http://www.nationalgalleries.org/works Works at the National Galleries of Scotland en-gb info@nationalgalleries.org Copyright 2013 National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - 2012. Aleah Chapin has just completed an MFA in painting at the New York Academy of Art and studied at the Cornish College of the Arts in her native Seattle. Her work has been seen in solo and in group exhibitions both in the United States and Europe. The portrait is of a close friend of Chapin’s family and is part of a series of nude portraits of women she has known all of her life. Chapin says: ‘Her body is a map of her journey through life. The process of painting allowed me a glimpse of this journey and brought me into the present moment of our shared history.’Aleah Chapin National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - 2002. In 1998 Bellany bought a house in the Tuscan hills near the town of Barga, unaware at the time that Barga had close connections with Scotland. Over the year’s Italian emigrants from Barga have moved to Scotland, opening ice-cream shops, fish and chip shops and restaurants. Hand in hand with Bellany’s move to Italy has gone a substantial increase in the number of landscapes and townscapes that he has painted.the artist National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - 1658. Pieter de Hooch worked in Delft and Amsterdam and was one of the leading artists of the ‘Delft School’. He exclusively painted genre scenes, such as domestic everyday themes. The man in the foreground of this painting is confronted by the hostess with a coin too small to cover his bill, hence the title of the picture. It shows de Hooch’s fascination with perspective and light. The tiled floor and the ceiling beams create a view similar to a perspective box or a doll’s house. National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - about 1759. Only one set of Sandby's London Cries, from which this picture is taken, was published, although surviving related studies show that several further sets were planned. These drawings demonstrate how far Sandby developed the genre, paying great attention to location and drama.Nottingham City Museums and Galleries National Galleries of Scotland National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - c. 1885. In this serene canvas the French symbolist artist Puvis de Chavannes depicts the Mediterranean landscape as the birthplace of art. The shepherd playing his pan pipes represents the first spontaneous form of artistic expression. At the apex of civilisation, on the rocky plateau, sits Phidias, the celebrated classical sculptor, while the row of horsemen in the background suggest his famous frieze on the Parthenon in Athens. Carnegie Museum of Art, PittsburghPhotograph © 2011 Carnegie Museum of Art, Pittsburgh National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - 2002. Mirror Blind Greta is part of the series 100 Blind Stars which addresses the cult of the celebrity. The series consists of 100 publicity stills of ‘40s and ‘50s icons from Cary Grant and Kim Novak to Bette Davis and Elizabeth Taylor. The eyes have been cut out of each photo and replaced with a mirrored surface or black or white paper. The resulting images are eerie. At first glance you recognise the person in the image as they are so familiar. However, the missing eyes suggest there is nothing more behind the image, the portrait is simply a mask, upon which we project our own desires. Douglas Gordon. Photograph by Robert McKeever. Courtesy of the Gagosian Gallery National Galleries of Scotland National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - 1938. Spence’s best known building at the 1938 Glasgow Empire Exhibition was the ICI Pavilion, which was to reflect ICI’s position as the largest chemical producers in the Empire. Spence produced a striking modernist building consisting of three triangular pylons, with applied sculptures that represented earth, air and water. In the centre was a 200ft beam of light representing fire and a fountain coloured with light that represented the company’s dyestuffs. Spence also undertook a commission for the Council of Art and Industry. Spence’s remit was to design an ideal Scottish house and to promote Scottish manufacturing and craftsmanship. National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - 1993. By slowing down the movie projection almost to a halt and removing the narrative, Gordon reveals stories that were previously hidden and adds new dimension to the original film. Will you be lucky enough to visit the show during the legendary shower scene?Douglas Gordon National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - 1993. 24 Hour Psycho is one of Gordon’s most famous works, last shown in Scotland at Glasgow's Tramway in 1993. Gordon has slowed down Hitchcock’s film so that it takes 24 hours to view. Psycho is a film that we all know – or think we know – so our memory of what happens is constantly getting in the way of what we are actually seeing. Ours minds are constantly moving forwards and backwards between a remembered version of the events coming up in the film, and an agonisingly and unnaturally slow-moving present.Douglas Gordon National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - 1996. The simple power of Gordon’s work is evident in 30 Seconds Text, a room installation of 1996. This consists of a single hanging light bulb that goes on in a previously pitch-black room. The bulb illuminates a text printed on one of the walls, which describes an experiment carried out in Montpellier in 1905 to see how long a man retains consciousness after his head has been severed by the guillotine. Apparently, it takes 30 seconds. It also takes 30 seconds to read the whole text. After this time has elapsed, the light goes out and we are plunged back into darkness.Douglas Gordon National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - 1971 - 98. Number 1 in an edition of 4Gerhard Richter National Galleries of Scotland National Galleries of Scotland National Galleries of Scotland National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - 2012. Tim Benson studied fine art at Glasgow School of Art and Byam Shaw School of Art. His work has been seen in solo exhibitions in London and in group exhibitions and art fairs around the UK. He is an elected member of the Royal Institute of Oil Painters. This portrait is of the artist’s grandmother, Margaret, towards the end of her life. He says: ‘She was suffering from dementia, but I wanted to show her in an ambiguous light. She could just as easily be in a conversation as in a state of anxiety.’Tim Benson National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - 1972. Long’s art is about the landscape and man’s presence with it. In the early 1970s, Long’s practise involved walking, gathering items such as sticks and stones, and laying them down, as a kind of witness to his own presence in the landscape. The forms he made are mainly lines and circles – ancient, primitive symbols which are redolent of sites such as Stonehenge, and they have the same simplicity and grandeur as the landscape itself.Courtesy the artist and Haunch of Venison, London National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - . This work consists of two monitors showing two arms wrestling with each other, one hairy and the other smooth. At first glance it looks as though two people are wrestling with one another but as you watch it becomes clear that the two arms belong to the same person. The battle between the two arms suggests an internal battle, the good self represented by the smooth arm and the evil self by the hairy arm.Douglas Gordon National Galleries of Scotland National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - 1967. Richard Long made this work by simply walking up and down on the same line, until he had worn the grass away. Instead of using traditional sculptural techniques, such as modelling in clay, carving in stone, or welding in metal (the dominant technique at St Martin’s College of Art, when Long was a student there in the mid-1960s), this was a new way of making sculpture. Through minimal intervention he expressed man’s relationship with the landscape. Such works also challenged the status of the art object as a physical thing, in that they are ephemeral: in this work, the grass would grow back after a few days and the only record is the photograph.Richard Long National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - 1922. Fergusson had Cézanne in mind when he painted this landscape near Milngavie, just north of Glasgow and close to Loch Lomond. The painting is closely comparable with Cézanne’s La Montagne Sainte Victoire, but Fergusson is more interested in the decorative potential of this typically Scottish scene.Perth & Kinross Council National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - 1889. Van Gogh’s magnificent St-Rémy landscape depicts a noonday scene, with billowing clouds echoing the contorted shapes of the hills, Les Alpilles. The site was close to the asylum where Van Gogh had come in May 1889. Van Gogh painted three versions of A Wheatfield, with Cypresses, of which this is his finest. This painting was purchased by Samuel Courtauld, trustee of the Tate Gallery (1927-37) and the National Gallery (1931-47) and founder of the Courtauld Institute, London. It was the first Van Gogh painting to enter a British public collection. National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - 1578. The leading artist of the so-called ‘Dürer Renaissance’, centred on Nuremberg in the later sixteenth century, Hoffmann found his inspiration in Albrecht Dürer’s extraordinarily naturalistic depictions of plants and animals. Although this irresistible portrait of a piglet does not copy any of Dürer’s drawings directly, it echoes similarly detailed works such as his famous study of a hare in the Graphische Sammlung Albertina, Vienna. National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - late 1630s. Jacob Jordaens was a prolific and versatile painter, draughtsman and tapestry designer. He, unlike Rubens and Van Dyck, received few international commissions and rarely left Antwerp during his long and successful career. This picture is probably a fragment of a larger composition formerly attributed to Rubens, and known from a print by Charles Exshaw executed in Amsterdam around 1758-61. The girl has been tentatively identified as Jordaens’s daughter Anna Catharina.   