Miró and Magritte, to the extraordinary but little-known works of the British surrealists. With accessible and engaging text by Senior Curator Patrick Elliott, this book will appeal to the Surrealist expert and newcomer alike.

• Richard Wright’s most complex and ambitious painting to date unveiled

Richard Wright’s most complex and ambitious painting to date unveiled

The most complex and ambitious painting to date by 2009 Turner prize-winner, Richard Wright, was unveiled today, 30 June 2010. One of three major artworks commissioned by the Edinburgh Art Festival with support from the Scottish Government’s Edinburgh Festivals Expo Fund, the painting is located in the west stairwell of the Dean Orphan Hospital, now the Dean Gallery, which is part of the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art. The striking black on white design was created in an intensive four-week period.

Thomas Hamilton’s design for the Dean Orphan Hospital, which was completed in the early 1830s, is a curious mix of neo-classical and baroque features. The inward inclination of the windows makes it look as if the towers are falling in on themselves and the exaggerated height of the banisters gives an Alice-in-Wonderland effect to the stairwells. It is almost as if they had been built for giants. Wright’s initial approach to work was to follow a natural instinct towards simplicity, but as the painting developed it was, as he says, 'deflected by the architecture, and the work turned out to be very complicated.'

'This building is strikingly solid as a piece of architecture,' he adds, 'but it also has these extraordinary, beautiful details and little hidden elements, and it has this melancholic history as well, which has crept into my thinking.'

'I have been aware that for me the work is as much for the people who were here before, as for the people who may come here in the future. Although I wouldn’t want to overload that idea by suggesting some kind of narrative, or that the work should be understood in a particular way, those aspects have definitely been occurring to me as I thought about this building over the last month, as I have got to know it more.'

The work is at once a remarkable addition to the space, but also so much part of the fabric of the building on to which it is painted,

'I like the way that work is as ignorable as it is interesting - the idea that the work might have this sort of abandoned quality,' says Wright. 'You may almost glance upon it absent-mindedly - you might not even register that it is there - and that sort of daydream space interests me.'

Describing his approach to making the painting, Wright adds:

'I did a lot of drawings for this work - a lot of thinking about it. I even made a model, which I never normally do, influenced in part by a sense that the work may remain.'

'I tend to work with certain colours, certain materials in quite an austere or restricted way, and this entire work is made out of two small pots of black paint.  That’s something that fascinates me about painting: if you painted this wall solidly with that paint you might only get a very small area, but when you approach that material in a slightly different way, the possibilities are infinite.'

The commission of the painting has been made possible by a grant to the Edinburgh Art Festival from the Scottish Government’s Edinburgh Festivals Expo Fund which was established to recognise the exceptional creative talent that exists in Scotland and provide an international platform upon which it can excel. Fiona Hyslop, Minister for Culture and External Affairs said:

'I am delighted that the Scottish Government’s Expo Fund has allowed Richard Wright, last year’s Turner prize-winner, to create a new artwork for visitors to the Dean Gallery, one of our National Galleries in Scotland.

'Richard’s exciting new work will be a highlight of this year’s Edinburgh Art Festival, appealing to both Scottish and international audiences.'

Joanne S. Brown, Director of Edinburgh Art Festival, added:

'The Edinburgh Art Festival is an important platform for the capital’s galleries and artists at a time when the city is the focus of both national and international attention. We are delighted that the grant from the Government’s Expo Fund has allowed us to support the commissioning of new work from leading Scottish artists and to underline the pre-eminence of the Edinburgh Art Festival as Scotland’s biggest celebration of the visual arts.'

Simon Groom, Director of Modern and Contemporary Art, National Galleries of Scotland said:

'The Stairwell Project represents one of the most ambitious commissions the Gallery has ever undertaken, by an artist we have long wished to work with and represent on a greater scale.

'Richard Wright is an artist of enormous integrity, and major international standing, and we are delighted that the Dean Gallery is now home to his most complex and ambitious work to date. The Gallery is extremely grateful to the artist and his team for their immense labour of love, and to the Expo Fund, the Scottish Government and the Edinburgh Art Festival for enabling us to bring the best contemporary art to a wider public.'

ENDS

For further information, images and interviews contact:
EAF press office: Lesley@newcenturypr.com 0779 941 4474
NGS press office: press@nationalgalleries.org 0131 624 6247/ 325/ 332/

Notes for Editors

• The Scottish Government Edinburgh Festivals Expo Fund exists to recognise the exceptional creative talent that exists in Scotland and provide an international platform upon which it can excel. It is available to all 12 Edinburgh Festivals to support the development of Scottish-based work.  An award of £250,000 was made to the Art Festival in March 2009 for works to be unveiled in 2010.

• Two further EAF Expo commissions will be unveiled this year. Kim Coleman & Jenny Hogarth’s Staged will be produced by Collective Gallery in the City Observatory from 30 July – 15 August 2010 and Martin Creed’s permanent installation in The Scotsman Steps, curated by the Fruitmarket Gallery, will be unveiled later in the year. Meanwhile four Expo funded performances and interventions will take art out of the gallery and into the streets during this year’s EAF.

• The 2010 Edinburgh Art Festival will run from 29 July – 5 September 2010. Full programme available shortly at www.edinburghartfestival.com

• The National Galleries of Scotland 2010 EAF programme includes What you see is where you’re at: Part 3, with ARTIST ROOMS from Robert Therrien and Gilbert & George at Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art; Another World, a comprehensive survey of Dada and Surrealist art at the Dean Gallery; and Impressionist Gardens, a major international exhibition of around 100 works, including loans from collections around the world, and the first ever to be devoted to this subject, at the National Gallery Complex on the Mound.

Supported through the Scottish Government’s Edinburgh Festivals Expo Fund

• National Galleries Of Scotland Public Programme May 2010

NATIONAL GALLERIES OF SCOTLAND
PUBLIC PROGRAMME 2010

Please find below our programme of exhibitions and displays for the coming months.  For further information please contact the Press Office on 0131 624 6325 / 314 / 332 / 247, or pressinfo@nationalgalleries.org

For general enquiries please call 0131 6246 6200

Information may also be found on our website:
www.nationalgalleries.org

For monthly updates on our news, exhibitions and events join our email bulletin on:
http://www.nationalgalleries.org/mailinglist

NOTES: Current as of May 2010

General opening hours:
National Gallery of Scotland Complex
Monday–Sunday  10am–5pm
Except Thursday  10am–7pm

Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art and Dean Gallery
Monday–Sunday 10am–5pm

SPECIAL PROJECTS

PORTRAIT OF THE NATION

The Scottish National Portrait Gallery, home to the collection of Scottish portraits and the National Photography Collection, is now closed while it undergoes a major refurbishment. This outstanding Grade A building, at the heart of the New Town on Queen Street in Edinburgh, was designed by architect Sir Robert Rowand Anderson to be a celebration of the people of Scotland. Portrait of the Nation will restore this ideal, breathing new life in to its galleries whilst creating much needed new facilities. The collection will be presented in a reinvigorated and more engaging way, illustrating the richness of Scotland’s history and culture with a dynamic and extensive exhibition programme with a new emphasis on photography and Scottish art. The regularly changing exhibitions and increased number of works on display will ensure that there will always be something new to see.

To find out more about Portrait of the Nation visit: http://www.nationalgalleries.org/portraitofthenation

SCOTTISH NATIONAL GALLERY OF MODERN ART 50th ANNIVERSARY

The Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art was the first Gallery in Britain dedicated to collecting modern and contemporary art for the nation. Fifty years on from this pioneering beginning, the Gallery still strives to build on its international reputation through its collection and creative programming.

Throughout 2010 the Gallery will undergo a series of re-hangs to celebrate its 50th anniversary. Titled What you see is where you’re at the displays will change to reveal the richness and range of the collection in a series of rooms which aim to delight and surprise.

ANTONY GORMLEY
6 TIMES
From the 22 June 2010

Work has begun in Edinburgh on an extraordinary multi-part sculptural project by the celebrated British artist Antony Gormley.   Commissioned by the National Galleries of Scotland, 6 Times will consist of six life-sized figures positioned between the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art and the sea. Four of the figures will be sited in the Water of Leith itself, acting as gauges for the height of the river as it swells and recedes. The figure closest to the sea, at Leith Docks, is now in place and installation of the further figures will take place throughout June.

This will be the first time that a work in the National Galleries’ collection has been permanently located across the city of Edinburgh itself.  6 Times has been commissioned with the support of The Art Fund, The Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, The Patrons of the National Galleries of Scotland, Claire Enders and The Henry Moore Foundation.

RICHARD WRIGHT
THE STAIRWELL PROJECT
From the 29 July 2010
Admission free

The National Galleries of Scotland will soon be home to a major new commission by 2009 Turner Prize-winner Richard Wright. The Stairwell Project sees the internationally acclaimed, Glasgow-based artist make wall-drawings in the stairwell of the Dean Gallery. Made possible by the Scottish Government's Expo Fund, The Stairwell Project will be Wright's largest artwork to date, and will be completed for 29 July, the opening of the 2010 Edinburgh Art Festival.

ARTIST ROOMS

ARTIST ROOMS is a new collection of modern and contemporary art held by Tate and National Galleries of Scotland for the nation. The collection, which comprises more than 730 works, was assembled by Anthony d’Offay, whose London galleries played a key role in the promotion and understanding of twentieth-century art in the UK over a period of more than 30 years. ARTIST ROOMS was established through The d’Offay Donation in 2008, with the assistance of the National Heritage Memorial Fund, The Art Fund and the Scottish and British Governments. The guiding principle for the creation of this national resource was the concept of individual rooms devoted to particular artists. ARTIST ROOMS is being shared with museums and galleries throughout the UK thanks to the support of independent charity The Art Fund, and within Scotland, the Scottish Government.  This year’s ARTIST ROOMS displays include Diane Arbus, Ian Hamilton-Finlay, Robert Therrien and Gilbert & George.  For full details please see below.

EXHIBITIONS

STRANGE ENCOUNTERS: DAVIES, GORDON, BOYCE, COLQUHOUN
27 February – 13 June 2010
DEAN GALLERY, Belford Road, Edinburgh EH4 3DS
Admission free

For centuries, masks have been used to hide identities or create new ones. This display brings together four works by John Davies, Douglas Gordon, Martin Boyce and Robert Colquhoun. Surreal and surprising, they all use the enigmatic appeal of the mask to tell stories which the beholder has to unveil.

WRITING AND ILLUSTRATING FOR CHILDREN
JAMES MAYHEW AND CATHERINE RAYNER
8 March - 4 June 2010
NATIONAL GALLERY COMPLEX, The Mound, Edinburgh, EH2 2EL
Admission free

The National Galleries of Scotland presents award-winning work by children’s authors and illustrators Catherine Rayner and James Mayhew in an exhibition of their work.  James Mayhew, famous for his Katie and Ella Bella books, and Catherine Rayner, creator of Augustus the Tiger and Harris Finds have also beautifully illustrated two new, exciting trails for children and families to enjoy around the National Gallery Complex.  The trails are free to collect in the Gallery.

ARTIST ROOMS: DIANE ARBUS
ON TOUR WITH THE ART FUND SUPPORTED BY THE SCOTTISH GOVERNMENT
13 March – 13 June 2010
DEAN GALLERY, Belford Road, Edinburgh EH4 3DS
Admission free

ARTIST ROOMS includes one of the most important collections of work by the legendary New York photographer Diane Arbus in the world.  It is the first public collection in the UK to hold Arbus’s work and offers audiences nationwide the opportunity of exploring her powerful and moving images at first-hand. The top floor of the Dean Gallery at the Gallery of Modern Art in Edinburgh will feature some seventy black and white photographs by Arbus, including the rare and important portfolio of ten vintage prints: Box of Ten, 1971.

WHAT YOU SEE IS WHERE YOU’RE AT
Part 2 from the 27 March 2010
SCOTTISH NATIONAL GALLERY OF MODERN ART,
75 Belford Road, Edinburgh, EH4 3DR
Admission free

This spring will see the opening of the second major wave of What you see is where you’re at, a programme of dynamic changing displays that celebrates the 50th anniversary of the founding of the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art.   New rooms will include the first Scottish showing of a key piece by Ian Hamilton Finlay from the ARTIST ROOMS collection, new work by Callum Innes, a showcase for emerging talent from Scotland, and a fresh look at the Scottish Colourists.  These eight new displays form part of the innovative re-hang launched in November 2009, and will join works already on show, including specially commissioned outdoor pieces by Nathan Coley and Martin Creed, a spectacular installation by Douglas Gordon, and works from Henri Matisse to Dan Flavin.

CONFRONTATION: CRANACH AND DIX
16 April – 18 July 2010
NATIONAL GALLERY COMPLEX, The Mound, Edinburgh, EH2 2EL
Admission free

This display is the first ‘Confrontation’, a new series bringing together old masters and modern art from the National Galleries of Scotland. Lucas Cranach, a highly prolific court painter and contemporary of the great Northern Renaissance artist Albrecht Dürer, and Otto Dix, a twentieth-century German artist associated with the ‘Neue Sachlichkeit’ (‘New Objectivity’), make a fitting juxtaposition. Their paintings even depict the same subject, a female nude. Dix was greatly inspired by German old masters and imitated their painting technique. Confronting the two masterpieces presents an exciting opportunity to compare artworks separated by more than 400 years and to discover striking similarities and transformations.

DANCE
24 April – 6 June 2010
NATIONAL GALLERY COMPLEX, The Mound, Edinburgh, EH2 2EL
Admission free

This vibrant exhibition will explore the fascinating theme of Dance through some of the most famous artworks in the national collection.  Dance will bring together fourteen works made in different periods, styles and media, selected from both the National Gallery of Scotland and the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art, as well as the ARTIST ROOMS collection.  This refreshingly different approach allows the visitor to discover the richness of a subject which has inspired artists since ancient times.

IAN HAMILTON FINLAY: COLLABRATORS AND COLLABORATIONS
25 April – 13 June 2010
DEAN GALLERY, Belford Road, Edinburgh EH4 3 DS
Admission free

Since holding its first solo show by Ian Hamilton Finlay in 1972, the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art has amassed a large collection of the artist’s work.  The most recent acquisition is the archive of Pamela Campion, Finlay’s sole collaborator in the making of embroideries.  This complete documentation of every aspect of their collaboration from 1972 to 2000 includes written instructions, sketches and test pieces.  The purchase has been made possible by the generous assistance of a private donor and the Iain Paul Fund.  Related material donated to the Gallery’s archive by Sue Finlay, Alan Swerdlow and Jeremy Greenwood and by the estate of the late David Brown will also be shown.  Such correspondence, photographs, working notes and printed ephemera provide a unique insight into the artist’s working methods and his interaction with various collaborators.

THE GLASGOW BOYS: DRAWING INSPIRATION
29 May – 5 September 2010
NATIONAL GALLERY COMPLEX, The Mound, Edinburgh, EH2 2EL
Admission free

The Glasgow Boys were a loose-knit group of avant-garde artists who were inspired by scenes of rural life made by continental painters at the end of the nineteenth century. Their most innovative and appealing works were made between 1880 and 1895. Drawing Inspiration offers an intimate insight into their working methods and friendships, as well as a look at some of the artists who inspired them. The show features over 30 drawings from the Gallery’s permanent collection and coincides with the landmark Glasgow Boys exhibition which opened on 9 April at the Kelvingrove Art Gallery in Glasgow.

