Portrait of the Nation is an ambitious project to redefine the Scottish National Portrait Gallery for the 21st century.
Starting from an urgent need for restoration, the project will recover the vibrant character of the building on Queen Street, which opened in 1889 as the first purpose-built national portrait gallery in the world. This uniquely resonant Scottish building, in tandem with the great strengths of the National Galleries of Scotland collection, will bring the stories of Scotland - its peoples, histories, places and cultures - to the widest possible audience.
There will be an additional focus on photography and Scottish art and the project will also create a range of new visitor and education facilities, including a Research and Study centre.
The result - Portrait of the Nation - will confirm the Gallery's status as one of Scotland's major visitor attractions and consolidate Scotland's capital as one of the top international cities for visual culture.
It is planned that the Portrait Gallery will be closed to the public in Spring 2009 when building work will commence and the provisional date for re-opening is November 2011.