National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - 2012. Toby Mulligan is a largely self-taught artist who began painting commissioned portraits at the age of fifteen. His work has been seen in exhibitions in London, Amsterdam, New Delhi, and Mexico City and is held in private collections in Europe, India and the USA. The portrait is of the artist’s daughter, Anais, who lives in France with her mother. The portrait was made in the morning on the last day of her recent visit to her father in the UK. Despite having attempted the subject previously in oils, this small acrylic painting seemed more successful to Mulligan.Toby Mulligan National Galleries of Scotland National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - 1994. Richter extended the idea of painting from images of reality such as photographs to producing abstract paintings: firstly, by taking the idea of colour itself as a ready-made - evident in his colour chart paintings - and secondly, by using pictorial language itself as a resource to be quoted and copied, concentrating on technique as opposed to invention.Gerhard Richter National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - 1997. In order to produce his abstract paintings, Richter uses his own handmade squeegee which is repeatedly pulled over the entire canvas to layer and remove paint. Although this technique produces no brushstrokes, it reveals a complex layering of colour on the painting’s surface.Gerhard Richter National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - . American artist David Schutter spent three weeks studying Vase of Flowers (about 1760), by Jean-Baptiste Siméon Chardin, as it hung in the National Gallery of Scotland. In Chicago, Schutter created five paintings, called after NGS C, attempting to re-make the surface of the Chardin, using the same palette, materials and canvas size as those used by the eighteenth-century French artist. Drawings related to these works are on display at Reiach & Hall Architects. Find out more at www.sleeper1.com.Courtesy Sikkemma Jenkins & Co., New York National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - 1927. This photograph of Albertina Rasch’s dancing troupe was taken by British-born Florence Vandamm, one of the most successful New York photographers of the  time. Vandamm frequently captured on camera the lively spirit of the Jazz Age.Condé Nast Publications Inc. / Courtesy Condé Nast Archive National Galleries of Scotland National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - 1932. Polish-born Choynowski is known for his work in two areas: photomontage, which he explored in the early 1930s, and scientific research, following World War II. In this photomontage – originally published as one of a suite of three – Choynowski presents the contradictory values in contemporary America with riveting sensationalism. National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - 1618. In early works such as this, Velázquez specialised in everyday life scenes (bodegones) in which still life elements play a prominent role. These pictures often feature the same models, set against dark backdrops and depicted with astounding naturalism.Image © National Gallery of Scotland National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - c.1654-1657. Metsu started his career as a history painter, depicting biblical subjects, but later turned to genre painting. An elderly woman is seated on a bench, feeding a spaniel, watched by a man. The distaff and bobbin on the bench and the grindstone point towards the activities of the couple, while the bottle and clay pipe on the windowsill may allude to their leisure. Metsu has brilliantly captured the effects of light and this picture was praised as one of his masterpieces in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - 1927. Man Ray, Andre Derain, 1927, Man Ray Trust © Man Ray Trust / ADAGP, Paris and DACS, London, 2013© Man Ray Trust / ADAGP, Paris and DACS, London, 2013 National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - 1983. Number 2 in an edition of 10Robert Mapplethorpe Foundation National Galleries of Scotland National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - 1765. In this drawing Kauffman is staring fixedly neither at the plaster cast of an anatomical figure she has just drawn, nor at the blank sheet in her hands, but at the porte-crayon (drawing instrument) on the table in front of her. She is caught in a private moment of introspection, unaware of the artist or anything else except her relationship with her art. National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - 1984. This photograph of Lennox and Stewart was taken in 1983, the year in which Eurythmics achieved international success with Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This). It cleverly reflects the sense of duality often foundin their lyrics and videos. Mankowitz was already a well-established photographer of musicians when it was taken, having toured with the Rolling Stones as their photographer in the 1960s.Gered Mankowitz National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - 1991. This image of Lennox as a powerful diva is part of a collection taken for Lennox’s multi-platinum selling debut solo album, Diva (1992). Together with music videos directed by Sophie Muller, they explore notions of femininity and power.Satoshi Saikusa National Galleries of Scotland National Galleries of Scotland National Galleries of Scotland National Galleries of Scotland National Galleries of Scotland National Galleries of Scotland National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - 1844. This major painting was created in Turner’s London studio; it shows the city almost as a mirage, hovering between sea and sky. It sent Turner’s great champion, the critic John Ruskin, into ecstasies: ‘…it was, I think, when I first saw it, the most perfectly beautiful piece of colour of all that I have seen produced by human hands, by any means, or at any period.’ National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - c.1630. Van Haecht was born into an Antwerp family of artists and art dealers. This is one of only five known paintings by him depicting an art cabinet. Such pictures were first introduced in the early seventeenth century by the Antwerp artist Frans Francken the Elder. Most of the artworks depicted in the painting can be identified, though the collection as a whole is an imaginary one. National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - c.1606. The title of this work derives from the inscription on an engraving made after it by Hendrick Goudt in 1613. The painting shows a view from a wooded hill overlooking the Roman countryside at sunrise. Although now purely a landscape, it was begun as a depiction of a story from Ovid’s Metamorphoses: the lovers Acis and Galatea hiding at the edge of a wood during their flight from the one-eyed giant Polyphemus. Elsheimer painted out a group of figures he had already finished in the left foreground, and covered them with a dark knot of trees. The figure in bottom left was added by another hand, quite possibly Hendrick Goudt. As far as we know, this is the only time Elsheimer abandoned his original idea for the subject of a work. The picture, which was probably for some time in the Netherlands and was also known there through Goudt’s print, was an important catalyst for the development of Dutch landscape painting. National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - 1950. Man Ray, Ava Gardner in costume for Albert Lewin's Pandora and the Flying Dutchman, 1950, Man Ray Trust © Man Ray Trust / ADAGP, Paris and DACS, London, 2013© Man Ray Trust / ADAGP, Paris and DACS, London, 2013 National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - 1995. From an edition of 3Damien Hirst. Image courtesy Anthony d'Offay Ltd National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - 1995. With this work Hirst is forcing you to focus on the humble sheep. This ‘out-of-place’ sheep highlights the importance of its title Away from the Flock, a term we associate with the Christian religion. This work represents an important step in Hirst’s work, rather than leaving the viewer at a ‘safe distance’ we are drawn towards the death of this innocent lamb, plucked from the rolling British countryside and suspended in formaldehyde.© The Artist National Galleries of Scotland National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - c.1817. Turner created impressive illustrations for James Hakewill’s A Picturesque Tour of Italy (1820). This view shows a stunning eruption of Vesuvius, which floods the image with orange and golden light. Turner never was in fact to see such an event, but the prospect of natural wonders of this sort would have spurred him on to tour Italy.   