EDINBURGH INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL
BUT WE HAVE THE MUSIC BY SHANTI MASUD
12 June – 18 July 2010
SCOTTISH NATIONAL GALLERY OF MODERN ART, 75 Belford Road, Edinburgh, EH4 3DR
Admission free

French director Shanti Masud’s experimental film But We Have The Music presents a series of portraits of people listening and responding to music. Filmed in black–and-white Super 8, the film features a varied soundtrack including music by Leonard Cohen, Nick Drake and The Beach Boys. The film is organised in conjunction with the Edinburgh International Film Festival.  For more details of this year’s festival (16 – 27 June), visit www.edfilmfest.org.uk

CHRISTEN KØBKE: DANISH MASTER OF LIGHT
4 July – 3 October 2010
NATIONAL GALLERY COMPLEX, The Mound, Edinburgh, EH2 2EL
Admission £7 (£5 concessions)

This is the first exhibition devoted to paintings by Christen Købke (1810–1848) ever to be shown outside Denmark. Købke was a pre-eminent painter in his country and arguably one of the greatest talents of Denmark’s Golden Age. With the exception of one journey to Italy, he spent his entire life in and around the Citadel in Copenhagen, where he found the principal themes of his art.  The exhibition features around 40 of Købke’s most celebrated works, spanning a variety of genres, and includes landscapes, portraits of many of his family and closest friends and charmingly oblique depictions of Danish national monuments.

Giving an overview of Købke’s achievement within its cultural context, the exhibition emphasises his exquisite originality and experimental outlook while focusing on the most innovative aspects of his work – including outdoor sketching, his fascination with painterly immediacy and treatment of light and atmosphere. Købke’s work demonstrates his ability to endow ordinary people and places and simple motifs with a universal significance, creating a world in microcosm for the viewer.

This exhibition is organised with the National Gallery in London, where it will be on show from the 17 March to the 13 June 2010.

ANOTHER WORLD 
DALÍ, MAGRITTE, MIRÓ AND THE SURREALISTS 
10 July 2010 - 9 January 2011
DEAN GALLERY, 75 Belford Road, Edinburgh, EH4 3DS
Admission £7 (£5 concessions)

This comprehensive survey of Surrealist art, which will bring together masterpieces by Salvador Dalí, René Magritte, Pablo Picasso, Alberto Giacometti and Joan Miró, will be the major summer exhibition at the Dean Gallery in 2010.  Another World, which will also form the centrepiece of the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art’s 50th anniversary celebrations, will offer a fascinating overview of arguably the most important art movement of the twentieth century. The exhibition will include major loans from public and private collections and will offer visitors the chance to see the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art’s world-famous collection of Surrealist art in its entirety for the first time.

WHAT YOU SEE IS WHERE YOU’RE AT
Part 3 from 31 July
SCOTTISH NATIONAL GALLERY OF MODERN ART, 75 Belford Road, Edinburgh, EH4 3DR
Admission free

This is the third major wave of displays celebrating the 50th anniversary of the founding of the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art. The fourteen new displays feature masterpieces from the Gallery’s world-famous collection as well as major new works and commissions by international contemporary artists.

Highlights of the third phase of What you see is where you’re at include fifty proposals for actions created by Peter Liversidge which will be shown over fifty days. From the ARTIST ROOMS collection, there are spectacular large-scale sculptures by the American artist Robert Therrien, including a major new work, and multi-part works by Gilbert & George. A hypnotically beautiful film by Irish artist John Gerrard is complemented by the celebrated film by Breda Beban, The Most Beautiful Woman in Gucha. The Gallery will also be showing major new work by Boyle Family and Moyna Flannigan.  Leading Scottish artist, Elizabeth Blackadder, and the Gallery’s former director, Richard Calvocoressi, have made selections from the permanent collection. Other displays include Russian Abstraction, Super-Realism and Scottish Modernism.

The new displays will be installed on a rolling basis from the end of May and will all be open by 31 July, making repeat visits essential.

IMPRESSIONIST GARDENS
31 July - 17 October 2010
NATIONAL GALLERY COMPLEX, The Mound, Edinburgh, EH2 2EL
Admission £10 (£7 concessions)

The highlight of the 2010 summer season at the National Gallery Complex will be a ground-breaking exhibition on the subject of paintings of Impressionist Gardens.  This major international exhibition of around 100 works will include spectacular loans from collections around the world, and will be the first ever to be devoted to this fascinating subject.  The famous names of Impressionism will be well represented, with fine examples by Monet, Pissarro, Renoir, Manet and Sisley.  In addition, the exhibition will examine the continued significance of the Impressionist garden to the generation of artists working immediately after the Impressionists, such as Cézanne, Toulouse-Lautrec and Pierre Bonnard.  Lenders to Impressionist Gardens, which has been organised in partnership with the Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza in Madrid, will include the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; the National Gallery of Art, Washington; the Musée d’Orsay, Paris; the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston; the Staatsgalerie, Stuttgart; the Carlsberg Glyptotek, Copenhagen; Tate, London; and the Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Moderna e Contemporanea, Rome.  This will be the only UK showing.

THE YOUNG VERMEER
10 December 2010 – 13 March 2011
NATIONAL GALLERY COMPLEX, The Mound, Edinburgh, EH2 2EL
Admission free

Three paintings from Johannes Vermeer’s early career will be reunited for the very first time in a display at the National Galleries of Scotland in December 2010. Whilst Johannes Vermeer’s (1632-75) later work concentrates on domestic interiors, his early paintings seem to have focused primarily on traditional subjects derived from the Bible and classical mythology. The Young Vermeer will show three paintings created between 1653 and 1656: The National Galleries of Scotland’s Christ in the House of Martha and Mary (c.1654-55); The Procuress (1656) from Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden; and Diana and her Companions (c.1653-54) from Mauritshuis, the Royal Picture Gallery in The Hague.  This display will present a unique opportunity to compare directly these three works and discover more about the development of this celebrated artist.

-ENDS-

For further information on any of these exhibitions, please contact the Press Office on 0131 624 6325 / 314 / 332 / 247 or pressinfo@nationalgalleries.org
www.nationalgalleries.org

• BNY Mellon sponsorship announcement

BNY MELLON TO SPONSOR SUMMER BLOCKBUSTER
AT NATIONAL GALLERIES OF SCOTLAND

The National Galleries of Scotland is delighted to announce that BNY Mellon is to sponsor Impressionist Gardens, this year’s major summer exhibition at the National Gallery Complex in Edinburgh.  This will be the first time that BNY Mellon, which recently sponsored The Real Van Gogh: The Artist and his Letters at the Royal Academy of Arts in London, has supported the National Galleries of Scotland.

'Edinburgh is one of our businesses’ key centres and it is a special privilege to support this landmark project and the National Galleries of Scotland, whose championing of public access and education is very much in tune with the key principles that inform our own international programme of arts sponsorship,' said Woody Kerr, Vice-Chairman of Europe at BNY Mellon. 'I have no doubt that this remarkable exhibition will prove a huge success for both the National Galleries and the city of Edinburgh itself.'

Commenting on the announcement, John Leighton, Director-General of the National Galleries of Scotland, said, 'Impressionist Gardens will be the big festival exhibition at the National Gallery of Scotland this year, and a highlight of our summer season.  This is the first time that this fascinating subject has been the focus of a major exhibition and we are delighted to have secured some spectacular loans from collections around the world.  To organise an exhibition on this scale would have been almost impossible without the generous support we have received from BNY Mellon, and we are extremely grateful to them for helping us to stage this landmark show.'

Impressionist Gardens, which has been organised in partnership with the Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza in Madrid, will be the first major international exhibition to examine the Impressionists’ fascination with gardens and gardening, a subject that was of central importance in their work.  This groundbreaking exhibition will include around 100 works from collections such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; the National Gallery of Art, Washington; the Musée d’Orsay, Paris; the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston; and the Staatsgalerie, Stuttgart.

Impressionist Gardens is being curated by Michael Clarke, Director of the National Gallery of Scotland and organiser of many exhibitions on Impressionism, and Dr Clare Willsdon, Reader in History of Art at the University of Glasgow and a world expert on the subject.

Throughout its 225 year history, BNY Mellon has supported non-profit organisations addressing cultural awareness and access, economic vitality, education and urgent human needs.  It is proud to have worked with many of the world’s leading art, cultural and philanthropic institutions, and to have supported them with charitable investments, sponsorships and through the volunteer efforts of our employees.

BNY Mellon is the corporate brand of The Bank of New York Mellon Corporation. BNY Mellon is a global financial services company focused on helping clients manage and service their financial assets, operating in 34 countries and serving more than 100 markets. BNY Mellon is a leading provider of financial services for institutions, corporations and high-net-worth individuals, providing superior asset management and wealth management, asset servicing, issuer services, clearing services and treasury services through a worldwide client-focused team. It has $22.4 trillion in assets under custody and administration, $1.1 trillion in assets under management, services $11.8 trillion in outstanding debt and processes global payments averaging $1.5 trillion per day.

ENDS

Notes to editors

IMPRESSIONIST GARDENS
31 July to 17 October 2010
NATIONAL GALLERY COMPLEX, The Mound, Edinburgh, EH2 2EL
Telephone 0131 6246 6200; recorded information 0131 332 2266
www.nationalgalleries.org
Admission £10/£7

Impressionist Gardens will bring together some of the most  famous names of Impressionism, with fine examples by Monet, Pissarro, Renoir, Manet and Sisley.  In addition, the exhibition will examine the continued significance of the Impressionist garden to the generation of artists working immediately after the Impressionists, such as Cézanne and Pierre Bonnard.  This will be the only UK showing.

Gardens and flowers were a constant theme in Impressionist painting and inspired these great artists to produce some of their most beautiful and memorable paintings.  Claude Monet is perhaps the best known in this respect, with his famous paintings of the gardens of his various homes, most notably the splendid garden he created at his house at Giverny in rural Normandy.  All the Impressionists, however, featured gardens in their work, ranging from the ‘working’ or kitchen gardens portrayed by Camille Pissarro, Alfred Sisley and Berthe Morisot, to the splendidly ambitious gardens of Gustave Caillebotte, himself a member of the Impressionist group, and whose magnificent bequest of Impressionist paintings to the French state forms the basis of the world-famous collection of Impressionism now housed in the Musée d’Orsay in Paris.

This exhibition will trace the origins of the Impressionist garden, beginning with examples by the great school of early 19th-century flower painters at Lyons and looking at such important precursors as Delacroix and Corot, before moving on to the ambitious central section of the show which will feature many outstanding paintings by the Impressionists themselves.  A final section will examine the ‘spread’ of the Impressionist garden in the late 19th and early 20th century.  European and American artists will feature in this section and will include Vincent van Gogh, Paul Gauguin, Gustav Klimt and John Singer Sargent.

In addition to providing this dazzling array of world-class masterpieces, the exhibition will also illustrate the history of gardening during the 19th century, demonstrating how attention switched from the great estates and parks to the suburban garden, an environment which the Impressionists very much made their own as they portrayed ‘modern life’.  The exhibition will therefore have a twin appeal, both to those who love great art and to the great army of gardening enthusiasts everywhere.

For further information and images, please call the Press Office
on 0131 624 6247/ 325/ 332/ 314

pressinfo@nationalgalleries.org
www.nationalgalleries.org

• Christen Købke: Danish Master Of Light

PRESS VIEW – FRIDAY 2 JULY 2010, 11.30AM – 1PM 
NATIONAL GALLERY COMPLEX, The Mound, Edinburgh, EH2 2EL

CHRISTEN KØBKE: DANISH MASTER OF LIGHT
4 July - 3 October 2010
NATIONAL GALLERY COMPLEX, The Mound, Edinburgh, EH2 2EL
Telephone 0131 624 6200, www.nationalgalleries.org
Admission £7 (£5 concessions)

Christen Købke: Danish Master of Light is the first monographic exhibition of paintings by Christen Købke (1810–1848) to be shown outside Denmark. Købke is the greatest of the Danish Golden Age painters, yet he is still insufficiently known outside his native country. This exhibition will introduce one of the most remarkable European artists of the nineteenth century to British audiences.

This show comprises 48 of Købke’s most beautiful and distinguished works spanning a variety of genres: landscape, topography, portraiture and his charming depictions of national monuments. They present some of the most innovative aspects of his work – including outdoor sketching, his fascination with painterly immediacy, and his unique treatment of light and atmosphere.

Scenes include those of his home town, Copenhagen (The Northern Drawbridge to the Citadel in Copenhagen, 1837, National Gallery, London); portraits of many of his family and closest friends (Portrait of the Artist’s Mother, Cecilia Margrete Købke, National Gallery of Scotland, Edinburgh); portraits of fellow artists (Portrait of the Landscape Painter Frederik Sødring, 1832, The Hirschsprung Collection, Copenhagen) and of Danish national monuments (Frederiksborg Castle View Near the Møntbro Bridge, 1835, Statens Museum for Kunst, Copenhagen).

Denmark’s ‘Golden Age’ – the term used to describe the amazing diversity of intellectual, scientific and cultural achievements of the first half of the 19th century – was nevertheless a time of social inequality and economic collapse as the nation was declared bankrupt in the wake of the Napoleonic Wars. Yet Denmark recovered with remarkable swiftness and creative endeavour to produce in its art defining images of a peaceful, innocent, ordered society. Painters such as Købke reflected this renewal of national pride, depicting their lives and reflecting their surroundings through their art. Købke’s work demonstrates his ability to endow ordinary people, places and simple motifs with a universal significance, creating a world in microcosm for the viewer (Cigar Seller at the Northern Exit from the Citadel, Musée du Louvre, Paris).

Købke never strayed far from his home city. He left Denmark for only one brief period between 1838 and 1840, reluctantly making the obligatory artists’ pilgrimage to Italy and painting scenes such as Castel dell’Uovo in Naples, (1838, Statens Museum for Kunst, Copenhagen). He found his inspiration more readily in Copenhagen painting his immediate surroundings, almost all of which were within the fortified walls of the Danish capital (View from Citadel Ramparts Towards Langelinie and the Naval Harbour, Statens Museum for Kunst, Copenhagen). The ‘Golden Age’ has become known as ‘the age of Købke’ and his precise and clear-cut manner, sharp focus and pristine light are now synonymous with our image of this era.

Michael Clarke, Director of the National Gallery of Scotland said: 'Købke is a really wonderful artist, but until now he has remained a well-kept secret as far as the British public is concerned. We have had tremendous support from the Danish museums, who are lending very generously to this show. We, and our partners at the London National Gallery, are the only British galleries who already own works by Købke so it is very fitting that we should collaborate on this project.'

Christen Købke: Danish Master of Light is organised with the National Gallery in London (17 March – 13 June 2010). It is curated by Professor David Jackson of the University of Leeds. His research has been generously funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council.

For further information and images please contact the National Galleries of Scotland’s press office on 0131 624 6325/6247/6314/6332 or pressinfo@nationalgalleries.org.

ENDS

Notes to Editors

CATALOGUE
Christen Købke: Danish Master of Light
David Jackson with a contribution by Kasper Monrad
Published by the National Galleries of Scotland in association with The National Gallery, London

• The Glasgow Boys: Drawing Inspiration

PHOTOCALL: 11.30am, Thursday 27th May
NATIONAL GALLERY COMPLEX, The Mound, Edinburgh, EH2 2EL

THE GLASGOW BOYS: DRAWING INSPIRATION
29 May – 5 September 2010
NATIONAL GALLERY COMPLEX, The Mound, Edinburgh, EH2 2EL
Telephone 0131 624 6200
www.nationalgalleries.org
Admission free

This summer the National Gallery of Scotland presents an intimate exhibition which looks at the early careers of a small, loose-knit group of artists associated with new developments in painting in Glasgow at the end of the nineteenth century. The Glasgow Boys: Drawing Inspiration will consist of over 30 watercolours, drawings and sketches, which will provide an insight into the group’s working methods. These are to be shown alongside works by major European artists who inspired them. The Glasgow Boys: Drawing Inspiration has been scheduled to complement and coincide with the landmark exhibition Pioneering Painters: The Glasgow Boys 1880–1900 currently on show at Kelvingrove Art Gallery in Glasgow.