National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - 1964. The Beatles were on tour in Paris, and Benson was covering the tour for the Express, photographing them at pavement cafés and souvenir shops and during their nightly performances at the Olympia. Benson quickly got to know the band. One evening they were having a drink after a performance at Olympia when Ringo Starr mentioned a pillow fight they had had the night before. Harry was intrigued but as there was a photographer from the Daily Mail sitting with them, kept quiet. Two nights later he was invited back to their room for more after show drinks. Brian Epstein burst in with a telegram: ‘I Want to Hold Your Hand’ was number one in America. Harry suggested they celebrate with another pillow fight and took what became one of his most iconic photographs. Harry Benson National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - New commission. Questioning belief systems and investigating architectural structures inhabited by and invested with faith, inform Nathan Coley's three-dimensional work. His work for The Enlightenments, takes as its starting point three gnarled tree trunks that support the extraordinary undulating roof of a remote 19th-century stone cottage in Perthshire. Coley has isolated and re-presented this existing element of the built environment - architecturally remixing spruce and pine trunks through a process that included drying out the trunks in kilns over the course of three months, applying coats of eggshell and a final layer of paint. Textual references are visible through a series of small holes drilled into the trunks using a steel template made with a computer-guided laser cutter.© The Artist, doggerfisher, Edinburgh and Haunch of Venison Gallery, London National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - 1967. Bellany painted images of fishermen at sea in their boats again and again. It was a subject he knew intimately from his childhood, since his father and most of his male relatives were fishermen. It was also an elemental subject full of potential symbolism, both sacred and profane. In this work, painted while he was at the Royal College of Art in London, Bellany adopts the three-figure composition, redolent of the Crucifixion. the artist. Southampton City Art Gallery. National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - 1992. The Clinton's share a quiet moment in the backyard of the Governor's Mansion before their hectic campaign schedule began.Harry Benson National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - 1921. This is one of many photographs taken by Hungarian-born Kertész depicting gypsy musicians and villagers. The premise of such works is the distance between the lives of artist and subject; the gypsies are rendered so as to emphasise their separateness from ‘normal’ life. National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - 2007. Text: Truisms (1977-79), Arno (1996), Blue (1998), selections from: Inflammatory Essays (1979-82), Living (1980-82), Survival (1983-85), and Under A Rock (1986)2008 Jenny Holzer, member Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York/ DACS United Kingdom. Photography: CLEMENTS / HOWCROFT, Boston. National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - 1928. Peploe painted in Antibes in the south of France with Hunter in 1928. The view depicted in this work is from the Cap d'Antibes looking across to the town of Antibes - the red roofs on the horizontal centre line of the picture - with the foothills of the Alps behind Nice in the background. After Peploe had returned to Edinburgh, Hunter wrote to Tom Honeyman of Reid & Lefèvre, who represented Hunter and Peploe in Glasgow and London, complaining that the ‘short days and bad weather when out painting was difficult and almost impossible, as Peploe found.’ The brilliant sunshine depicted in Blue Water, Antibes may therefore have occurred after a Spring mistral. National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - about 1929. Peploe’s interest in trees as subject matter became increasingly pronounced during painting trips around Scotland’s mainland during the late 1920s, including to Boat of Garten and Rothiemurchus. Boat of Garten is in the Scottish Highlands. In this depiction of a forest glade dappled with sunlight, Peploe applied paint quickly and generously, using a palette knife as well as brushes, to capture a sense of the enduring monumentality of the trees. David Mitchell, Curator of Projects at the Royal Botanic Garden, Edinburgh has explained: ‘This work shows a remnant of the Ancient Caledonia Pine Forest, to the right is a stand of Scots pines, Pinus sylvestris…[and] at the centre is a group of birch trees, Betula pubescens.’ National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - . This large painting is based on scenes that Bellany knew from childhood onward- the building of fishing boats in Port Seton where he grew up, and in Eyemouth, further down the coast, where he spent idyllic summer holidays with his grandparents. His mother’s grandfather owned a boatyard there. © the artist National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - about 1986. The name ‘Bonaventure’, meaning good fortune, is a common name for boats and ships. Here a boat bearing its name carries the artist holding up a cockerel’s mask in front of his face, accompanied by a squawking seagull, a skate, some playing cards and a clock. The work is painted in the measured manner of most of Bellany’s pictures from this period.the artist National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - 1991. Artist's proof aside from the edition of 3Jeff Koons. Image courtesy Anthony d'Offay Ltd National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - 1914. Looking back later, Nicholson recalled a Cubist Picasso of around 1915 which he saw as the benchmark of quality in his own work. We do not know which painting that was, only that it had a ‘miraculous’ green. This work is typical of that late Cubist moment in Picasso’s career. It contains various elements which Nicholson would adopt at various times in the 1920s and early 1930s, in particular the interleaving planes and the use of decorative pattern independent of the picture’s subject matter.Tate collection © Succession Picasso/ DACS, London 2012. Photo © Tate London 2012. National Galleries of Scotland National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - . The Samson family were painted by Eardley over the course of 7 years or more. They were a large family with children across a wide range of ages. Eardley discussed in an interview how these particular children amused her with their chatter and energy.With kind permission of the Eardley Estate and a private collection National Galleries of Scotland National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - 1968. Warhol’s Brillo Boxes are replications of actual Brillo boxes. They consist of hollow plywood boxes onto which Warhol created the packaging look, using polymer paint and silkscreen ink. They were first produced in 1964 and at the time they were considered radical; by striving to replicate consumer packaging, Warhol challenged commonly held views about art. The obvious question raised by Brillo Boxes is: what differentiates Warhol’s replications from actual Brillo boxes? There are two main answers to this. Firstly, Warhol’s Brillo Boxes were not produced on such a massive scale. Secondly, there are – and never were – any Brillo pads within Warhol’s replicas. Licensed by the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc/ARS, New York and DACS London 2007 National Galleries of Scotland National Galleries of Scotland National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - 2007. Made directly on the Gallery wall, Cairngorm Line is in the Ziggurat form which Long first drew while on a walk in Peru in 1974. As in all Long’s work, there is an interface between the man made (the marks, which Long makes with his hand, using diluted China clay) and nature, in the form of the splashes, which occur through the force of gravity, as he applies the China clay to the wall.the artist National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - 1986. This work is part of a series produced by Warhol in 1986, one of the last serial groups produced by the artist. Each work in the series is a screenprint of a pattern based upon a military camouflage pattern; however, Warhol manipulated the pattern so as to accentuate the vegetable-like effect of leaf-shaped sprigs. The resulting work stands at the crossroads of military paraphernalia, landscape painting and brightly coloured Pop Art.Licensed by the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc/ARS, New York and DACS London 2007 National Galleries of Scotland National Galleries of Scotland National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - 1968. Man Ray, Catherine Deneuve, 1968, Private Lender © Man Ray Trust / ADAGP, Paris and DACS, London, 2013© Man Ray Trust / ADAGP, Paris and DACS, London, 2013 National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - 2001. Artist's proof aside from the edition of 6Bill Viola Studio. Image courtesy Anthony d'Offay Ltd National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - 1963. The leaden-skied view of the front of The Row is shown in one of her best-loved works, Catterline in Winter.With kind permission of the Eardley Estate National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - c.1650. Aelbert Cuyp was born in Dordrecht and, except for some journeys in Holland down the Rhine, spent his entire life in his home town. He is most famous for his landscapes which combine traditional motifs with the lyrical lighting effects of the Dutch ‘Italianate’ landscape painters. This painting is typical of Cuyp’s rural landscapes of around 1650. It exudes the atmosphere of a summer day after a rain shower, and the cattle are bathed in evening sunlight. National Galleries of Scotland National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - . Currently Director of Art at Charterhouse School, Surrey, Peter Monkman, 44, studied visual arts at the University of Lancaster, John Moores University Liverpool and the University of London. The initial ideas for this portrait came from photographic studies of his daughter, Anna, playing in woods in Brittany where the light had a magical quality.