The majority of this group came from Glasgow and the west of Scotland, but some, most notably Arthur Melville (1855 – 1904), were from the east. The artists sought a new, fresher style away from the dark genre and history painting favoured by the Scottish Academicians of that time, whom they dubbed “The Gluepots”. Instead, they chose to paint in a simpler, more naturalistic style, producing an array of vibrant images which captured a vanishing way of life in rural and urban Scotland.

Influences from Europe played a prominent role in shaping the Glasgow Boys’ style. They were fascinated by recent trends and innovations in European landscape painting, especially in the works of the Barbizon School in France and The Hague School in the Netherlands, both renowned for their atmospheric depictions of rural life and landscapes. Drawings by Anton Mauve and Jean-François Millet will reveal how the artists were often inspired by similar subjects. The group all shared a great admiration for James Abbott McNeill Whistler and the show will include two of his most influential early etchings.

Many of the works in this exhibition will be on public display for the first time, including two newly acquired watercolours by Arthur Melville, generously gifted to the National Gallery of Scotland in 2008. Other highlights include two tiny jewel-like watercolour designs for stained glass windows by David Gauld and James Paterson’s beautifully atmospheric watercolour Moniaive. A selection of Guthrie’s sketchbooks and annotated letters and sketches by Guthrie, E. A. Walton and Joseph Crawhall will all offer a personal and often humorous glimpse into the artists’ private lives whilst revealing the close friendships amongst the group.

The National Gallery of Scotland has lent some of its finest Glasgow School paintings and drawings to the Kelvingrove Art Gallery and is delighted to be able to contribute to a series of events taking place across Scotland in 2010 celebrating the Glasgow Boys’ achievements.

ENDS

For further information and images, please call the National Galleries of Scotland Press Office on 0131 624 6247/ 325/ 332/ 314

pressinfo@nationalgalleries.org
www.nationalgalleries.org

• Antony Gormley 6 Times

PRESS VIEW: 10AM 22 JUNE 2010

SCOTTISH NATIONAL GALLERY OF MODERN ART, 75 Belford Road, Edinburgh, EH4 3DR

ANTONY GORMLEY

6 TIMES

From 22 June 2010

Telephone 0131 624 6200

www.nationalgalleries.org

Work has begun in Edinburgh this month on an extraordinary multi-part sculptural project by the celebrated British artist Antony Gormley. Commissioned by the National Galleries of Scotland, 6 Times will consist of six life-sized figures positioned between the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art and the sea. Four of the figures will be sited in the Water of Leith itself, acting as gauges for the height of the river as it swells and recedes. The figure closest to the sea, at Leith Docks, is now in place and installation of the further figures will take place throughout June. This will be the first time that a work in the National Galleries’ collection has been permanently located across the city of Edinburgh itself. 6 Times has been commissioned with the support of The Art Fund, The Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, The Patrons of the National Galleries of Scotland, Claire Enders and The Henry Moore Foundation.

The first figure will be located within the grounds of the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art. Although a full-length cast, it will be buried in the ground up to neck-level. The next figure will appear within a basin of the river immediately behind the gallery, where it will gaze down into the water in a contemplative pose. A further three figures will be sited at separate points downstream in Stockbridge, Powderhall and Bonnington, looking progressively up, right and left. The final figure, now situated at the end of an abandoned pier in Leith Docks, looks out to the point where the river course finally meets the sea. This enigmatic, provocative and stimulating work will convey a sense of mystery and quiet monumentality, and will draw new attention to the important natural environment of the Water of Leith, which runs through the heart of Edinburgh.

Born in London in 1950 Antony Gormley’s work has been exhibited extensively in exhibitions throughout the UK and internationally. Gormley won the Turner Prize in 1994, and in 1997 created the Angel of the North for Gateshead. Over the last 25 years Antony Gormley has revitalised the human image in sculpture through a radical investigation of the body as a place of memory and transformation, using his own body as subject, tool and material.

Antony Gormley says: 'It is wonderful to have the chance to make a work that connects so many different parts of this great city. When you see one you will, perhaps, remember another. The idea is to connect to time, weather and place and play part in the making of a scene, a picture, a reality, incomplete without you: the observer.'

John Leighton, Director-General of the National Galleries of Scotland, said: 'Antony Gormley’s sculptures have captured the imagination of many millions of people across the world and we are delighted to have this major work in Scotland. The National Galleries of Scotland is committed to bringing art out into the wider community and this installation along the Water of Leith is a very physical and prominent declaration of this aim.'

Councillor Deidre Brock, Culture Leader for the City of Edinburgh Council, said: 'It's tremendously exciting that Edinburgh is to play host to these Antony Gormley sculptures. His evocative renditions of the human form have earned him global acclaim, and these new works will create a powerful and visually arresting complement to the natural beauty of the Water of Leith and its walkway.'

Stephen Deuchar, Director, the Art Fund, said: 'This mesmerising work will open the doors of the gallery and extend its reach across the city of Edinburgh. We are so pleased to be helping turn this exceptional idea into a reality, so that generations to come will experience the famous walk along the Water of Leith in a wholly new way.'

6 Times has been made possible with the advice and support of Forth Ports PLC, Scottish Natural Heritage, City of Edinburgh Council, Water of Leith Conservation Trust, Ingleby Gallery, Scottish Environmental Protection Agency, Lothian and Borders Police, Water of Leith Bailiffs and Edinburgh community councils, and a project team including the Antony Gormley studio, Arup, Reiach and Hall, Briggs Marine, Mtec Art Handling and CFA Archaeology, working closely with the staff of the National Galleries of Scotland.

For further information and images please contact the National Galleries of Scotland’s press office on 0131 624 6325/6247/6314/6332 or pressinfo@nationalgalleries.org.

ENDS

Notes to Editors

The Art Fund
The Art Fund is a membership charity that helps museums and galleries buy works of art for all to enjoy through awarding grants, campaigning and fundraising. Recent highlights include the £3.3 million campaign to save the Staffordshire Hoard, a fundraising initiative that was kick-started with a £300,000 Art Fund grant. The Fund is financed by the generosity of its 80,000 members and supporters who have a passion for art and the institutions that house great collections. For more information contact the Press Office on 020 7225 4888 or visit www.artfund.org.

The Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation
The funding for the project included the £100,000 ‘Museum of the Year’ award which the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art won in 2004 for its commission of Landform by Charles Jencks. The award, administered by the Museum Prize Trust, was sponsored by the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation UK at that time. It is currently sponsored by the Art Fund and is known as the Art Fund Prize.

• Dance Press release

DANCE
24 April to 6 June 2010
NATIONAL GALLERY COMPLEX, The Mound, Edinburgh, EH2 2EL
Telephone 0131 624 6200
www.nationalgalleries.org
Admission free

The National Galleries of Scotland is proud to announce the opening of Dance, a vibrant exhibition which explores this fascinating theme through some of the most famous artworks in the national collection.  Dance contrasts fourteen works of art of the very highest quality made in different periods, styles and media selected from both the National Gallery of Scotland and the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art, as well as the ARTIST ROOMS collection jointly owned by the National Galleries of Scotland and Tate. This refreshingly different approach allows the visitor to discover the richness of a subject which has inspired artists since ancient times.

Highlights from this exhibition include two beautiful nineteenth-century studies of classical ballet dancers by Edgar Degas, a dynamic painting of high-kicking ‘Tiller girls’ by Walter Sickert (1938-39), an exuberant late-1950s linocut by Pablo Picasso and a captivating moving sculpture La Jalousie II [Blind Jealousy II], 1961, by the Swiss artist Jean Tinguely.  The depth and breadth of the art work included demonstrates the continued prominence of dancing in society both as a professional and amateur activity. Three recent acquisitions are also included: a charming genre scene by the Scottish artist Alexander Carse (c.1770-1843), The Penny Wedding, 1819; and two arresting photographs by Diane Arbus from the ARTIST ROOMS collection.

Tricia Allerston, Head of Education, says: ‘Dance is a fantastic theme for an exhibition and we are sure that a very broad range of our visitors will enjoy it. We were amazed to discover how many artworks in the National Galleries of Scotland’s collection were inspired by the theme of dance and had a really tough time narrowing them down.’

Dance will be accompanied by a fully illustrated free leaflet giving details of each work in the exhibition and an exciting programme of events and activities has also been organised to complement the exhibition, including live dance performances in the National Gallery of Scotland. Dance is jointly curated by the National Galleries of Scotland and Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums. It has been generously sponsored by Baillie Gifford & Co, Investment Managers. It now goes on display in Edinburgh, having toured to the Laing Art Gallery in Newcastle, and Duff House in Banff.

For further information and images, please call the National Galleries of Scotland Press Office on 0131 624 6247/ 325/ 332/ 314

pressinfo@nationalgalleries.org
www.nationalgalleries.org

ENDS

Notes to Editors

An eTour of this exhibition is also available on our website, visit:
http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/online_etour/

• What you see is where you\'re at, part 2 from 27 March 2010

WHAT YOU SEE IS WHERE YOU’RE AT
SCOTTISH NATIONAL GALLERY OF MODERN ART, 75 Belford Road, Edinburgh, EH4 3DR
Part 2 from the 27 March 2010
Admission Free

The next stage of the re-hang celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art with eight dynamic new displays:

• New displays of Scottish Colourist and of German and Austrian Expressionist work
• First Scottish showing of key Ian Hamilton Finlay work from ARTIST ROOMS collection
• New and recent work by Scottish artist Callum Innes
• First Scottish showing of internationally acclaimed contemporary artist Fiona Tan
• New display Young Scottish Painters highlighting emerging contemporary talent
• Selection of works by former Director of the Gallery, Douglas Hall
• New work by 2009 John Watson Prize winner Jacob Bee

This spring will see the opening of the second major wave of What you see is where you’re at, a programme of dynamic changing displays that celebrates the 50th anniversary of the founding of the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art.   New rooms will include the first Scottish showing of a key piece by Ian Hamilton Finlay from the ARTIST ROOMS collection, new work by Callum Innes, a showcase for emerging talent from Scotland, and a fresh look at the Scottish Colourists.  These eight new displays form part of the innovative re-hang launched in November 2009, and will join works already on show, including outdoor pieces by Nathan Coley and Martin Creed, a spectacular installation by Douglas Gordon, and works from Henri Matisse to Dan Flavin,.  

Central to the second phase of the re-hang is The Intimate Colourist which will explore the small-scale work of the Scottish Colourists including pieces by F. C. B. Cadell, J. D. Fergusson, G. L. Hunter and S. J. Peploe. This selection of over 40 works will situate vibrant first impressions of landscapes, such as Peploe’s Veules-les-Roses next to Cadell’s rapidly composed sketches of soldiers on leave.  The Intimate Colourist will be a revelation to many, and uncover a more personal side to these well loved artists’ works.

A new selection from the SNGMA’s renowned collection of German and Austrian Expressionist art will bring together masterpieces by the German artists Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, Emil Nolde and Ernst Barlach with five superb paintings by the Austrian Expressionist artist, Oskar Kokoschka.  This display will also incorporate Kokoschka’s animated portrait of The 14th Duke of Hamilton with his wife the Duchess of Hamilton which is on loan from the Scottish National Portrait Gallery whilst it is closed for refurbishment.

The largest room of the Gallery will be taken-up with a spectacular installation of Sailing Dinghy (1996) by the late Scottish artist Ian Hamilton Finlay. Sailing Dinghy comprises a real sailing boat complete with rudder and sails, sitting land-locked on the gallery floor. Numbers affixed to the boat refer the viewer to a short poem printed on the gallery wall, which evokes the power and movement of the vessel. This is the first Scottish showing of this important work from the hugely popular ARTIST ROOMS collection.

What you see is where you are at continues to showcase the best in contemporary art.  In the upper galleries a display of paintings by Callum Innes, including new works, will be shown alongside two rooms curated by the artist, which brings together works by Picasso, Joseph Beuys, Ellsworth Kelly, Anna Barriball and Imi Knoebel. The series of rooms present a unique opportunity to enjoy the dynamic dialogue between an artist’s own work and what he values in the work of others.

In the lower galleries a hauntingly beautiful film by the internationally acclaimed artist, Fiona Tan will be shown.  Downside Up, an early work from 2002, is an evocative film in which an ordinary street scene is transformed through the simplest of means into an extraordinarily rich poetic vision.  The artist’s presentation at the Dutch pavilion was one of the highlights of the 2009 Venice Biennale, and this display marks Tan’s first showing in Scotland.

Alongside these established artists will be the first in a series of exhibitions highlighting emerging contemporary talent.  Young Scottish Painters will present a changing programme of six-week solo shows that will introduce the work of some of the most exciting young artists in Scotland.  Beginning this series is the abstract painter Alex Dordoy (b.1985), followed by Sophie Mackfall (b.1984) and Alan Stanners (b.1985).

The second phase of What you see is where you’re at will also explore the Gallery’s history.  Since its foundation in 1960, the Gallery of Modern Art has had only three directors (or Keepers, as they were originally called) and the collection is heavily indebted to the personal vision of these individuals.  The Gallery’s first director from 1960 to 1986, Douglas Hall, has been invited to curate a display of works that he is particularly proud of having acquired for the Gallery’s collection, which include paintings by artists such as Fernand Léger, Chaim Soutine, L.S.Lowry, Joan Eardley, and William Johnstone.

To complement the historical, Jacob Bee, winner of the John Watson Prize 2009 (given annually to a graduate of Edinburgh College of Art) will create a site-specific audio installation, which will explore the location and history of the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art’s building and site. 

Throughout the anniversary year the displays will change on a rotating basis. As well as showcasing new displays from the collection, this dynamic programme will also consist of new commissions from many leading Scottish and international artists. Details will be announced throughout 2010. 

For further information and images please contact the National Galleries of Scotland’s press office on 0131 624 6325/6247/6314/6332 or pressinfo@nationalgalleries.org.

-Ends-

NOTES TO EDITORS

ARTIST ROOMS
Ian Hamilton Finlay’s Sailing Dinghy forms part of the programme of ARTIST ROOMS, the collection of modern and contemporary art held by Tate and National Galleries of Scotland for the nation. ARTIST ROOMS was established through The d’Offay Donation in 2008, with the assistance of the National Heritage Memorial Fund, The Art Fund and the Scottish and British Governments. ARTIST ROOMS is being shared with museums and galleries throughout the UK with thanks to the support of independent charity The Art Fund, and within Scotland, the Scottish Government.

Following the success of 2009, 21 museums and galleries across the UK in 2010 will be showing 25 ARTIST ROOMS exhibitions and displays from the collection created by the curator and collector, Anthony d’Offay, and acquired by the nation in February 2008.  ARTIST ROOMS on Tour with The Art Fund supported by The Scottish Government has been devised to enable this collection held by Tate and the National Galleries of Scotland, to reach and inspire new audiences across the country, particularly young people.  To find out more information about ARTIST ROOMS on Tour please visit www.artfund.org/artistrooms.  To see the full ARTIST ROOMS collection please visit www.tate.org.uk/artistrooms and www.nationalgalleries.org/artistrooms

• Diane Arbus

PRESS VIEW: Thursday 11 March, 11.30 am – 1.00 pm

DIANE ARBUS
ARTIST ROOMS
13 March – 13 June 2010
DEAN GALLERY, Belford Road, Edinburgh, EH4 3DS; 0131 624 6200
www.nationalgalleries.org
Admission free

The striking and profoundly original work of legendary American photographer Diane Arbus will be the subject of a major exhibition at the National Galleries of Scotland in Edinburgh this spring.  Diane Arbus, which is part of the 2010 programme of ARTIST ROOMS exhibitions, will bring together some 70 black-and-white photographs, spanning the artist’s career from the mid-1950s until her untimely death in 1971.  This outstanding selection of Arbus’s images was put together by the donor of the ARTIST ROOMS collection, Anthony d’Offay, in collaboration with the artist’s estate, and is one of the finest collections of her work in existence.  The exhibition will also feature a small number of additional loans from a private collection, including an early self-portrait, taken when Arbus was pregnant with her first child in 1945.