© the artist National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - 1963. A strong sense of close friendship is one of the most striking features of Eardley’s paintings of children, and is particularly apparent in Children and Chalked Wall.  The collage effect which Eardley used in much of her work is also prominent here.With kind permission of the Eardley Estate National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - . Eardley was trying to capture the community feeling of Glasgow’s back streets in her paintings, something she felt was rapidly disappearing.With kind permission of the Eardley Estate National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - 1985-6. As suggested by the title, this work puts a price tag on the figure of Jesus Christ.  Based on an advert for a night light in the form of Christ this work welds together two phenomena believed by many to be diametrically opposed: Christianity and commercialism. There is no moralising involved; rather, Warhol merely shows us the image and allows us to decide for ourselves whether there exists any irony. The bold use of contrasting black and white subtly introduces Christian notions of Good and Evil.Licensed by the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc/ARS, New York and DACS London 2007 National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - 1984. Recalling his observation of the contrast between Picasso’s painted portrait of Marie-Thérèse’s mother, Mémé, and the photograph in which she seemed to have removed her heavy glasses, Hockney made a pair of portraits of his friend Christopher Isherwood. In one, the author appears with his glasses on; in this one, he is shown without. Hockney’s adoption of Picasso’s late-1930s style is a deliberate signal of allegiance.David Hockney. Photo credit: Richard Schmidt. National Galleries of Scotland National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - 2012. Known affectionately as ‘Monty’, Colin Montgomerie has been consistently ranked among the world’s best golfers for more than two decades.  He has won over forty tournament victories.  Faulkner shows Montgomerie standing on the Ailsa course at Turnberry. The sun setting in the west behind Ailsa Craig adds to the elegiac mood.Iain Faulkner National Galleries of Scotland National Galleries of Scotland National Galleries of Scotland National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - . Incorporating copies of the Coronation photograph, this collage refers to earlier royal splendour but the arrangement of a cross shape can also be seen as carrying nationalistic connotations as well as alluding to crucifixion. National Galleries of Scotland National Galleries of Scotland National Galleries of Scotland National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - 1910-11. Kandinsky was inspired by music and the rainbow, the castle on the hill and the red-hatted Cossacks in this work may allude to one of Richard Wagner’s operas. In the last scene of Das Rheingold the gods cross a rainbow bridge to Valhalla, the legendary resting place of those who die in battle. Kandinsky believed that colour, like music, could suggest different emotions. In his influential essay Concerning the Spiritual in Art (1911) he classified yellow as disruptive and aggressive, while blue, the ‘heavenly colour’ was more restful.© ADAGP, Paris and DACS, London 2012./ © Tate, London 2012 National Galleries of Scotland National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - 1946. In 1944 Sutherland was commissioned to paint a Crucifixion for a church in Northampton and this painting is one of a number relating to that commission. The work highlights the intense human suffering and recalls images of war and concentration camps. Sutherland acknowledged Picasso’s impact on his work, stating ‘Picasso has always been an influence.’Tate London 2012 (photo) National Galleries of Scotland National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - 2005. Illustration shows similar work: Spring Ellipse 1999, installed outside Salisbury Cathedral National Galleries of Scotland National Galleries of Scotland National Galleries of Scotland National Galleries of Scotland National Galleries of Scotland National Galleries of Scotland National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - 2012. David Eichenberg studied sculpture and painting at the University of Toledo, Ohio. His work has been seen in group and solo exhibitions in the United States and in the BP Portrait Award 2011 and 2010 when he won third prize. The portrait is of the artist’s friend Devan. She frequently attends anime conventions that celebrate the comic arts and animations of Japan. The French maid’s outfit she wears in the portrait is part of one of the personas she adopts at these events.David Eichenberg National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - 1997-2001. Number 23 in an edition of 35Johan Grimonprez National Galleries of Scotland National Galleries of Scotland National Galleries of Scotland National Galleries of Scotland National Galleries of Scotland National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - 1929. Hungarian-born Muray embarked on his photographic career in 1920. This portrait depicts in profile newlywed film stars Douglas Fairbanks Jr. and Joan Crawford; it subtly references a similar photograph taken by Muray eight years earlier, of Fairbanks’ father with his new wife, Mary Pickford.Condé Nast Publications Inc. / Courtesy Condé Nast Archive National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - 1966. The Expo 67 - Man and his World was held in Montréal, Canada to coincide with the 100th anniversary of the Canadian Confederation. Spence was announced as the designer of the British Pavilion. Spence’s design comprised a huge white pavilion made up of two cantilevered halls and a monumental 200ft tower set out on a stepped concourse. The tower was the entrance to the concourse and was topped off with a 3D sculpture based on the Union Jack designed by Frederic Henri Kay Henrion whilst a sculpture by Henry Moore was located in a pool outside the pavilion. National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - 2006. Joshua Mosley's digital film of animated clay figures presents a fictional encounter between two of history's most important philosophical and theological thinkers, Jean-Jacques Rousseau and Blaise Pascal. Rousseau and Pascal meet whilst on a journey through woodland as they contemplate creation, question the nature of truth and pose central philosophical questions. Is God divined or secularly evolved? Is man inherently good, contradicting the accepted doctrine of original sin?© The Artist, Donald Young Gallery, Chicago National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - 1928-9. Expelled from the Bauhaus for ‘idleness’, Umbehr quickly gained renown for his portraits, and by 1927 he had opened his own studio under the professional name Umbo. This photograph of shop window mannequins shows how the photographic view can render something ordinary eerily unfamiliar and presents a surreal view of everyday life. National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - 2006. ‘Duculi (The Indescribable) is the least worshipped of all the Gods. For days on end he is locked in a violent struggle, seemingly desperate to rip himself asunder, until he eventually collapses in exhaustion only to resume the ght once more after some hours of repose, during which time, from some unknowable source, he has revived himself.’the artist. National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - 2008/09. Edinburgh, city of the Enlightenment, is combined with its darker underbelly in Greg Creek's epic drawings and watercolours, a form of city panorama. Detailed drawings of Edinburgh's architecture and notable landmarks are interspersed with more scatological notations, doodles, scenes, dreams and invented prose that build a delicate filigree of place. Creek's drawing encourages a visual journey that maps both place and time, with references to historical, contemporary and fictional events, people and subjects.© The Artist National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - . Lewis Morley established his reputation as one of the key British photographers of the 1960s with a series of photographs of various celebrities. His photograph of Christine Keeler sitting the wrong way round on a chair has become one of the defining images of the 1960s. In 1962, the photographer met fellow Australian Barry Humphries, when the latter was giving his first UK solo performances in Peter Cook’s Establishment Club, downstairs from Morley’s studio. The pair remained friends and, in 1982, Morley photographed Humphreys (as ‘Edna Everage’) mimicking Christine Keeler. Lewis Morley Archive/National Portrait Gallery, London National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - 1977-1978. Woodman lies naked, the curve of her body echoing the curved form of the eel. She has printed several similar versions of this image with her body on either side of the eel. The image is sexually charged, yet in placing herself on both sides of the camera Woodman hovers between being in control and being defenceless, exploring the ways in which femininity can be portrayed. The photograph explores the possibilities of representation, instead of revealing the artist’s identity.© The Artist’s Estate National Galleries of Scotland National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - 2006. This specially-commissioned installation by Martin Boyce is the extraordinary centrepiece of What you see is where you're at, making full use if the height and dramatic scale of the largest room in the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art. This is the first time it has been shown at the Gallery.Installation view, FRAC des Pays de la Loire, Carquefou, France; photo : Marc Domage, Courtesy of The Artist and The Modern Institute/Toby Webster Ltd, Glasgow National Galleries of Scotland National Galleries of Scotland National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - . In May 1965 the Queen visited germany, the first British sovereign to do so in over fifty years. The following year, Richter made two lithographs of the Queen based on a published photograph. The original image is blurred, emphasising a sense of surface appearance obscuring the underlying reality. National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - 1883. Walton painted the wives and daughters of Helensburgh businessmen taking the air, often depicting them in strangely desolate urban landscapes. Influenced by Degas’s unusual compositions he has placed the two young women in this watercolour off centre and to the front of the picture space, emphasising the width and emptiness of the wide avenue behind them. National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - about 1800. This is a view of the house of Sir John Elvil at Englefield Green, to the east of Windsor Great Park. In 1798 Paul Sandy moved with his family to a house at Englefield Green. The view of the surrounding landscape is enlivened by sheep, cattle, geese, dogs and horses, and in the middle-distance, carriages.Nottingham City Museums and Galleries National Galleries of Scotland National Galleries of Scotland National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - . Eve Muirhead has won the World Junior Curling Championships four times and was the youngest ever skip [captain] at an Olympic Games in 2010 in Vancouver.  She is the current European Champion and won a silver medal as she skipped Team Scotland in the 2011 World Women’s Curling Championships.  At the 2012 World Championships she was awarded the Frances Brodie Award for the curler who best exemplified sportsmanship, fair play, honesty, and friendship.  Muirhead is photographed here at Blair Castle, near her family home in Blair Atholl.  She holds a curling broom together with the tools of her two past championship activities - golf and bagpiping.Brad Askew National Galleries of Scotland National Galleries of Scotland National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - 1998. Following an abortion in 1990, Emin stopped painting, and for six years she felt unable to paint again. She forced herself out of this blockage by staging an exhibition in which she lived and slept in an art gallery, surrounded by nothing but painting materials. Gallery visitors could see her through peep-holes. This work recreates that entire room.the artist National Galleries of Scotland National Galleries of Scotland National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - . David Williams was born in Edinburgh in 1952. He studied English and Sociology before becoming a professional musician and composer. Since he took up photography in 1980 his work has been widely exhibited and published. He became Head of Photography at Edinburgh College of Art in 1990 and continues to produce work on a regular basis. Family Self-Portrait is a triptych, a form of composition rooted in Christian art. A young child is centred, flanked on each side by a parent dissolving through overexposure. David Williams National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - 1999. Feature Film, a video projection of 1999, present’s Bernard Herrmann’s musical score for Hitchcock’s film Vertigo. We hear the wonderfully evocative music, but all we see are the hands, arms and head of the man conducting the orchestra. Again memory plays tricks on us. So well known is the film and so evocative of its plot, that in our mind’s eye we seem to be transported into what is going on. The concept of the work is based on the insight that a major impact of Hitchcock’s work lies in the use of music. Douglas Gordon National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - 1949. This print is taken from a series of lithographs begun by Picasso in 1948 in which Françoise Gilot is depicted seated and dressed in a Polish coat. Picasso’s original intention was to produce a five-colour lithograph, employing a separate zinc plate for each colour. But he was unhappy with the results and subsequently reworked each of the plates, printing them in black. The subtitle of this print, ‘from the red’, refers to the fact that this image was a reworking of the red plate in the original colour lithograph. Succession Picasso/DACS 2007 National Galleries of Scotland National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - 1889. Painted in September 1889 in St-Rémy, five months after Van Gogh’s arrival at the asylum. The view is very loosely that from his room, seen through the barred window. The picture was bought by William Boyd, probably in the early 1920s. Boyd ran the Scottish jam company James Keiller & Son, which just over a century earlier had ‘invented’ marmalade. He lived at West Ferry, Dundee, and became an important collector of modern Scottish and French art. In 1936 Field with Ploughman passed through the Arthur Tooth Gallery in London and was bought by William Coolidge, an American who studied in Oxford. Coolidge bequeathed the painting to Boston’s Museum of Fine Arts in 1993. National Galleries of Scotland National Galleries of Scotland National Galleries of Scotland National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - 2007. Long grew up in Bristol, close to the River Avon, one of the biggest tidal rivers in the world. As a child he loved to play with River Avon mud and this fascination with mud has remained with him ever since. It is an elemental material (like the stones and sticks which recur in his work) which is made by the gravitational pull of the moon on water over stones, over a period of thousands of years. Long normally uses River Avon mud in his work, but here he used Firth of Forth mud, collected near Edinburgh.the artist National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - June or July 1859. Eager to capture the changing size and shape of icebergs that came into view, Church often worked perched on deck, with his paint box in his lap, as the ship pitched and rolled. Church would later use these studies to complete his major 1861 painting The Icebergs (Dallas Museum of Art), which featured jagged formations, deceptively seductive blue-green waters and, in the foreground set against this cold beauty, the remains of a shipwreck.Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum, Smithsonian Institution. Gift of Louis P. Church, 1917-4-305-a National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - 1827. Adopting a high viewpoint was an approach Turner employed for many of his city views. It was ideal for conveying a sense of scale and civic grandeur and encouraging comparison with maps and plans, so that buildings might be identified. This view of Florence was based on sketches made in 1819 and proved so popular that Turner created four versions of it. National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - . Blackadder drew inspiration from Indian Mughal painting (a style of miniature painting). A characteristic of Mughal painting is its use of borders , which began to appear in Blackadder’s own work such as this picture. National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - 1917/1964. Duchamp insisted that Readymades, such as Fountain, were not chosen casually (or frequently: he did not make many) but that they had to fulfil certain criteria. Chief among these was that they should be removed from their logical context and therefore acquire an entirely new meaning. Through objects such as these, Duchamp questioned traditional aesthetic judgements.