ARTIST ROOMS is the new national collection created by the curator and collector, Anthony d’Offay, and acquired by Tate and NGS in February 2008. Artist Rooms on Tour with The Art Fund supported by The Scottish Government has been devised to enable this collection to reach and inspire new audiences across the country, particularly young people.  Following its successful launch in 2009, 21 museums and galleries across the UK will be showing 25 ARTIST ROOMS in 2010. To find out more information about ARTIST ROOMS on Tour please visit www.artfund.org/artistrooms.  To see the full ARTIST ROOMS collection please visit www.tate.org.uk/artistrooms and www.nationalgalleries.org/artistrooms

Diane Arbus will be the first exhibition in Scotland to be devoted to the photographer’s work in almost 40 years.  Occupying the top floor of the Dean Gallery, it will feature some of her most celebrated images, including Tattooed man at a carnival, Md. 1970, and Young man and his pregnant wife in Washington Square Park, N.Y.C 1965.  It will also include her lesser-known early work in 35 mm, as well as a very rare portfolio of original prints, A box of ten photographs, which Arbus produced shortly before her suicide in 1971.  This includes perhaps her most iconic image, Identical twins, Roselle, N.J. 1967.

Diane Arbus is one of the most significant photographers of the twentieth century, an influential figure whose compellingly honest style of photography paved the way for the work of many contemporary photographers and artists.  Her distinctive approach is marked by the directness of her portraiture, and by her ability to find the familiar in the strange, and discover the unusual in the ordinary.  Arbus undertook ‘to photograph everybody’, including circus and freak-show performers, transvestites, nudists and people with learning disabilities.  The resulting portraits are bold and frank, but they also reflect the level of trust that Arbus worked hard to establish with her subjects, creating a complex, collaborative relationship that underpins the images, and invests them with much of their power. 

Arbus was born in New York in 1923, and began taking photographs in partnership with her husband, Allan Arbus, in the 1940s, working for fashion magazines such as Glamour and Vogue.  It was not until the 1950s that she began to work seriously on her personal interests, after studying with the Austrian photographer Lisette Model, an experience that transformed her work.  During the 1960s, Arbus received two John Simon Guggenheim Fellowship grants, which allowed her to pursue projects such as her study of American Rites, Manners and Customs, and in 1967 she was one of three photographers whose work was the focus of New Documents, a landmark exhibition at The Museum of Modern Art in New York.  A year after her death in 1971, Arbus was the first American photographer to have her work selected for inclusion in the Venice Biennale, the largest and most prestigious showcase for contemporary art in the world. 

In the late 1950s Arbus was experimenting with different techniques and looking for projects that interested her.  She worked in many locations around New York, and followed in the tradition of American street photography, candidly photographing her surroundings with a 35mm camera.  It was at this point that she became drawn to people who worked at, and visited, the amusement parks in Palisades Park and Coney Island, representatives of a subculture or underworld that remained a rich source of fascination for her.  The exhibition will include an early example, Fire eater at a carnival, Palisades Park, N.J. 1956, as well as more iconic images such as Albino sword swallower at a carnival, Md. 1970, taken much later in Arbus’s career. 

The latter was originally commissioned for Esquire, the first magazine to publish Arbus’s work, in 1960.  While she had mixed feelings about her commercial assignments, a period of imaginative magazine publishing in the 1960s created opportunities for Arbus to work on projects that aligned with her own personal interests.  Well-known images such as A family on their lawn one Sunday in Westchester, N.Y.C 1966 and A young Brooklyn family going for a Sunday outing, N.Y.C. 1966 were made for an article on ‘American Families’ published in the UK by The Sunday Times Magazine.

These images are typical of Arbus’s distinctively frontal, square-format portraiture, a style which developed after she began using a 2 ¼ inch, twin-lens Rolleiflex camera in 1962.  Arbus often placed her sitters in the centre of the picture frame,  intensifying the sense of an interaction or collaboration between her and the subjects she sought out.  She photographed many of her subjects in New York’s public parks (Child with a toy hand grenade in Central Park, N.Y.C. 1962; Woman with a locket in Washington Square Park, N.Y.C. 1965), but many of her portraits are of people she met, befriended and then photographed, with striking intimacy, at home, usually in their bedrooms (Naked man being a woman N.Y.C. 1968). 

Arbus was deeply interested in gender and identity, and often photographed transvestites and transsexuals (Two female impersonators backstage, N.Y.C 1961; A young man in curlers at home on West 20th Street, N.Y.C. 1966).  These works also reflect her broader interest in the rituals and customs of self-contained groups or mini-societies, such as ethnic minorities (Puerto Rican women with a beauty mark, N.Y.C. 1965; Jewish couple dancing, N.Y.C. 1963); nudists (Retired man and his wife at home in a nudist camp one morning, N.J. 1963); wealthy socialites (Mrs. T. Charlton Henry in an evening gown, Philadelphia, Pa. 1965; Four people at a gallery opening, N.Y.C. 1968); and the residents of institutions for people with learning disabilities (as seen in a series of untitled images from 1970-71).

Diane Arbus’s singularly humane and compellingly personal approach to her subjects helped to redefine documentary photography, bridging the gap between this most accessible medium and the ‘higher’ arts.  Her work has been described as an uncritical ‘celebration of things as they are’, which explores the extraordinary variety that can be found in the lives, emotions and appearances of ordinary people.  This exhibition will offer an excellent overview of a truly remarkable body of the work.

Following its showing in Edinburgh, Diane Arbus will be at Nottingham Contemporary from 24 July to 26 September 2010, as part of ARTIST ROOMS on Tour with The Art Fund.  The Talbot Rice Gallery, the public art gallery of The University of Edinburgh, will be the venue for another ARTIST ROOMS display which opens this spring.  Work by the American conceptual artist Jenny Holzer will be on show at the Talbot Rice from 27 March until 15 May 2010.

-ENDS-

For further information and images please contact: pressinfo@nationalgalleries.org
Tel: 0131 624 6247 / 6314 / 6332 / 6325

Notes to Editors:

This exhibition forms part of the programme of ARTIST ROOMS, a new collection of modern and contemporary art held by Tate and National Galleries of Scotland for the nation.  The collection, which comprises more than 730 works, was assembled by Anthony d’Offay, whose London galleries played a key role in the promotion and understanding of twentieth-century art in the UK over a period of more than 30 years.  ARTIST ROOMS was established through The d’Offay Donation in 2008, with the assistance of the National Heritage Memorial Fund, The Art Fund and the Scottish and British Governments.  The guiding principle for the creation of this national resource was the concept of individual rooms devoted to particular artists. ARTIST ROOMS is being shared with museums and galleries throughout the UK thanks to the support of independent charity The Art Fund, and within Scotland, the Scottish Government. 

The Art Fund
The Art Fund is the UK’s leading independent art charity. It offers grants to help UK museums and galleries enrich their collections; campaigns on behalf of museums and their visitors; and promotes the enjoyment of art. It is funded from public donations and has 80,000 members.  Since 1903 the charity has helped museums and galleries all over the UK secure 860,000 works of art for their collections.  Recent achievements include: helping secure Titian’s Diana and Actaeon for the National Galleries of Scotland and The National Gallery in February 2009 with a grant of £1 million; helping secure Anthony d’Offay’s collection, ARTIST ROOMS for Tate and National Galleries of Scotland in February 2008 with a grant of £1 million – and providing an additional £500,000 for the collection to be toured throughout the UK in 2009 and 2010; and running the Buy a Brushstroke public appeal which raised over £550,000 to keep Turner’s Blue Rigi watercolour in the UK.  For more information contact the Press Office on 020 7225 4888 or visit www.artfund.org .  The Art Fund is a Registered Charity No. 209174

• NATIONAL GALLERIES ANNOUNCE PARTNERSHIP WITH THE HIGH MUSEUM IN ATLANTA

The National Galleries of Scotland (NGS) is delighted to announce a major new partnership with The High Museum of Art in Atlanta. The NGS will be sending a series of exhibitions over the next four years to Atlanta and to other institutions in the US to raise the profile of the NGS and its collection in North America. The NGS wants to attract attention to the world-class quality of its holdings and to broaden its international base of support. The National Galleries also hope to help raise awareness in the US of the importance of Scotland as a centre for the visual arts.
 
The first exhibition will be “Venetian Masterpieces from the National Galleries of Scotland” and will comprise 13 paintings and 12 drawings from the NGS collection. The exhibition will showcase some of the highlights from the NGS including the newly acquired Diana and Actaeon, Diana and Callisto, Virgin and Child with St. John the Baptist and an Unidentified Male Saint and Venus Rising from the Sea by Titian; Lorenzo Lotto’s Virgin and Child with Saints Jerome, Peter, Francis and an Unidentified Female Saint; and Jacopo Tintoretto’s Christ Carried to the Tomb.
 
The exhibition will travel to the High Museum, Atlanta from 16 October 2010 to 2 January 2011 and then on to Minneapolis Institute of Arts (5 February to 1 May 2011) and the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston (21 May to 14 August 2011).

This is the first exhibition in a series that will unfold over the next four years. Further touring exhibitions highlighting differing aspects of the NGS collections are under development.
 
John Leighton, Director-General of the National Galleries of Scotland said: “While we have shown works from our collections in the past in the US, this is the first time that we have entered into a extended collaboration with an international partner. Through this partnership with the High we will be bringing works from our collections to a huge audience in different parts of North America and this will be a major boost to our international profile. The sustained relationship also provides a platform from which we hope to attract interest and support for our projects and activities back in Scotland.”

Michael E. Shapiro, Nancy and Holcombe T. Green, Jr. Director of the High Museum of Art, said: “For centuries, these paintings have mesmerized the public and influenced generations of artists. In the 65 years that the Titians have been on public display in Edinburgh, people have made pilgrimages to Scotland to see them and other works in the National Galleries’ exquisite Venetian collection. Now, the people of Atlanta and the southeast region, as well as other parts of the U.S., can see these great works from the height of the Venetian Renaissance. With this exhibition, we hope to help raise awareness of how vital it is to keep masterpieces like these accessible to the public. It also continues our program of bringing great works of art from around the world to Atlanta and then to other cities across the U.S.”

Fiona Hyslop MSP, Minister for Culture and External Affairs: “This is the beginning of a significant partnership between NGS and their counterparts in North America.  The tour reflects the important role our national collections play in representing Scotland overseas.  It will undoubtedly increase interest in, not only these national treasures, but our wider cultural history and heritage.”

The High Museum in Atlanta has instigated other partnerships of this kind in recent years, most notably with the Louvre in Paris.
 
For further information and images please contact Patricia Convery on 0131 624 6325 or pressinfo@nationalgalleries.org  or  www.nationalgalleries.org

 
-ENDS-
 
Notes to Editors:

High Museum of Art
The High Museum of Art, founded in 1905 as the Atlanta Art Association, is the leading art museum in the southeastern United States. With more than 12,000 works of art in its permanent collection, the High Museum of Art has an extensive anthology of 19th- and 20th-century American and decorative art; significant holdings of European paintings; a growing collection of African American art; and burgeoning collections of modern and contemporary art, photography and African art. The High is also dedicated to supporting and collecting works by Southern artists and is distinguished as the only major museum in North America to have a curatorial department specifically devoted to the field of folk and self-taught art. The High’s Media Arts department produces acclaimed annual film series and festivals of foreign, independent and classic cinema. In November 2005, the High opened three new buildings by architect Renzo Piano that more than doubled the Museum’s size, creating a vibrant “village for the arts” at the Woodruff Arts Center in midtown Atlanta. For more information about the High, please visit www.High.org.

The Woodruff Arts Center
The Woodruff Arts Center is ranked among the top four arts centers in the nation. The Woodruff is unique in that it combines four visual and performing arts divisions on one campus as one not-for-profit organization.  Opening in 1968, the Woodruff Arts Center is home to the Alliance Theatre, the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, the High Museum of Art and Young Audiences.  To learn more about the Woodruff Arts Center, please visit www.woodruffcenter.org.

 
List of works to be included in Venetian Masterpieces from the National Galleries of Scotland:

Paintings
 
Jacopo Bassano The Adoration of the Kings
Paris Bordon Venetian Women at their Toilet
Paris Bordon Rest on the Return from Egypt
Giovanni Cariani Portrait of a Young Woman as St Agatha
Lorenzo Lotto Virgin and Child with Saints
Jacopo Tintoretto Christ carried to the Tomb
Follower of Jacopo Tintoretto, Portrait of a Gentleman.
Titian Venus Anadyomene
Titian Diana and Actaeon (jointly owned with the National Gallery, London)
Titian Diana and Callisto (Bridgewater Loan)
Titian Virgin and Child with St John the Baptist and an Unidentified Male Saint (Bridgewater Loan)
Paolo Veronese Mars and Venus
Paolo Veronese St Anthony Abbot as Patron of a Kneeling Donor
 
Drawings
Domenico Campagnola Landscape with Juno and Callisto
Battista Franco God the Father
Battista Franco The Baptism of Christ with Sts Bernardino of Siena and Francis
    Palma Giovane St Martin and the Beggar
  Palma Giovane Allegorical Figures of Painting and Sculpture (recto);
Annunciation and other figure studies (verso
Lorenzo Lotto Portrait of a Bearded Man)
Pordenone, The Continence of Scipio
Jacopo Tintoretto, A Man with Outstretched Arms
Titian (attributed to) A Composition of Three Figures
Palma Vecchio Self-portrait
Venetian School, Landscape with Wooded Bluffs and a Watermill
Paolo Veronese Studies for a Baptism of Christ
 
Acquisition of Diana and Actaeon
Diana and Actaeon was acquired for the nation by the NGS and the National Gallery in London in February 2009, following a large scale public and private fundraising campaign. The painting was bought for £50 million from the Duke of Sutherland with generous contributions from private and public donations, Scottish Government, the National Heritage Memorial Fund, The Monument Trust and The Art Fund, along with National Gallery, London and NGS funds.

• Sandford Award

National Galleries of Scotland Receives Sandford Award for Excellence in Heritage Education

The National Galleries of Scotland schools programme has been awarded the prestigious Sandford Award for Heritage Education. The Sandford Award, presented by the Duke of Wessex at a ceremony at Windsor Castle, is the only independent benchmarking of educational excellence in the heritage sector in the UK and recognises quality and excellence in educational services and facilities.

The entrants were assessed by a panel of independent Judges including OFSTED Inspectors, former head teachers, education consultants and heritage-property-based education officers.  The judges praised the National Galleries of Scotland for ‘a commitment to helping children explore the collections themselves and making them feel confident about their ideas about paintings and artists.’

The National Galleries of Scotland schools programme is an established part of the Galleries’ education activity and attracts thousands of pupils and teachers every year. Schools visitors to the National Galleries of Scotland are invited to investigate the Galleries collection, linking what they see to their own experiences. Working alongside artists and art historians in the gallery space pupils and teachers are encouraged to think creatively and independently. Guided visits usually focus on four or five artworks enabling visitors to explore the work fully through investigation, gallery-based activities and lively discussion. Pupils use transferable skills such as looking, describing, discussing, analysing and making; all of which contribute to the overall learning experience. Artworks are used to explore all subject areas creatively, promoting cross-curricular learning and helping children develop the four capacities of the Curriculum for Excellence.

The Sandford Award judge’s said: National Galleries Scotland offer a programme for schools which is accessible, welcoming and places the collections at the heart of all school activities and events. Central to their schools programmes is a commitment to helping children explore the collections themselves and making them feel confident about their ideas about paintings and artists. NGS schools programmes are developed to encourage learning how to look and enjoy what they see: Two comments stand out for me: a pupil saying that she had enjoyed looking at a painting because at first glance it looked dull and like something that you would just walk past, and another from a Cultural Coordinator saying that her group had been ‘ecstatic’ at the end of their visit with lots of ideas to take back to the classroom.

The Sandford Award Scheme currently encompasses 200 historic sites within the historical and cultural environments of the United Kingdom and Ireland and including historic houses, museums, galleries, cathedrals, places of worship, gardens, landscapes and historic artefacts.

For further information and images please contact the National Galleries of Scotland’s press office on 0131 624 6325/6247/6314/6332 or pressinfo@nationalgalleries.org.

-Ends-

• The Printmaker\'s Art

THE PRINTMAKER’S ART
20 February – 23 May 2010
NATIONAL GALLERY COMPLEX, The Mound, Edinburgh, EH2 2EL
Telephone 0131 624 6200
www.nationalgalleries.org
Admission free

A collection of iconic prints, by some of the finest European artists of the past 500 years, will be on show at the National Gallery of Scotland this spring.  The Printmaker’s Art will highlight the enormous skill of artists such as Rembrandt, Piranesi, Hogarth, Manet and Whistler, and will include some of the most beautiful and accomplished prints ever made.

Prints are made by drawing onto a surface such as a woodblock, metal plate or lithographic stone, and then transferring the image, using a variety of means, onto a separate sheet of paper.  Over the centuries, artists have exploited a diverse range of printmaking techniques to create an array of distinctive effects that cannot be achieved in any other medium.  In the process many great artists, such as Blake, Goya and Toulouse-Lautrec, have produced prints that are considered to be among their most brilliant and influential works.

Highlights of The Printmaker’s Art will include an impression dating from 1511 of Dürer’s celebrated woodcut The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, and Rembrandt’s tour-de-force etching, The Three Crosses.

The 30 works on display have been selected not only for their exquisite beauty, but also to trace the development of printmaking techniques over the centuries, and to demonstrate the sophisticated processes that led to their creation.  The Printmaker’s Art also showcases the breadth and variety of the Gallery’s world-class collection of prints.

ENDS
For further information and images, please call the National Galleries of Scotland Press Office on 0131 624 6247/ 325/ 332/ 314

pressinfo@nationalgalleries.org
www.nationalgalleries.org

• Diana and Actaeon Scottish Tour Announcement

DIANA AND ACTAEON CELEBRATES ITS FIRST ANNIVERSARY

SCOTTISH TOUR PLANS ANNOUNCED

On the first anniversary of the nation’s acquisition of Titian’s Diana and Actaeon, the National Galleries of Scotland (NGS) and the National Gallery in London are delighted to announce a tour of the painting to three venues in Scotland in 2010.
 
The painting will be on public display in Aberdeen Art Gallery from 28 May to 27 June, at Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum, Glasgow from 1 July to 1 August and at the McManus Galleries, Dundee from 6 August to 5 September.

Fiona Hyslop, Scottish Minister for Culture, said:

“Increasing access to the nation’s cultural collections is very important to us, so I am pleased to see Diana and Actaeon is to be displayed in Aberdeen, Dundee and Glasgow.  I am sure the tour will not only attract visitors to the host venues; it will stimulate interest in other local museums and galleries.  This can only be a good thing, both in terms of the benefits of cultural participation to individuals and for the contribution such high profile exhibitions make to local economies.”

Margaret Hodge, Minister for Culture and Tourism said:

“I am really pleased that this picture will now be touring the country.  So many individuals and organisations worked together to save it for the nation; it is absolutely right – and thoroughly democratic - that it should now be seen and enjoyed by the widest possible audience.”

John Leighton, Director-General of the NGS said:

“The successful campaign to acquire Titian’s Diana and Actaeon brought one of the great masterpieces of Western art into public ownership. This tour will allow audiences across Scotland to experience the power and magic of this great painting at first hand.”

Dr. Nicholas Penny, Director of the National Gallery, London said:
 “Diana and Actaeon was acquired for the nation and the National Gallery in London hopes as wide an audience as possible will be able to enjoy it.  We are delighted that the painting will first tour Scotland, the home of the painting for so many years.  The National Gallery will announce a further tour to other parts of the United Kingdom when arrangements are finalised.”
Diana and Actaeon was acquired for the nation by the NGS and the National Gallery in London in February 2009, following a large scale public and private fundraising campaign. The painting was bought for £50 million from the Duke of Sutherland with generous contributions from private and public donations, Scottish Government, the National Heritage Memorial Fund, The Monument Trust and The Art Fund, along with National Gallery, London and NGS funds.

Diana and Actaeon has been seen by many thousands of people in London and Edinburgh during the past year. It is currently in London as part of a new display demonstrating Titian’s significant influence on his peers and on later paintings within the National Gallery’s collection, hanging alongside paintings by Cezanne, Rubens, Poussin, Claude, Constable and Titian’s The Death of Actaeon.

There have been numerous projects and events focusing on the picture throughout the past year. Picture in Focus: Diana & Actaeon is a cross-curricular education project for schools run in partnership by the NGS and the National Gallery in London - involving five Scottish high schools and ten UK secondary schools in the pilot stage, before a proposed national roll-out in 2011.

In Scotland Diana and Actaeon also takes prominence within school art tours and is the focus for music recitals, creative writing sessions and the subject for monthly life-drawing classes. In London the painting is the focus of regular Lunchtime and 10 Minute Talks, and will be the subject of Art Through Words (30 January 2010), a project for blind and partially sighted visitors.

NOTES TO EDITORS:

Comments from representatives of the touring venues:

Aberdeen City Council’s Vice Covener for Education, Culture and Sport, Martin Greig said: “I am truly delighted that this magnificent work by Titian is coming to Aberdeen. Diana and Actaeon is a beautiful picture of immense art historical significance. The display in Aberdeen Art Gallery is a fantastic opportunity for this important painting to be appreciated and admired by a wide audience. There is a great appetite for culture in the area and this exhibition will appeal to many.”

Bailie Liz Cameron, Chair of Culture and Sport Glasgow, said: “This summer Kelvingrove will be hosting the most important exhibition of the Glasgow Boys works ever to be staged. The addition of the Titian, thanks to our partnership with the National Galleries of Scotland, will only serve to increase Kelvingrove’s status as Scotland’s leading visitor attraction.”

Cllr Bob Duncan, Convenor for Leisure, Arts and Communities with Dundee City Council said:
“We are delighted to be hosting this prestigious national acquisition within the newly restored McManus: Dundee’s Art Gallery and Museum. It is important that we bring the very best to the city to complement the nationally recognised collections we hold on behalf of the citizens of Dundee and indeed the nation. The National Galleries are to be congratulated on this initiative of bringing this work to the people of Scotland.”

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

Diana and Actaeon by Titian was formerly part of the Bridgewater Collection; a collection of paintings on long term loan to the National Gallery of Scotland from the Duke of Sutherland since 1945.

The Galleries have also been granted the opportunity to buy a second painting - Diana and Callisto - for a similar amount by 2012.

ABOUT THE BRIDGEWATER COLLECTION
The Bridgewater Collection, currently on view at the National Galleries of Scotland, is the most important private collection of Old Master paintings on loan to an institution in the UK and counts among the most important art collections anywhere in the world.  The loan includes masterpieces by artists such as Raphael (3), Titian (4), Rembrandt (1) and Poussin (8). The pictures have been on continuous public view in the National Gallery of Scotland since the collection was placed there in 1945 by the then 5th Earl of Ellesmere, later 6th Duke of Sutherland. It forms the core of the National Gallery of Scotland’s world-famous displays of European art.

ABOUT DIANA AND ACTAEON
Diana and Actaeon is one of six large-scale mythologies inspired by the Roman poet Ovid that Titian painted for King Philip II of Spain. Titian began the picture and its companion Diana and Callisto in 1556, the year of Philip’s coronation. Spurred on by the prestige of royal patronage, he unleashed all his creativity to produce works of unprecedented beauty and inventiveness.

Titian worked for three years to perfect these masterpieces, which were shipped to Spain in 1559. He claimed their lengthy genesis was due to the relentless pains he took to make sumptuous works of art worthy of the King.

The National Heritage Memorial Fund
Using money raised through the National Lottery the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) sustains and transforms a wide range of heritage for present and future generations to take part in, learn from and enjoy. The transformation of Kelvingrove Art Gallery & Museum was enabled with a grant of over £13 million from HLF while the refurbishment of the McManus Galleries is benefiting from a £5 million grant. 

PRESS ENQUIRIES
For the National Galleries of Scotland
Patricia Convery – Head of Press, Tel: 0131 624 6325, Email: pconvery@nationalgalleries.org
For the National Gallery, London
Tracy Jones /Razeetha Ram - Head of Press, Tel: 020 7747 2839/020 7747 2519
General Press Office number: 020 7747 2865
Email: tracy.jones@ng-london.org.uk/ razeetha.ram@ng-london.org.uk (please email both)

4 February 2010

• The Young Vermeer

THE YOUNG VERMEER
8 December 2010 – 13 March 2011
NATIONAL GALLERY COMPLEX, The Mound, Edinburgh, EH2 2EL
Telephone 0131 624 6200
www.nationalgalleries.org

Three paintings from Johannes Vermeer’s early career will be reunited in a rare display at the National Galleries of Scotland in December 2010. The Young Vermeer will present a unique opportunity to compare directly these three works and discover more about the development of this celebrated artist.

Johannes Vermeer (1632-75) is world-renowned for his meticulous paintings of Dutch interiors, which reflect his fascination with optical effects and serenely balanced compositions. He produced few works – of which less than forty survive – during his career in Delft.  The National Gallery of Scotland is one of only 17 galleries worldwide that holds a work by Vermeer in its collection.  Whilst his later work concentrates on domestic interiors, his early paintings seem to have focused primarily on traditional subjects derived from the Bible and classical mythology.

The Young Vermeer will show three paintings created between 1653 and 1656: The National Galleries of Scotland’s Christ in the House of Martha and Mary, (c.1654-55); The Procuress (1656) from Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden; and Diana and her Companions (c.1653-54) from Mauritshuis, the Royal Picture Gallery in The Hague.  While these early works differ greatly from his later paintings in terms of subject-matter, size, and style they already show Vermeer’s interest in the depiction of colour, light, and texture.

For further information and images please contact the National Galleries of Scotland’s press office on 0131 624 6325/6247/6314/6332 or pressinfo@nationalgalleries.org.

-Ends-

Exhibition Tour

12th May – 22 August  2010 Mauritshuis, The Royal Picture Gallery, The Hague
3rd September – 28 November 2010 Staatliche Kunstsammlungen, Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister, Dresden
10th December 2010 – 13th March 2011 National Gallery of Scotland, Edinburgh

• Wild Rovers Press Release

Wild Rovers - Parallel Lives in Crieff

14 January - 28th February 2010 
NATIONAL GALLERY COMPLEX, The Mound, Edinburgh, EH2 2EL
Telephone 0131 624 6200 
www.nationalgalleries.org
A dramatic exhibition of photographs and video from the streets of Crieff will be held in the IT Gallery of the National Gallery of Scotland this winter.  Wild Rovers documents a partnership project organized by the National Galleries of Scotland and Perth & Kinross Council to reflect on the history of the Crieff area and welcome the launch of the Strathearn Community Campus.

Inspired by paintings of the Highland landscape and its cattle by Victorian artist Peter Graham - from the National Gallery of Scotland and Perth Museum and Art Gallery collections - local residents and school students, aided by artist Gavin Lockhart, created flags, surreal digital photographs and a dramatic community ‘stampede' mark the passage of Crieff from its past on an ongoing journey to the future.  Using masks as a device to see Crieff through the eyes of the cattle formerly brought to the market, local participants met the challenge ‘to see things differently' and enact a symbolic ‘re-branding' of their hometown. 
Wild Rovers is part of the National Galleries of Scotland Education Outreach series Parallel Lives, which aims to make key works in the National Galleries of Scotland collection more directly relevant to the diverse communities living in Scotland.  This partnership with Perth & Kinross Council is the first time the National Galleries of Scotland has delivered its successful Parallel Lives outreach initiative outside Edinburgh.  Through its Parallel Lives initiative, the National Galleries of Scotland is committed to working in partnership with local authorities across Scotland, using existing works of art to inspire whole communities.  
ENDS

For further information and images, please call the National Galleries of Scotland Press Office on 0131 624 6247/ 325/ 332/ 314

pressinfo@nationalgalleries.org
www.nationalgalleries.org

NOTES TO EDITORS

The exhibition will tour to the Strathearn Community Campus in March 2010.

• Another World: Dalí, Magritte, Miró And The Surrealists

ANOTHER WORLD 
DALÍ, MAGRITTE, MIRÓ AND THE SURREALISTS 
10 July 2010 - 9 January 2011
DEAN GALLERY, 75 Belford Road, Edinburgh, EH4 3DR
Admission £7 (£5 concessions)
Press view - Friday 9 July 2010, 11.30am – 1pm

A comprehensive survey of Surrealist art, which will bring together masterpieces by Salvador Dalí, René Magritte, Pablo Picasso, Alberto Giacometti and Joan Miró, will be the major summer exhibition at the Dean Gallery in 2010.  Another World, which will be the centrepiece of the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art’s 50th anniversary celebrations, will offer a fascinating overview of arguably the most important art movement of the twentieth century. The exhibition will include major loans from public and private collections and will offer visitors the chance to see the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art’s world-famous collection of Surrealist art in its entirety for the first time.

Surrealism is the name given to an art movement which began in Paris in the 1920s and soon spread around the globe.  Meaning 'beyond realism', the term refers to the world of dreams, nightmares, the irrational and the strange. Today Surrealism has become part of our daily visual language, infiltrating every aspect of art, design and advertising.

The Surrealist collection of the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art (SNGMA) is one of the largest anywhere in the world and rivals those found in New York, Paris, Chicago and London. As well as containing dozens of famous paintings and sculptures, it also includes a substantial number of prints, archival material, periodicals, books, letters and other publications. Another World will explore this collection in its totality and will include several print portfolios which have never been shown before by artists such as Salvador Dalí, Max Ernst and Yves Tanguy.  The holdings of Surrealist art are particularly rich thanks to two major acquisitions: in 1995 the SNGMA purchased part of the collection formed by the English Surrealist artist Roland Penrose; and that same year, Gabrielle Keiller bequeathed her magnificent collection to the Gallery.

Befitting an art movement which championed the irrational, Another World will be displayed in an unusual and exciting manner.  Coloured walls will be densely hung alongside display cases filled with the Gallery’s extensive collection of books and manuscripts. In this dynamic setting visitors will be able to experience the visceral intensity of Surrealist art shown as it was originally intended.  This is the only UK showing of this major exhibition.

Simon Groom, Director of Modern and Contemporary Art, said: 'The 50th anniversary of the Gallery provides us with a wonderful opportunity to celebrate our world-famous collection of Surrealist art. The collection contains over sixty paintings, including masterpieces by artists such as Dalí, Miró and Picasso, as well as four of Magritte’s best paintings, collages and prints by Max Ernst, major sculptures by artists including Giacometti and Duchamp, and a vast collection of rare and beautiful, illustrated books. This will be the first time the entire collection will have been shown together, and will occupy the whole of the Dean Gallery. We have also negotiated some outstanding loans, to produce a really comprehensive and stunning exhibition.'