© Succession Marcel Duchamp/ADAGP, Paris and DACS, London 2010 National Galleries of Scotland National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - 1971. The sidewalks had been blocked off outside Radio City Music Hall and it was late at night and very cold as Coppola directed a scene from The Godfather. In the scene, Pacino learns that his father has been shot.Harry Benson National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - about 1655-1660. Aert van der Neer is documented as a painter in Amsterdam in 1629. He specialised in landscapes, and is best known for his winter scenes, nocturnes, and landscapes at sunrise or sunset. He has captured the atmosphere of an early winter afternoon in a wide, almost panoramic landscape. The strong light bursting through the clouds and the blue sky visible in the top left corner demonstrate that the picture has been erroneously recorded as a ‘moonlit landscape’ in the past. National Galleries of Scotland National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - 1999. Landscapes have played a central role in Richter’s oeuvre since the 1960s as seen with Schloß Neuschwanstein. While his early landscapes were often taken from images in magazines and newspapers, he later used his own photographs as source material for his paintings. It is likely that the subject of this photograph comes from one of Richter’s own photographs.Gerhard Richter National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - . Gilbert & George are two of the most infamous British artists from the last fifty years. In 2007, a retrospective of their work filled an entire floor of Tate Modern in London, making them the only artists other than Andy Warhol to be granted that privilege. But there is more that links Warhol to Gilbert & George, partly explaining his decision to depict them. Much like Warhol, Gilbert & George have a healthy disdain for the high-brow, resulting in works that, like Warhol’s screenprints, are bold, colourful and accessible to all. It is fitting then that they should be the subjects of this work, typical of Andy Warhol’s style. Licensed by the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc/ARS, New York and DACS London 2007 National Galleries of Scotland National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - late 1890s. The sitter for this painting was Jeannie Blyth, a flower-seller who posed for Peploe on many occasions from the age of about fifteen until sometime after she married. Her dark colouring and lack of self-consciousness made her one of his favourite models. Gipsy shows the influence of seventeenth-century Dutch art on Peploe at this time. In 1895 or 1896 he visited Holland and returned with reproductions of paintings by Rembrandt and Frans Hals, whose work he would also have been able to see in the National Gallery of Scotland. National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - about 1905. The girl in this painting has been identified as Madeleine (her surname is unknown); she appears in several other works of 1904-5. This painting marks the beginning of the transition from Picasso’s Blue to Rose period, in which, besides the change in palette, heavy impasto, strong contours and bold outlines give way to veils of painting, notable here in the rendering of the girl’s chemise.Tate London 2012, Succession DACS 2012 (photo) National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - about 1905. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Sed eu nisi leo. Class aptent taciti sociosqu ad litora torquent per conubia nostra, per inceptos himenaeos. Nunc sodales purus et dolor tincidunt facilisis. In tincidunt erat vitae est ultricies non aliquet sapien tempus. Class aptent taciti sociosqu ad litora torquent per conubia nostra, per inceptos himenaeos. Donec ac neque urna. Nunc dolor tellus, congue quis vestibulum non, laoreet et dui.Tate collection © Succession Picasso/ DACS, London 2012. Photo © Tate London 2012. National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - 1951. Wilhelmina Barns-Graham’s paintings respond to geological formations and the natural environment, from seaside rocks to glaciers ‘Glacier Chasm’ was painted following the the artist’s visit to the Grindelwald glaciers in Switzerland in 1949. In 1965 she wrote of the glaciers: “This likeness to glass and transparency combined with solid rough ridges made me wish to combine in a work all angles at once, from above, through and all around, as a bird flies, a total experience.”© Barns-Graham Charitable Trust National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - . Another example of a painting in which Eardley captures the riotous energy of groups of children using rich, vivid colours.With kind permission of the Eardley Estate National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - 1924. Taken in 1924, this is one of Edward Steichen’s most celebrated portraits. Gloria Swanson, now most associated with her appearance in the 1950s film noir Sunset Boulevard, was in the 1920s one of the most popular and well-paid stars of the silent era.Condé Nast Publications Inc. / Courtesy George Eastman House National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - 1939. Ithell Colqhoun was one of the most imaginative and accomplished artists affiliated with the British Surrealist group. This work is part of her Mediteranée series, inspired by several trips made to the Mediterranean area in the 1930s. Colquhoun also cited Dali as an influence on her art.Hunterian Museum and Art Gallery, University of Glasgow National Galleries of Scotland National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - . James Metcalfe trained at Chelsea College of Art and Design and Camberwell College of Art. This portrait is of the actor Gregor Fisher. Metcalfe wrote to Fisher asking if he would sit for a portrait. The sittings took place at Fisher's flat when he was appearing at the Playhouse Theatre, Edinburgh.© the artist National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - . Works such as this retain the form of the table, with the top raised to give the fullest view. Blackadder later dispensed with this method, using the surface of the canvas itself as the field on which objects appear. National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - 1921. In 1914-15 Picasso performed a surprising change of tack. Known as the co-inventor and leading light of the cubist movement, he quietly made a number of drawings which are extremely realistic. His classical style was much indebted to Renoir’s late nudes, indeed Picasso bought a large Renoir painting, Seated Bather in a Landscape, in 1919. Picasso’s work reached its apogee in terms of hefty classical figures in 1921. This pastel drawing is one of two very similar works, both of which belong to the Staatsgalerie Stuttgart. It was illustrated on the cover of the Ballets Russes’ programme for the ballet Cuadro Flamenco in May 1921. Succession Picasso/DACS 2007 National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - 1981. It is interesting that Warhol chose a gun as the subject for this work. Produced in 1981, it is reminiscent of two major periods of the artist’s work. Firstly, it calls to mind Campbell’s Soup Cans, in which an instantly recognisable symbol is repeatedly screenprinted in red and white. This echoing of Warhol’s prints of consumer products presents this weapon as a part of American culture alongside Coke bottles and Elvis Presley. But Gun is also reminiscent of Warhol’s Death and Disaster series from the early sixties, which included depictions of electric chairs and assassination scenes. Viewing Gun within the context of Warhol’s previous work provides extra resonance: the image succinctly captures America’s ambivalent relationship with armed weapons. Licensed by the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc/ARS, New York and DACS London 2007 National Galleries of Scotland National Galleries of Scotland National Galleries of Scotland National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - 2009. Gabrielle de Vietri engages the public in acts of communication. Hark!, greets you as you arrive at the portico of the Dean Gallery. Singers relate the news, horoscopes, stock exchange information and other current affairs of the day, recalling the way information was delivered to people prior to the Enlightenment and mass literacy.© The Artist National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - . Dan Llywelyn Hall studied art at the University of Wales Institute, Cardiff and the University of Westminster, London. His work has been shown at the National Gallery of Wales, Cardiff and the Royal Watercolour Society. This portrait by Llywelyn is of Harry Patch (1898-2009), the last surviving British soldier to have fought in the trenches during the First World War. Patch's first-hand accounts of the war have been widely broadcast. The painting was made from a single three-hour sitting.© Dan Llywelyn Hall National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - . Tim Okamura studied at Alberta College of Art and Design, Calgary, Canada and the School of Visual Arts, New York. This portrait shows Okamura's friends Sophie, Marie Jean and Hanna. In making the portrait Okamura wanted to capture the contrasting personalities of three friends.© the artist National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - 1885. This Nuenen painting dates from the spring of 1885. The woman depicted is Gordina de Groot (1855-1927), who appears in several other works, including his early masterpiece, The Potato Eaters. As in most of his Dutch works, the colours are muted. It was recorded in the De la Faille catalogue as having been bought in 1923 for £300 by ‘Mrs Fleming’, identified as Evelyn Fleming, the mother of the author and creator of James Bond, Ian Fleming. In 1950, Evelyn Fleming sold the painting, which was bought the following year for £4,000 by Sir Alexander Maitland. In 1960 he donated it to the National Gallery of Scotland. National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - 2001. This group portrait from 2001 is one of many multi-panelled gatefolds, by Annie Leibovitz, that have graced the annual Vanity Fair Hollywood issue since 1995. Depicted here are actresses Nicole Kidman, Catherine Deneuve, Meryl Streep, Gwyneth Paltrow, Cate Blanchett, Kate Winslet, Vanessa Redgrave, Chloë Sevigny, Sophia Loren and Penelope Cruz.Annie Leibovitz / Contact Press Images / Courtesy of the Artist National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - 1993. Emin grew up in the Hotel International, a seafront hotel in Margate owned by her father. This work, composed of letters sewn onto a big blanket and handwritten texts, is a kind of curriculum vitae, detailing episodes in her childhood and youth.the artist National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - 1867. Hudson, New York State, is the town on the eastern bank of the Hudson River which lies closest to the house Church would build at Olana.Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum, Smithsonian Institution. Gift of Louis P. Church, 1917-4-1346-b National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - . Sarah Lucas was initially associated during the 1990s with the Young British Artists (YBAs). Her series titled Self-Portraits, 1990-1998, from which this work is taken, often uses humour and colloquial vocabulary to parody commonly understood metaphors for private activities and sexual behaviour. The title of this work, Human Toilet II, brings to mind unsavoury connotations and jars comically with the image of Lucas sat holding a cistern tank. Sarah Lucas courtesy Sadie Coles HQ, London National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - 1964. To combat some of the worst housing conditions existing in Europe, the Glasgow Corporation created the Hutchesontown/Gorbals Comprehensive Development Area. The aim was to replace 62 acres of slums with new low and high density housing, schools and shops. The development consisted of Hutchesontown A, B and C – each designed by a different architect. Hutchesontown C was Spence’s commission and comprised 400 individual homes. The design was inspired by Le Corbusier’s giant maisonette blocks in Marseille and was described as The Hanging Gardens of the Gorbals – a direct reference to the large balconies arranged in groups of four throughout the building. The building was poorly maintained and gradually deteriorated over the next three decades, before being finally demolished in 1993. National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - 2002. One of the themes in the exhibition, and in Emin’s art in general, is pregnancy. She had two abortions in the early 1990s and since then, in texts, films, sculptures, and embroidered blankets, has examined the theme of motherhood, often in a tender way which has surprised her critics.the artist National Galleries of Scotland National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - . This work of Richter’s is a ‘photo-painting’ of his second wife, Isa Genzken. Richter has produced many such ‘photo-paintings’, made using a multi-step process of representations. He starts with a photograph and projects it onto his canvas, where he traces its form. Taking his colour palette from the photograph, he paints to replicate the look of the original picture. Richter’s hallmark ‘blur’ is a result of this process; it is the blurring of the boundary between photographic representation and the painterly art.Gehard Richter National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - 2000. Here Emin is artist and model. She pictures herself with her legs splayed open, shovelling money into her crotch. Once more using her own life as the springboard for her art, Emin draws attention to her own predicament in which success, sex and money go hand-in-hand.the artist National Galleries of Scotland National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - c.1606. The unusual subject of this painting derives from a Spanish picaresque novel entitled Guzmán de Alfarache, by Mateo Alemán, which was originally published in 1599 and appeared in an Italian translation in 1606. It tells of Jupiter’s anger at the people on Earth, whom he believed were irresponsible and self-indulgent, because they worshipped Contento – the god of contentment and happiness – and neglected the other gods. During a festival, Jupiter commanded Mercury to abduct Contento and replace him with his twin brother, Discontento. In this scene, Mercury flies down from the heavens to remove Contento, while the people in the foreground try to hold him back. The festival of sports and games continues uninterrupted in the background. Elsheimer was the first artist to depict the subject, which must have presented a considerable challenge. Not only was the story extremely complex, but there were no visual precedents on which Elsheimer could base his composition. National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - . Visitor's Choice  Each year, the BP Visitor Choice competition offers visitors to the exhibition the opportunity to vote for their favourite portrait in the show. This year, a record 15,027 votes were cast between the 18 June and the 9 September 2009 and the overall winner was Imagine by José Luis Corella who received 1,816 votes.© José Luis Corella National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - 2005. In Bed is over 21 feet long. It was made last year and was one of the highlights of the recent show at the Cartier Foundation in Paris. The woman's chin rests on her hand as, sunk in thought, her eyes stare through you into the distance. It is a pose that bespeaks introspection, worry perhaps, but above all, it is a pose that shows the mind as detached (as much as it ever can be) from the body.Ron Mueck National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - 2005. We are dwarfed in her presence (a literary equivalent would be Alice in Wonderland or Gulliver's Travels) but, like many of Mueck's larger sculptures, the pensive woman does not look dangerous. Feelings of childhood are reawakened - a regular theme in Mueck's work - as we see and feel things again from a child's perspective.Ron Mueck National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - . ‘There is such a big prejudice against…nakedness and two men,’ so said Gilbert, one half of Gilbert & George, in a 1997 interview. In The Piss confronts these prejudice directly. It is a larger-than-life self-portrait which questions what is socially acceptable through their nakedness and the title of the work. It is typical of the infamous couple’s later work, with bright colours sectioned by black gridlines. Gilbert & George National Galleries of Scotland National Galleries of Scotland National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - 1962. Scottish Widows Fund and Life Assurance Society wanted to create a prestigious new headquarters in the heart of Edinburgh’s financial district and were keen to shed their Victorian image in the process. The original Victorian office block was demolished to make way for the new building. The architects wanted to achieve a simplistic design. The resulting seven-storey building is almost square in plan, with the lower level clad in polished black granite to complement the office block directly opposite. The main face of the building is made up of window units and marble slabs, giving a grid-like appearance. National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - . Blackadder’s visits to Japan resulted in substantial oil, such as this, in which an expansive sparse interior contrasts with a complex garden scene seen through framed paper screens.© The Artist National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - 1936 - 1998. Surrealism erupted onto the British art scene with the ‘International Surrealist Exhibition’ in 1936. The show was organised primarily by David Gascoyne and Roland Penrose together with Herbert Read. The selection of work by British artists was difficult as no formal British surrealist group existed. However, over 390 paintings, sculptures and objects by sixty-eight artists were chosen. Works were hung in double or triple rows, alternating large and small paintings. Ethnographic sculptures and found objects were interspersed throughout. Intriguingly Salvador Dalí attempted to deliver a lecture whilst wearing a deep-sea diver’s suit and holding two hounds on a leash, but he had to be rescued after nearly suffocating. During its three-week run the exhibition attracted over 23,000 visitors. National Galleries of Scotland National Galleries of Scotland National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - 2005. This huge work recreates the roller-coaster at Margate’s ‘Dreamland’ fairground. The fairground was a central part of Emin’s youth: it was exciting, seedy and sexually charged.the artist National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - . Klimt loved gardens and their flowers. This painting demonstrates the decorative potential of painting gardens and partly influenced by Seurat's use of dots to build up a picture. The idea of the garden as a palette finds expression here.Kunsthaus Zug, Stiftung Sammlung Kamm National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - 2008. Jamie and Andy Murray started playing tennis at a young age in their home town of Dunblane.  They went on to achieve success on the junior singles circuit before graduating to the senior game.  Andy is the current British No. 1 and is ranked No. 4 in the world, having been as high as No. 2 in 2009.  So far he has won twenty-two career titles and is a regular contender in Grand Slam tournaments.  Jamie specialises in doubles (sometimes partnering his brother) and won the mixed doubles title at Wimbledon in 2007.  