ENDS

For further information and images, please call the Press Office on 0131 624 6247/ 325/ 332/ 314

pressinfo@nationalgalleries.org
www.nationalgalleries.org

• Leonardo’s Madonna of the Yarnwinder goes on display at the National Gallery of Scotland

INFORMATION STRICTLY UNDER EMBARGO UNTIL THURSDAY 17 DECEMBER AT 11AM

Press Call: Thursday 17 December at 11am at the National Gallery of Scotland, The Mound, Edinburgh

LEONARDO'S MADONNA OF THE YARNWINDER GOES ON DISPLAY AT THE NATIONAL GALLERY OF SCOTLAND

The National Gallery of Scotland is delighted to announce that the painting, The Madonna of the Yarnwinder by Leonardo da Vinci will go on display in the Gallery from today. In 2003 it was stolen from Drumlanrig Castle, the Dumfriesshire home of the Duke of Buccleuch and Queensberry. The painting was recovered in 2007. The Madonna of the Yarnwinder is the only painting by Leonardo da Vinci in Scotland and is on loan to the Gallery from the Duke and the Trustees of the Buccleuch Heritage Trust.

In this pioneering and influential composition, an unusually large Christ Child is shown perched on a rocky outcrop beside his mother. He gazes intently at the cross-shaped form of a wooden yarnwinder, precociously aware of his future Crucifixion.  The Virgin's tender, sorrowful expression and hesitant gesture reinforce the poignancy of the action.

This little panel is probably identical with one described in a letter dated 14 April 1501 from Fra Pietro da Novellara, head of the Carmelite order in Florence, to Isabella d'Este, Marchioness of Mantua and avid patron and collector of art.  The letter clarifies that Leonardo was painting it for Florimond Robertet, a trusted minister and diplomat of the King of France, who had close ties to Italy. Leonardo had a notoriously poor record for bringing his works to completion, and it is unclear whether the painting was ever actually delivered to Robertet.

There has been much debate regarding the extent of Leonardo's direct involvement in the painting, but it seems likely that the overall design, and the execution of the figures and the foreground rocks, are entirely his.  The background landscape, on the other hand, is not characteristic of Leonardo, and was probably added or completed by another artist, possibly quite a bit later. Technical examination has revealed landscape features and figures in the background that are no longer visible on the surface.  That some of these reappear in early copies and variants of the composition supports the idea that the background may have been left unfinished by Leonardo and completed only later.

The painting was the focus of an exhibition, Leonardo da Vinci: The Mystery of the Madonna of the Yarnwinder, organised here at the National Gallery of Scotland in 1992.

For further information please contact the National Galleries of Scotland Press Office on 0131 624 6325/6314/6332 or pressinfo@nationalgalleries.org.

-ENDS-

• National Gallery of Scotland announces Impressionist Gardens, its major summer exhibition for 2010

IMPRESSIONIST GARDENS
31 July to 17 October 2010
NATIONAL GALLERY COMPLEX, The Mound, Edinburgh, EH2 2EL
Telephone 0131 6246 6200; recorded information 0131 332 2266
www.nationalgalleries.org

The highlight of the 2010 summer season at the National Gallery Complex will be a ground-breaking exhibition on the subject of paintings of Impressionist Gardens.  This major international exhibition of around 90 works will include spectacular loans from collections around the world, and will be the first ever to be devoted to this fascinating subject.  The famous names of Impressionism will be well represented, with fine examples by Monet, Pissarro, Renoir, Manet and Sisley.  In addition, the exhibition will examine the continued significance of the Impressionist garden to the generation of artists working immediately after the Impressionists, such as Cézanne and Pierre Bonnard.  Lenders to Impressionist Gardens, which has been organised in partnership with the Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza in Madrid, will include the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; the National Gallery of Art, Washington; the Musée d’Orsay, Paris; the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston; the Staatsgalerie, Stuttgart; the Carlsberg Glyptotek, Copenhagen; Tate, London; and the Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Moderna e Contemporanea, Rome.  This will be the only UK showing.

Gardens and flowers were a constant theme in Impressionist painting and inspired these great artists to produce some of their most beautiful and memorable paintings.  Claude Monet is perhaps the best known in this respect, with his famous paintings of the gardens of his various homes, most notably the splendid garden he created at his house at Giverny in rural Normandy.  All the Impressionists, however, featured gardens in their work, ranging from the ‘working’ or kitchen gardens portrayed by Camille Pissarro, Alfred Sisley and Berthe Morisot, to the splendidly ambitious gardens of Gustave Caillebotte, himself a member of the Impressionist group, and whose magnificent bequest of Impressionist paintings to the French state forms the basis of the world-famous collection of Impressionism now housed in the Musée d’Orsay in Paris.

This exhibition will trace the origins of the Impressionist garden, beginning with examples by the great school of early 19th-century flower painters at Lyons and looking at such important precursors as Delacroix and Corot, before moving on to the ambitious central section of the show which will feature many outstanding paintings by the Impressionists themselves.  A final section will examine the ‘spread’ of the Impressionist garden in the late 19th and early 20th century.  European and American artists will feature in this section and will include Vincent van Gogh, Paul Gauguin, Gustav Klimt and John Singer Sargent.

In addition to providing this dazzling array of world-class masterpieces, the exhibition will also illustrate the history of gardening during the 19th century, demonstrating how attention switched from the great estates and parks to the suburban garden, an environment which the Impressionists very much made their own as they portrayed ‘modern life’.  The exhibition will therefore have a twin appeal, both to those who love great art and to the great army of gardening enthusiasts everywhere.

Impressionist Gardens is being curated by Michael Clarke, Director of the National Gallery of Scotland and organiser of many exhibitions on Impressionism, and Dr Clare Willsdon, Reader in History of Art at the University of Glasgow and a world expert on the subject.

ENDS

For further information and images, please call the Press Office
on 0131 624 6247/ 325/ 332/ 314

pressoffice@nationalgalleries.org
www.nationalgalleries.org

• ARTIST ROOMS 2010 tour announced – 21 exhibitions from Llandudno to Fort William

ARTIST ROOMS 2010 TOUR ANNOUNCED – 21 EXHIBITIONS FROM LLANDUDNO TO FORT WILLIAM

COLLECTION GROWS IN STRENGTH AS NEW GIFTS ARE ADDED

21 British museums and galleries from Llandudno to Fort William will be able to show masterpieces of contemporary art in 2010 thanks to ARTIST ROOMS, Anthony d’Offay’s gift to the nation made in 2008. The ARTIST ROOMS 2010 Tour has been made possible by The Art Fund and supported by the Scottish Government. Held jointly by National Galleries of Scotland and Tate, ARTIST ROOMS is the largest public gift of art to museums in UK history. The collection has now been enhanced by artists and collectors who have made significant donations to the scheme including:

ED RUSCHA The Music from the Balconies 1984 – donated by the artist

IAN HAMILTON FINLAY – IDYLLS END IN THUNDERSTORMS 1986 and A LAST WORD RUDDER 1999 donated by the Estate of the artist.

Pledged works include:

AGNES MARTIN – an important late painting pledged by a private American collector*

ROBERT THERRIEN – a major work has been pledged by the artist*

JANNIS KOUNELLIS – a major work has been pledged by the artist*

ARTIST ROOMS on Tour with The Art Fund supported by The Scottish Government has been devised to enable this collection held by Tate and the National Galleries of Scotland to reach and inspire new audiences across the country, particularly young people.

The ARTIST ROOMS tour in 2009 reached around 8 million people nationally, over 700,000 people outside of London and Edinburgh in towns and cities as far afield as Stromness in Orkney, Cardiff in Wales, Middlesbrough in Teesside and Bexhill in East Sussex. A total of 372 works went on tour. The 2010 ARTIST ROOMS Tour will see works from this outstanding contemporary collection reach a further 16 towns and cities across the UK including Stornoway, Perth, Nottingham, Thurso, Llandudno, Eastbourne and Belfast.

The 2010 ARTIST ROOMS tour venues are:
• Manchester Art Gallery (showing Ron Mueck – 4 February to 11 April 2010)
• Talbot Rice Gallery in Edinburgh (showing Jenny Holzer – 27 March to 21 May 2010)
• Hunterian Museum in Glasgow (showing Joseph Beuys – 1 April to 2 June 2010)
• Perth Museum & Art Gallery (showing Andy Warhol – 17 April to 23 October 2010)
• Kettle’s Yard in Cambridge (showing Agnes Martin – 15 May to 11 July 2010)
• Nottingham Contemporary (showing Diane Arbus – 24 July to 26 September 2010)
• An Lanntair in Stornoway (showing Ian Hamilton Finlay – 30 August to 30 November 2010)
• The Ulster Museum in Belfast (showing Richard Long - September 2010 to February 2011)
• Towner in Eastbourne (showing Robert Mapplethorpe – 25 September to 21 November 2010)
• Highland Touring Circuit: Swanson Gallery Thurso; The Lime Tree, Fort William; Timespan, Helmsdale; Inverness Museum and Art Gallery (showing Ed Ruscha – October 2010 to March 2011)
• BALTIC in Gateshead (showing Anselm Kiefer –1 October 2010 to 16 January 2011)
• Oriel Mostyn in Llandudno (showing Alex Katz – 30 November to 19 February 2011)
• New Walk Museum and Art Gallery, Leicester (showing Gerhard Richter – dates tbc)

ARTIST ROOMS exhibitions in 2010 at National Galleries of Scotland and Tate galleries will include:
• Dean Gallery in Edinburgh, National Galleries of Scotland (showing Diane Arbus – 13 March to 13 June 2010)
• Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art in Edinburgh (showing Ian Hamilton Finlay – April to August 2010, Gilbert & George – August to November 2010 and Robert Therrien – August to November 2010)

• Tate Britain (displays will include Damien Hirst 2010 – Spring 2010 to Autumn 2010)
• Tate Modern in London (displays include Agnes Martin, Jenny Holzer and Andy Warhol – Summer 2010 to Spring 2011).
• Tate Liverpool (details to be confirmed)

In 2010, facilitated by The Highland Council, a circuit of four galleries will enable the work of American artist Ed Ruscha to reach audiences across the Scottish Highlands, building on existing partnerships from Lochaber to Caithness. We aim to use this innovative model of a “tour within the tour” in subsequent ARTIST ROOMS tours.

Education
More than 3,000 young people took part in education projects related to exhibitions within the 2009 tour through the museums’ tailor-made outreach programmes funded by The Art Fund and Scottish Government. Highlights included:
• Warhol-inspired fashion show and music night in Wolverhampton, which has resulted in an ongoing relationship between the young people and museum. University students in the city transformed a disused shop in the Mander Shopping Centre into a Warhol ‘Factory’running daily workshops with artists for the public. Staff at a local department store set up a special window display inspired by the Warhol ARTIST ROOM featuring high street clothes and accessories.
• The production of a special newspaper in Middlesbrough called The Modern Times, which took Gerhard Richter’s work as its starting point, and included articles on fashion, music reviews, and curator interviews, devised and created by 14-21 year olds. The finished publication was distributed to 48,000 households in Middlesbrough and the young people said taking part had had a profound impact on their understanding of art, and that it had influenced their personal career goals.
• Young people from local communities worked with the Tramway in Glasgow, making neon signs in the spirit of Bruce Nauman, whose work from the ARTIST ROOMS collection was exhibited there. The neon signs were then displayed in the surrounding area, including in shop windows.

The Art Fund and Scottish Government are delighted to be funding further outreach projects in 2010. To build on the successes of the projects, a new post – that of Education Co-ordinator – has been created for the 2010 Tour supported by the Scottish Government’s grant.

To find out more information about ARTIST ROOMS on Tour please visit www.artfund.org/artistrooms. To see the full ARTIST ROOMS collection please visit www.tate.org.uk/artistrooms and www.nationalgalleries.org/artistrooms

*NB. Details of works pledged to ARTIST ROOMS will be announced once they have been formally accessioned.

For further information contact

Patricia Convery, Head of Press and Marketing, National Galleries of Scotland
Tel: 0131 624 6325 Email: pconvery@nationalgalleries.org

Ruth Findlay, Senior Press Officer, Tate
Tel: 020 7887 4940 Email: ruth.findlay@tate.org.uk

Quintilla Wikeley, Head of Communications, The Art Fund
Tel: 020 7225 4820 Email: qwikeley@artfund.org

Notes to Editors
The Art Fund
The Art Fund is the UK’s leading independent art charity. It offers grants to help UK museums and galleries enrich their collections; campaigns on behalf of museums and their visitors; and promotes the enjoyment of art. It is funded from public donations and has 80,000 members. Since 1903 the charity has helped museums and galleries all over the UK secure 860,000 works of art for their collections. Recent achievements include: helping secure Titian’s Diana and Actaeon for the National Galleries of Scotland and The National Gallery in February 2009 with a grant of
£1 million; helping secure Anthony d’Offay’s collection, ARTIST ROOMS for Tate and National Galleries of Scotland in February 2008 with a grant of £1 million – and providing an additional £500,000 for the collection to be toured throughout the UK in 2009 and 2010; and running the Buy a Brushstroke public appeal which raised over £550,000 to keep Turner’s Blue Rigi watercolour in the UK. For more information contact the Press Office on 020 7225 4888 or visit www.artfund.org . The Art Fund is a Registered Charity No. 209174

• BP Portrait Award 2009

PRESS VIEW: Thursday 10 December, 11.30 am – 1.00 pm

BP PORTRAIT AWARD 2009
12 December 2009 - 21 February 2010
THE DEAN GALLERY, SCOTTISH NATIONAL GALLERY OF MODERN ART,
Belford Road, Edinburgh
Admission free

A stunning group of fifty-six paintings selected for the BP Portrait Award 2009 will be shown at the Dean Gallery in Edinburgh this winter.  Organised by the National Portrait Gallery in London, this prestigious annual award attracts entrants from around the world, and carries a first prize of £25,000.  Now in its thirtieth year, and twentieth year of sponsorship from BP, the award promotes the best in contemporary portrait painting, by encouraging artists to focus upon and develop the theme of portraiture in their work.  Peter Monkman, a 44-year-old art teacher from Surrey, has won the 2009 award with a haunting portrait of his daughter Anna, titled Changeling 2. 

This hugely popular exhibition, which will be shown at the National Galleries of Scotland for only the third time in its history, will bring together the cream of this year’s submissions.  The judges for 2009, who had the difficult job of choosing from a record field of 1,901 entries, included James Holloway, Director of the Scottish National Portrait Gallery; Sandy Nairne, Director of the National Portrait Gallery, London; and the artist Gillian Wearing.  Among the works on display will be the prize-winners, who were announced in June: Peter Monkman’s Changeling 2; Michael Gaskell’s Tom, which was awarded the second prize of £8,000; Manuel by Annalisa Avancini, which won the third prize of £6,000; and Benfica Blue by Mark Jameson, who received the £5,000 BP Young Artist Award. 

Other highlights will include Dan Llewelyn Hall’s striking portrait of Harry Patch, who, until his death in July, at the age of 111, was the last surviving British soldier to have fought in the trenches during World War I, and Edinburgh artist James Metcalfe’s thoughtful, though topless, portrait of Gregor Fisher, the actor celebrated for his portrayal of Rab C. Nesbitt.

Reflecting the international profile of the competition, the BP Portrait Award 2009 includes the work of artists from Russia, South Africa, Spain, the USA, Israel, Canada, the Czech Republic, South Korea, Belgium, Ireland, Italy and the UK.  Also on show will be a series of exquisite portraits by Emmanouil Bitsakis, winner of the BP Travel Award 2008, who used his £5,000 bursary to visit north-west China where he sketched and painted the Uigur people, a Muslim minority.  (The BP Travel Award 2009 has gone to Isobel Peachey, who will travel to Belgium and Switzerland to depict enthusiasts taking part in historical re-enactments).

Closer to home, the exhibition encompasses a broad range of talent, from young artists fresh from college to established portraitists with an international reputation, from self-taught painters to retired academics.  Artists over the age of 40 have been able to enter the competition since 2007, but it remains a powerful springboard for the careers of exceptional young painters (the renowned Scottish artist Alison Watt won the award in 1987). 

Scottish artists selected for this year’s exhibition include Glasgow-based Jennifer Anderson, with an ethereal portrait of her sister, titled White Linen; Isle of Lewis-born Donald Macdonald, whose touching portrait of his future father-in-law, shows the sitter recovering from open-heart surgery; and Jennifer McRae, a well-established portrait painter, whose work has appeared in the BP Portrait Awards on many occasions since 1995.

Nicola Kalinsky, Deputy Director of the Scottish National Portrait Gallery and co-ordinator of the exhibition said: “It’s tremendously exciting to be welcoming back the BP Portrait Award, but this time in new surroundings - we will be using the beautiful rooms of the Dean Gallery whilst the Portrait Gallery in Queen Street is closed for its refurbishment.  This year’s selection is full of variety, demonstrating a range of painterly techniques, from flawless photo-realism to rich, expressive handling, and depicting a wide range of sitters, from children still unformed and new to the world, to those whose faces embody a lifetime’s experience.”

Tim Smith, External Affairs Director for BP in Scotland said: “We are delighted to bring the prestigious BP Portrait Award 2009 to the Dean Gallery in Edinburgh for its only Scottish showing.  This year’s awards attracted a record number of entrants and the quality and variety of entries shows that portraiture continues to thrive in the UK and internationally.  The exhibition is free to attend and I would encourage you to go along to see the 56 fascinating and diverse portraits selected by the judges.”
[ENDS]

For further information and images, please contact the National Galleries Press Office on 0131 624 6325/ 332/ 314 /247; pressoffice@nationalgalleries.org
www.nationalgalleries.org

 
Notes to editors

• The BP Portrait Award 2009 and Travel Award 2008 opened at the National Portrait Gallery, London, where it was on show from 18 June until 20 September 2009.  The exhibition will tour to Southampton City Art Gallery, from 2 October to 22 November, and the Dean Gallery, Edinburgh, from 12 December 2009 to 21 February 2010.
• The competition was judged from original paintings by this year’s panel: James Holloway, Director, Scottish National Portrait Gallery, Edinburgh; Charlotte Mullins, art historian and critic; Sandy Nairne, Director, National Portrait Gallery, London (Chair); Des Violaris, Director, UK Arts and Culture, BP; and Gillian Wearing, artist.
• This year’s winner, Peter Monkman (b.1964) was shortlisted for the first time this year, having been included in the BP Portrait Award exhibition in 1999, 2001 and 2003.  Currently Director of Art at Charterhouse School, Surrey, Monkman studied visual arts at the University of Lancaster, John Moores University Liverpool and the University of London.  His painting Changeling 2 is part of a series of portraits of his daughter which explore the concept of the changeling, a child substituted for another by a supernatural force.  The winner also receives a commission.
• Second Prize-winner Michael Gaskell (b.1963) lives in Sheffield and won Second Prize in the BP Portrait Award in 2003 and was commended in both 2001 and 1999.  He studied at St Helen's College of Art and Design and Coventry Polytechnic and has been exhibiting his work for over twenty years.  Gaskell’s portrait of his son, Tom, was begun when the sitter was 17, and was inspired by the artist’s admiration for the work of Botticelli and Holbein. 
• Third Prize went to Annalisa Avancini (b.1973) for her painting Manuel.  Avancini, a painter and design teacher from Italy, studied at the Arts High School of Trento and the Marangoni Institute in Milan.  She was attracted to her subject, whom she has painted on three occasions, by the way ‘his story shines through his face.  Despite his young age his life is rich in experience.’
• The recipient of the BP Young Artist Award is chosen from among entrants aged between 18 and 30.  Now in its third year, the £5,000 award has gone to Mark Jameson, who submitted a compelling portrait of his sister, Lyndsey, titled Benfica Blue.  Painted in their parents’ Durham home, the highly accomplished portrait was completed in less than a month.  The 29-year old Jameson graduated from Sunderland University with a degree in Fine Art in 2003.

• The Monument Trust Announcement Press Release

PORTRAIT OF THE NATION PROJECT RECEIVES £2 MILLION GRANT FROM MONUMENT TRUST

The National Galleries of Scotland is delighted to announce a £2 million boost to its Portrait of the Nation project, the ambitious scheme that will transform the Scottish National Portrait Gallery (SNPG) over the next two years.  News of this generous award, which has been made by The Monument Trust, a Sainsbury Family Charitable Trust, comes in the week that building contractors moved into the Gallery, and work began in earnest on the refurbishment.  In the two years since fundraising for Portrait of the Nation began, the campaign has built up a tremendous momentum, with very positive and generous responses from a number of trusts and private individuals.  The Monument Trust grant puts the figure raised to date at more than 80 percent of the £17.6 million total, and builds upon the contributions of other major funders, such as the Scottish Government, which committed £5.1 million in December 2007, and the Heritage Lottery Fund, which confirmed its grant of £4.8 million in March 2009.

Speaking of the award by The Monument Trust, James Holloway, Director of the Scottish National Portrait Gallery, said: “We are extremely grateful to The Monument Trust for its wholehearted endorsement of Portrait of the Nation.  Their generous contribution puts us within reach of our £17.6 million target, and brings us much closer to realising the ambitious plans we have for the Gallery.  We closed our doors back in March, and after months of meticulous planning, and the careful removal of our collection, it has been very exciting this week to see our Building contractors, BAM Construction, move into the gallery, and to witness the beginnings of the transformation they will help us to realise.”

Portrait of the Nation will involve the repair, conservation and creative adaptation of the SNPG, a magnificent Arts and Crafts building which opened in 1889, as the first purpose-built national portrait gallery in the world.  The project will increase by 50 percent the amount of gallery space within the building, as well as creating a range of new visitor facilities.  Portrait of the Nation will also reinvent the way in which the national collection is displayed, illustrating the richness of Scotland’s history and culture with a dynamic programme of exhibitions, and placing a new emphasis on photography and Scottish art.  The building was handed over to BAM Construction on 2 November, and work will continue for the next two years.  The refurbished Gallery is due to re-open in autumn 2011.

John Leighton, Director-General, National Galleries of Scotland (NGS) has added: ‘Portrait of the Nation will be a very significant development for the National Galleries of Scotland.  Following this refurbishment we will at last be able to make effective use of one of the most outstanding buildings in Edinburgh.  More importantly, the project will enable the wonderful collections to be presented in a coherent and understandable way, appealing to a wide range of new national and international audiences.  We are very grateful to The Monument Trust for this generous contribution, which gives us the opportunity to let this much-loved institution reach its full potential.’

The NGS recently launched a unique fundraising initiative in support of Portrait of the Nation, which gives members of the public the chance to associate their name (or that of a loved one) with a very special element in the Portrait Gallery’s decorative scheme.  At the heart of the campaign, known as Gallery of Stars, is William Hole’s beautifully detailed mural mapping the night sky, painted in the late 1890s, which decorates the ceiling of the Gallery’s magnificent entrance hall.  From Friday 2 October, visitors to the National Galleries’ website (www.nationalgalleries.org/stars) have been able to navigate their way amongst the 47 constellations - comprising 2,222 individual stars - contained within Hole’s vision of the firmament, and claim for themselves their own little piece of heaven.

For further information please contact the National Galleries of Scotland press office on 0131 624 6325 or pressinfo@nationalgalleries.org

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Notes to Editors:
Key objectives of Portrait of the Nation:
Portrait of the Nation has three sets of objectives – for our Audiences, Collections and Building - which will deliver a range of specific outcomes.

Audiences
• increase visitor figures by 50% to 300,000 a year
• introduce education facilities including:
a multi-purpose Education Suite, suitable for a variety of groups
a Seminar Room
a new Education and Events Programme
a new Resource and Learning Centre on the 1st floor
• introduce New Media interpretation facilities throughout the building
• create a Visitor Hub with a new shop, café, entrance desk and information point

Collections
• display 50% more works of art
• introduce a new approach to the display and interpretation of the collection, with regularly changing exhibitions based around 5 key areas: Reformation, Empire, Enlightenment, Modernity  and Contemporary.
• create a helpful Introductory Gallery
• create a permanent gallery for the Scottish National Photography Collection
• provide a focus for Scottish art, including a Contemporary Scotland Gallery

Building
• restore original features, re-open parts of the building closed to the public and reinstate the top-lit galleries on the 2nd floor
• create 50% more gallery space
• create new visitor services

External Photocall:  2nd November 2009 at 3.30pm for new installation There Will Be No Miracles Here by Nathan Coley.  Please meet at the front door of the Dean Gallery, 75 Belford Road, Edinburgh, EH4 3DR

WHAT YOU SEE IS WHERE YOU’RE AT
SCOTTISH NATIONAL GALLERY OF MODERN ART, 75 Belford Road, Edinburgh, EH4 3DR
From 28 November 2009
Admission free
Press view: 27 November 2009, 11.30am – 1pm

For the first time in twenty-five years the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art will be re-hung in its entirety to celebrate the 50th anniversary of its founding. Opening during the Homecoming Scotland Finale Celebrations, the display will reveal the richness and range of the collection in a series of rooms which aim to delight and surprise.

Since its opening in Inverleith House in 1960, in Edinburgh’s Royal Botanic Gardens, its move to a larger building on Belford Road in 1984 and the expansion into the Dean Gallery in 1999, the collection has grown to more than 5000 works and is now considered one of the best in Europe.

Thematic displays will bring together iconic works, forgotten pieces and new acquisitions in innovative and often unexpected combinations and contexts: a room focusing on still-life will include work by Chardin, Morandi and Peploe; collage will bring together work by Picasso, Paolozzi, Agar and Burra; two successive rooms will contrast the use of colour internationally around 1910 with the use of colour in Pop and Op art from the 1960s; a further room is devoted to an exploration of white.

Interspersed among these thematic displays, other spaces will focus on a single artist, or work. The centrepiece of the re-hang will consist of an extraordinary, large-scale installation by Martin Boyce, who represented Scotland at this year’s Venice Biennale.  This specially commissioned work is a recent acquisition to the collection and is being shown for the first time.  Supported by Homecoming Scotland, and entitled Electric Trees and Telephone Booth Conversations, the installation makes full use of the height and dramatic scale of the largest room in the Gallery.

Other rooms devoted to solo artists include a spectacular installation of works by Douglas Gordon, whilst the artist Callum Innes has been given total freedom to curate a two-room display with works from the collection and selected loans. American artist David Schutter, alumni of the Randolph Cliff artist-in-residence programme which is supported by Edinburgh Collage of Art and the National Galleries of Scotland, will be marking his first showing in the UK with a room of new works.  There will also be new work by the young German artist Kitty Kraus, who is shortly to show at the Guggenheim, New York.  The re-hang will also include displays from ARTIST ROOMS, a new collection of modern and contemporary art held by Tate and National Galleries of Scotland for the nation.  Outside, a major work by Nathan Coley, There Will Be No Miracles Here, will be installed in the grounds of the Dean Gallery, the installation of this work has been supported by the Patrons of the National Galleries of Scotland.  Whilst a new work by Martin Creed, EVERYTHING IS GOING TO BE ALRIGHT, will illuminate the facade of the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art.

Culture Minister Michael Russell said:  “This collection belongs to the people of Scotland, so I am thrilled that the Gallery is being re-invigorated in time for this year’s St Andrew’s Day celebrations.

“The unveiling of this major new installation by Martin Boyce is a fitting contribution to the Homecoming Scotland Finale Celebrations.  Having just completed a very successful run representing Scotland at the world-renowned Venice Biennale of Art, there is no doubt that Martin’s work is of the highest quality.  At the forefront of contemporary visual art, he continues the long history of Scots making important contributions to the world – exactly what the Homecoming celebrations are all about”

Simon Groom, Director of Modern and Contemporary Art, said: “The 50th anniversary of the Gallery provides us with a wonderful opportunity to celebrate one of the great European collections of modern and contemporary art, and to demonstrate our commitment to collecting and showing the very best national and international art here in Scotland.  We are extremely grateful to Homecoming Scotland for their support in helping us bring such world-class art to a wider audience. “

Throughout our anniversary year the displays will change on a rotating basis. As well as showcasing new displays from the collection, this dynamic programme will also consist of new commissions from many leading Scottish and international artists. Details of which will be announced throughout the year.

For further information and images please contact the National Galleries of Scotland’s press office on 0131 624 6325/6247/6314/6332 or pressinfo@nationalgalleries.org.

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NOTE TO EDITORS

Drawings made in relation to the paintings by David Schutter will be on show at sleeper [note lower case s], 6 Darnaway Street, Edinburgh, EH3 6BG, www.sleeper1.com,
0131 225 8444, 30 November – 18 December 2009, admission free

For further information on Martin Boyce’s exhibition at the Venice Biennale 09, please visit the Scotland and Venice website at www.scotlandandvenice.com

Martin Boyce’s ‘What You See Is Where You’re At’ is part of the Homecoming Scotland Finale Celebrations: Scotland’s Biggest Ever St Andrew’s Do. Running from 26th - 30th November, with more than 40 events and opportunities to visit some of Scotland’s major attractions for free across Scotland, a full programme of activity is available at www.homecomingscotland2009.com

The Homecoming Scotland Finale Celebrations herald the start of the winter festival season in Scotland, inviting visitors to extend their stay beyond the St Andrew’s weekend to sample the sights and sounds in a range of towns and cities.

Homecoming Scotland is funded by the Scottish Government and is managed by EventScotland the national events agency in partnership with VisitScotland, the country’s national tourism agency. Homecoming is part financed by the European Union through the European Regional Development Fund.

FURTHER INFO:
Homecoming Scotland - Gayle Wilson, PR Manager, 0131 472 2067/ Gayle.Wilson@eventscotland.org

• Sir Peter Lely: Artist and Collector

SIR PETER LELY: ARTIST AND COLLECTOR
13 November 2009 – 14 February 2010
NATIONAL GALLERY COMPLEX, The Mound, Edinburgh, EH2 2EL
Telephone 0131 624 6200
Admission free

This winter the National Gallery of Scotland celebrates one of the most fashionable portraitists in 17th-century Britain, Sir Peter Lely (1618-80), in a display of 28 works on paper.  Lely was one of the greatest artists working during one of the most turbulent periods of British history, the English Civil War.  As Principal Painter to Charles II, he was the most celebrated artist at the glamorous Restoration court and was also famous for being one of the first great collectors of art in Britain, amassing an important collection judged by the artist himself as ‘the best in Europe’.  This exhibition of rarely seen art works will explore his life and career considering him as both artist and collector.

Lely was a painter of Dutch origin but spent most of his working life in England. He began his career producing history and landscape paintings but he became renowned as a portrait painter and was appointed Principal Painter to Charles II in 1660.  In this privileged position he produced magnificent portraits of the Restoration courtiers including controversial subjects such as Charles II’s infamous mistress Nell Gwyn and his favourite illegitimate son, the Duke of Monmouth.

Lely was one of the first artists in Britain to have his work copied in mezzotint, a printmaking technique used to reproduce paintings using half tones to achieve a particular richness in quality.  Lely saw the potential in this method as a means to publicise his own work, and embraced the technique whilst actively encouraging a number of Dutch printmakers to come to England and practice it.  Due to his interest and love of collecting, at his death in 1680 he left behind a large collection of art works including 10, 000 prints and drawings and nearly 600 paintings .

This exhibition includes drawings, engraved prints and mezzotints by and attributed to Lely, by Italian and Flemish Old Masters and by a variety of established print makers.

Sir Peter Lely: Artist and Collector comprises works on paper from both the Scottish National Gallery and Portrait Gallery.  This exhibition demonstrates not only the influence of one of Britain’s greatest 17th-century artists, but also highlights the wealth and importance of the National Galleries of Scotland’s collection of works on paper.

For further information and images, please call the National Galleries of Scotland Press Office on 0131 624 6247/ 325/ 332/ 314

pressinfo@nationalgalleries.org

• \'Painter\' and The Studio

'Painter' and The Studio
Paul McCarthy and the Myth of the Artist
The Dean Gallery, 75 Belford Road, Edinburgh, EH4 3DR
17 October 2009 - 14 February 2010
www.nationalgalleries.org
Admission Free

This winter, a display at the Dean Gallery will examine how art institutions present the figure of the artist. ‘Painter’ and The Studio will contrast the Gallery’s own re-creation of a studio of sculptor Eduardo Paolozzi with the video work Painter (1995), a deliberately provocative artwork by American artist Paul McCarthy (b.1945).

Painter shows the grotesque figure of the artist at work, taking a comic and savage look at myths of artistic creativity and the art-world: a self-obsessed painter waiting for inspiration in his studio, labouring on the canvas, holding narcissistic meetings with an art dealer, and self-important curators. 

Images of artists in their studio have a long tradition in art history, spanning the  Renaissance to Romanticism and beyond. In picturing themselves at work, artists often created flattering and dramatic portraits, intended to reflect a particular self-image.  Since the 1960s, these self-images have been increasingly questioned. While art criticism exposed clichés and stock phrases, artists themselves attacked and criticised old-fashioned artistic stereotypes. Paul McCarthy is one of the most influential of these artists. With a traditional background in painting, McCarthy made his name with performance art, mocking traditional artistic ideas.

McCarthy’s piece is shown next to the Dean Gallery’s own ‘Paolozzi Studio’. This display is an educational stage-set, exhibiting the generous donation of Scottish artist Eduardo Paolozzi (1924-2005), and is one of our most popular and successful displays. By contrasting the ‘Studio’ presentation with McCarthy’s critique, ‘Painter’ and The Studio casts a second glance at how art galleries present the making of art.

Paul McCarthy (b. 1945, USA) lives and works in California. Recent solo exhibitions include Whitney Museum of American Art, New York (2008); Moderna Museet, Stockholm (2006); Haus der Kunst, Munich (2005); Whitechapel Gallery, London (2005); Tate Liverpool (2003). Recent Group Exhibitions include MoMA Museum of Modern Art, New York; Hamburger Bahnhof Museum für Gegenwart, Berlin; Barbican Art Gallery, London; J.Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles.

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• Scottish National Portrait Gallery Invites Supporters to Join its Gallery of Stars

SCOTTISH NATIONAL PORTRAIT GALLERY INVITES
SUPPORTERS TO JOIN ITS GALLERY OF STARS

The National Galleries of Scotland will this week launch a unique fundraising initiative, in support of Portrait of the Nation, the ambitious project to refurbish and redefine the Scottish National Portrait Gallery.  Gallery of Stars will give the public the chance to associate their name (or that of a loved one) with a very special element in this remarkable building’s decorative scheme.  At the heart of the initiative is William Hole’s beautifully detailed mural mapping the night sky, painted in the late 1890s, which decorates the ceiling of the Gallery’s magnificent entrance hall.  From Friday 2 October, visitors to the National Galleries’ website (www.nationalgalleries.org/stars) will be able to navigate their way amongst the 47 constellations, comprising 2,222 individual stars, contained within Hole’s vision of the firmament, and claim for themselves their own little piece of heaven.

In the months since the Portrait Gallery closed its doors, in preparation for a £17.6 million refurbishment that will transform both the building and the way its world-famous collection is displayed, William Hole’s ceiling has been painstakingly photographed and mapped.  A special graphic has been prepared for the website, which renders Hole’s scheme in detail, and makes it possible to zoom in on constellations, and to isolate specific stars, each of which has been given a unique number.

Supporters of Gallery of Stars will be able to use this facility to reserve stars with a particular, personal significance, perhaps relating to their birth-sign, or to a constellation named for a favourite mythological hero or creature.  Hole, a keen amateur astronomer, designed the ceiling to represent a zenith map of the stars of the northern hemisphere, projected to correspond with the space available.  The stars are picked out in gold against the dark night sky, whilst mythical representations of the various constellations are painted a paler blue, helping to identify the twelve signs of the zodiac and familiar figures such as Orion, the Great Bear and Pegasus.  The ceiling is populated with many figures from Greek myth, including Andromenda, her parents Cassiopeia and Cepheus, and her husband, Perseus.  It also features the water-serpent Hydra, his brother Draco, and the stern and sails of Jason’s famous ship, the Argo.  Among the menagerie of animal constellations are a hare, dolphin, four dogs, an eagle, fox, swan and horse’s head.  More exotic beasts include Camelopardus (the Giraffe) and a unicorn.

Across the ceiling, the stars vary in magnitude just as they do in reality, and will be divided into categories of small, medium and large, corresponding to donations of £250, £500 and £750 respectively. In recognition of their generosity, supporters of Gallery of Stars will receive a limited-edition certificate that illustrates the position of their chosen star.  In addition, their name and star will be recorded in the Gallery when it re-opens in 2011, as well as on the NGS website. Donors will be able to select stars for themselves, or purchase them as gifts, perhaps to celebrate the birth of a child, a birthday, wedding, or to commemorate the life of a loved one.

Donations may be spread across a period of three years, bringing the cost of buying a star to as little as £6.95 per month.  In addition to the website (www.nationalgalleries.org/stars), supporters can reserve a star, request a donation form, or simply get more information about Gallery of Stars and Portrait of the Nation by calling 0131 624 6459.

For press information please contact the NGS Press Office on 0131 624 6325 / 6247 / 6314 / 6332 or pressinfo@nationalgalleries.org

ENDS

Notes to Editors:

Portrait of the Nation is the £17.6 million project to renovate and rejuvenate the Scottish National Portrait Gallery, in Edinburgh.  It will involve the repair, conservation and creative adaptation of this magnificent Arts and Crafts building, which opened in 1889 as the first purpose-built national portrait gallery in the world.

Starting from an urgent need to restore the building, the project aims to forge an innovative and exciting new gallery.  Portrait of the Nation will double the amount of gallery space within the building, and will reinvent the way in which the national collection is displayed.  The project will also create a range of enhanced visitor facilities, including an education suite, a resource and learning centre, enhanced dining and retail areas.  All of this will be underpinned by an innovative and far-reaching events programme.

The Gallery collection will be presented in a reinvigorated and more engaging way, illustrating the richness of Scotland’s history and culture with a dynamic and extensive exhibition programme with a new emphasis on photography and Scottish art.  The regularly changing exhibitions and increased number of works on display will ensure that there will always be something new to see.

Major funders of Portrait of the Nation include the Scottish Government, which announced a contribution of £5.1 million in December 2007, and the Heritage Lottery Fund, which confirmed its grant of £4.5 million in March 2009.

Portrait of the Nation will re-open to the public in autumn 2011.

• The finest Scottish art and food come together at the National Gallery

THE FINEST SCOTTISH ART AND FOOD COME TOGETHER AT THE NATIONAL GALLERY

NEW RESTAURANT WILL OPEN FOR BREAKFAST AND SATURDAY DINNER

THE SCOTTISH CAFÉ AND RESTAURANT AT THE NATIONAL GALLERY
The National Gallery Complex, The Mound, Edinburgh, EH2
www.nationalgalleries.org

The National Galleries of Scotland is delighted to announce a new collaboration with Victor and Carina Contini, the hugely successful partnership that brought the restaurant Centotre to Edinburgh. The Scottish Café and Restaurant at the National Gallery will celebrate the very best ingredients from Scottish producers and growers, offering delicious, yet affordable food in a wonderful setting. The restaurant, which, for the first time, will serve breakfast every day from 9.00 am, will open on 19 October 2009, in the National Gallery Complex, on The Mound. The restaurant will also now open for dinner on Saturday evenings.

Following the same principles of fresh, simple, good value food on offer at Centotre, the concept for The Scottish Café and Restaurant will focus on local produce and Scottish cuisine. 

Michael Clarke, Director of the National Gallery of Scotland said: “We are delighted to be working in partnership with such a high-profile and successful company as Centotre. At the National Gallery of Scotland we feel it is particularly appropriate that the cuisine will have a distinctly contemporary and Scottish flavour – to be enjoyed by our visitors from home and abroad! “
 
Carina Contini said: “We are thrilled to have won the contract with the National Gallery of Scotland and are looking forward to showcasing the best of Scottish producers and suppliers in The Scottish Café and Restaurant.”

The restaurant interior will have a new look, devised by Annie and Lachie Stewart of ANTA, a family-run Scottish design and architecture firm.  Individually commissioned, hand-woven fabrics, Scottish oak and Caithness slate will feature in their planned redesign.  A number of original oil paintings by the celebrated Scottish artist Sir William Gillies will also be on show.

The Café will serve great coffee and traditional Aberdeen Butteries, made to its own special recipe. Lunch will include hearty homemade soup, old-fashioned tasty open sandwiches, beautiful salads and lots of irresistible homemade cakes. Traditional Afternoon Tea and the classic Scottish favourite, High Tea, will be served from 3pm to 6pm every day. The Restaurant will be open from Monday to Sunday, from 9.00 am until 5 pm, with dinner being served on Saturday evenings.

For more information please contact the NGS Press Office on 0131 624 6325/ 6247/ 6332/ 6314 or pressinfo@nationalgalleries.org.

-ENDS-

• Paul Sandby: Picturing Britain

Press View: 11.30-1pm Thursday 5th November 2009
National Gallery Complex, The Mound, Edinburgh, EH2 2EL

PAUL SANDBY (1731–1809): PICTURING BRITAIN
A Bicentenary Exhibition
7 November 2009 – 7 February 2009
National Gallery Complex, The Mound, Edinburgh, EH2 2EL
Admission Free

This winter the National Gallery of Scotland will present a major exhibition celebrating the bicentenary of the artist Paul Sandby (1731-1809). A pioneer landscape painter and brilliant innovator with watercolour, Sandby played a key role in promoting the appreciation of spectacular scenery across Britain and inspired many later travellers and artists. Although the significance of his work has long been acknowledged, this is the first exhibition to include and analyse the full range of Sandby’s achievement.

Paul Sandby was born in Nottingham in 1731. He visited Scotland early in his career as a part of the Military Survey, which through map making, formed part of the campaign to control the country after the 1745 Jacobite Rebellion. During his time as the Survey’s chief draughtsman he was based in Edinburgh and produced numerous ground-breaking landscape and genre studies.  These works became well known through prints, and stand at the beginning of the rich tradition of depicting the drama and beauty of Scottish landscape – which was later developed by artists such as Runciman, Nasmyth, More and Turner. Sandby also came to know the work of important Enlightenment figures, such as the poet Allan Ramsay and the architect Robert Adam. Key works by Sandby exploring Scottish subjects in the exhibition include Roslin Castle (Yale Center for British Art), Horse Fair on Bruntsfield Links, Edinburgh (National Gallery of Scotland), and part of the ‘Great Map’ of Scotland of c.1753 (British Library).

Following his time in Scotland, Sandby settled in London where he worked as a teacher, landscape painter and printmaker, forging a considerable reputation. Thomas Gainsborough considered him ‘the only Man of Genius… [for] real Views from Nature’. From the 1760s he made many highly finished watercolours and gouaches at Windsor, which are in a number of cases the outstanding works of his career. They include Sandby’s dramatic View of Windsor on a Rejoicing Night of 1768 (Royal Collection), which was painted in the year the artist became a founder member of the Royal Academy.

Sandby has often been considered the ‘father’ of watercolour painting in Britain; he refined the use of the medium and employed it to explore a broader range of subject matter than any previous artist in the country. He delighted in the study of rural and urban views, street scenes, royal parks and ancient castles, and always retained an interest in fascinating anecdotal details – which embrace the fashions, occupations and entertainments of the people he encountered.  Picturing Britain features over one hundred loans, including oil paintings, watercolours, gouaches, prints and sketchbooks, coming from all the major collections which house his work: The Royal Collection, The British Museum, The British Library, The Victoria and Albert Museum and The Yale Center for British Art. It also includes some outstanding works from private collections, which have never previously been published.

This exhibition was organised by Nottingham City Museums and Galleries in association with the National Galleries of Scotland, Edinburgh. Its catalogue has been published by the Royal Academy of Arts, and in 2010 the Mellon Centre in London will host a complementary academic conference. The research for the exhibition and accompanying catalogue have been generously funded by The Paul Mellon Centre for British Art.

For further information and images please contact the National Galleries of Scotland’s press office on 0131 624 6325/6247/6314/6332 or pressinfo@nationalgalleries.org.

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CATALOGUE

Paul Sandby, Picturing Britain
Edited by John Bonehill and Stephen Daniels
Published by the Royal Academy of Arts
£19.95

EDUCATION PROGRAMME

The Education Programme which complements the exhibition will include lectures for adults and events and workshops devised for children and community groups.

EXHIBITION TOUR

Nottingham Castle Museum and Art Gallery:
25 July 2009 - 18 October 2009

National Gallery of Scotland, Edinburgh:
7 November 2009 - 7 February 2010

The Royal Academy of Arts, London:
13 March 2010 – 13 June 2010

• A Model of Order: Concrete Poetry

A MODEL OF ORDER: CONCRETE POETRY
3 October 2009 – 3 January 2010
DEAN GALLERY, Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art
73 Belford Road, Edinburgh, EH4 3DS
Telephone 0131 624 6200
www.nationalgalleries.org
Admission free

The Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art and the Scottish Poetry Library will join forces this autumn in celebrating Concrete Poetry, an art form that crosses easily between the literary and the visual.  A Model of Order will take in a number of exhibitions and displays, in venues across Edinburgh, as well as a programme of special events.  These will explore Concrete Poetry as an international movement, together with other, related forms of literary and artistic experimentation.  Highlights of the display at the Dean Gallery will include original publications containing the work of major proponents of the movement, such as Eugen Gomringer, the Swiss/Bolivian poet, and printed works by Ian Hamilton Finlay, the internationally acclaimed Scottish artist, who died in 2006.  This will be the first time that the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art and the Scottish Poetry Library have collaborated in this way.

During the early twentieth century, the European avant-garde set out to demolish the boundaries between traditional art forms.  Artists, writers and poets began to combine words and imagery in a variety of ways that created many different visual effects.  Scraps of newsprint and painted words found their way into Cubist oil paintings, while writers embraced a radical use of typography, as seen in early Futurist, Dada and Surrealist publications.

The term Concrete Poetry was coined in the 1950s, to describe the work of an international group of artists, based largely in Brazil and Germany.  For them, each poem (which might consist of just a single word, crisply positioned on the page) was a thing in itself, real and concrete, having a clear structure and a material presence of its own.  Scotland also played an important role in this movement, with the involvement of writers and artists such as Edwin Morgan and Ian Hamilton Finlay.  For Finlay, the concrete poem was ‘a model, of order, even if set in a space which is full of doubt’.

ENDS

For further information and images, please call the National Galleries of Scotland Press Office on 0131 624 6247/ 325/ 332/ 314

pressinfo@nationalgalleries.org
www.nationalgalleries.org

Notes to Editors

For more information on the city-wide Concrete Poetry events please visit the following websites;
Scottish Poetry Library, www.spl.org.uk
National Library of Scotland, www.nls.uk
Edinburgh Central Library, www.edinburgh.gov.uk
Edinburgh College of Art, www.eca.ac.uk
Fruitmarket Gallery shop, www.fruitmarket.co.uk
Old St. Paul's Scottish Episcopal Church, www.osp.org.uk
 

• Running Time Press Release final

Press view:   Friday 16th October 2009 11.30am -1pm
The Dean Gallery, 75 Belford Road, Edinburgh, EH4 3DR

Running Time
Artist Films in