Murdo MacLeod National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - . The infamous photographer David Bailey had a strong presence in ‘swinging’ 1960s London, socialising with and photographing such iconic figures as the Beatles and the Kray Twins. Such was Bailey’s notoriety that he inspired David Hemmings performance in the 1966 film Blowup. Jane Birkin originally came to the public’s attention by starring in Blowup. This photograph was taken in 1969, three years following the film’s release, and the same year in which her popular duet with Serge Gainsbourg, Je T’aime…Moi Non Plus, was released. The portrait is typical of Bailey’s close-up style that became common practice in portrait and fashion photography. David Bailey National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - 1934. Jean Harlow was an American film star and sex symbol of the 1930s. This photograph was taken at the height of her career. Sadly the actress died three years later, at the age of 26.Condé Nast Publications Inc. / Courtesy Condé Nast Archive National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - 1935. Owens was the star of the 1936 Berlin Olympic Games, winning four gold medals, a triumph by an African-American athlete that served as a rebuke to the racist policies of his Nazi hosts.Condé Nast Publications Inc. / Courtesy Condé Nast Archive National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - 1984. This photograph featured in Vanity Fair in 1984, the year after its relaunch. It is an intimate depiction of Oscar-winning actress Jessica Lange with her new partner, playwright and actor Sam Shepard.Bruce Weber National Galleries of Scotland National Galleries of Scotland National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - . This is one of the few occasions when Bellany used meat (instead of fish) as a symbol, with the huge joint being presented as a bed to emphasise carnal desire. The idea of using meat as a couch may have been suggested by Francis Bacon’s surreal juxtaposition of a carcass of beef and modern furniture in Painting, 1946 (collection MoMA, New York). © the artist. Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art, purchased 1986. National Galleries of Scotland National Galleries of Scotland National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - 2012. Mary Jane Ansell undertook a BA in illustration at Brighton University and further studies in printmaking and life drawing. Her work has been seen in several solo exhibitions in London and group shows throughout the UK. She was previously selected for the BP Portrait Award in 2004, 2009 and 2010. The portrait is of the artist’s father and was painted at their family home. This is the second painting Ansell has made of her father. She describes him as: ‘A very vital and intelligent man with an unfailing thirst for knowledge who continues to inspire me.’Mary Jane Ansell National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - 1654. Breenbergh spent ten years in Rome before settling in Amsterdam and was one of the Dutch ‘Italianate’ landscape painters. The story depicted is related in the Old Testament. Joseph has been appointed ruler by Pharaoh and, after storing the harvest during good years, he now sells corn to the people during the lean years. Joseph wears a white turban and holds a sceptre, standing at the top of the stairs, while Pharaoh watches from the balcony. Breenbergh has included references to Rome, such as the Pantheon. National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - 2000. Here is a supreme example of how Vanity Fair photographers continue to fuse fine art with celebrity portraiture with stunning results: Hollywood actress Julianne Moore is the subject of Michael Thompson’s tribute to nineteenth-century French painter, Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres.Condé Nast Publications Inc. / Courtesy Michael Thompson National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - 1947. Man Ray, Juliet, 1947, Collection Timothy Baum, New York © Man Ray Trust / ADAGP, Paris and DACS, London, 2013© Man Ray Trust / ADAGP, Paris and DACS, London, 2013 National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - 1945. Man Ray, Juliet with Brazilian Headdress, 1945, The J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles © Man Ray Trust / ADAGP, Paris and DACS, London, 2013© Man Ray Trust / ADAGP, Paris and DACS, London, 2013 National Galleries of Scotland National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - c.1608. Philemon and Baucis, an old couple living in Phrygia, gave a warm welcome to two travellers who had been turned away from other houses. Although far from wealthy, Philemon and Baucis offered to kill their only goose for the strangers. In fact, the travellers were the gods Jupiter and Mercury in disguise, who showed their gratitude by turning the simple hut into a temple and by granting the old couple their wish to live out their final days as priests there. Elsheimer set the scene at night, in a windowless room lit by two oil lamps. The two weary travellers are seated expectantly at a simple table. Baucis prepares bedding for the guests, while Philemon, illuminated by the candle he holds, appears from a back room carrying food. Only the remarkable light that envelops Jupiter suggests his real identity. Baucis looks at him as if transfixed, suddenly realising that he might be more than meets the eye. National Galleries of Scotland National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - 1982. Kerze demonstrates the mastery of Richter’s photo-based paintings. The candle has been used as a traditional symbol of the still life throughout art history to represent fragility, the passing of time and mortality. This is part of the memento mori tradition (‘remember you must die’).  Richter began working on his candle paintings after a period in which he had been producing mainly abstracts. This shift in style is typical of Richter’s oeuvre.Gerhard Richter National Galleries of Scotland National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - July 1868. On the other side of Obersee lies a much larger lake and stretch of water, Königssee, which is surrounded by steep cliffs and mountains. This mountain scenery must have reminded Church of similar views along the Hudson River in New York State.Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum, Smithsonian Institution. Gift of Louis P. Church, 1917-4-562-b National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - c.1875-6. This picture offers a characteristic glimpse of a Parisian café - a typical subject for the French Impressionists. In Britain however, the absinthe-drinker and her dissipated companion were considered to be unsuitable subjects for representation and the picture, which was owned by a Glasgow merchant, was regarded as morally degrading. National Galleries of Scotland National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - 1937. This print is based upon preparatory drawings for Guernica, Picasso’s masterpiece. The figure of the weeping woman did not appear in the finished mural, but it does serve as the basis for this stunning etching. Printed in July 1937, it is one of only fifteen copies, and was bought by Roland Penrose, Picasso’s biographer, soon after its creation. Much later, in the 1970s, Penrose presented it to his friend Jennifer Drew, who would eventually leave it to the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art. Succession Picasso/DACS 2007 National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - Late 1570s. Originally part of the Louis-Philippe Collection in the Louvre in Paris, this picture was then sold in 1853 to the distinguished collector of Spanish art, Sir William Stirling Maxwell. The direct engagement with the viewer makes this picture quite distinct from the formal portraits usually adopted by the court.Image © Culture and Sport Glasgow (Museums), The Stirling Maxwell Collection, Pollok House National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - 1905. Gallen-Kallela drew inspiration from the mythology of his native Finland. This atmospheric view of Lake Keitele in central Finland was painted in the summer months and combines both naturalism and symbolism. The ripples in the water were supposedly left in the wake of the legendary boat of Väinämöinen, a wise bard versed in poetry, song and magic, and a central character in the Finnish epic the Kalevala. Lahti Art Museum, Viipuri Foundation National Galleries of Scotland National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - 1958. Dalí acquired a fisherman's shack in the tiny fishing village of Port Lligat and made it his main residence. The enclosed bay became a favourite backdrop in Dalí's work and featured in countless mythological scenes. This painting appears to depict the Annunciation: the winged figure seems to be the angel Gabriel and the Madonna is denoted by a lily in her hand.© Salvador Dali, Fundació Gala-Salvador Dalí, DACS, 2010 National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - 1904. Picasso had no formal training in printmaking and made his first prints with the help of his friend the artist Richard Canals. Made in 1904 when Picasso was twenty-two years old, The Frugal Meal was only his second etching yet remains one of his most celebrated. This print was executed on an old zinc plate. Picasso and Canals were not thorough in scraping down this plate, which had previously been used for a landscape composition: vestiges of the grasses in the foreground of the landscape can still be seen in the top right area of Picasso’s print. Succession Picasso/DACS 2007 National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - 1945. In November 1945, Picasso began working in the lithographic studio of Fernand Mourlot. Encouraged by Mourlot, Picasso adopted a painterly approach to lithography. This piece is one of a remarkable series of eleven lithographs, begun on 5 December 1945 and finished on 17 January 1946. At first Picasso made a wash drawing on the lithographic stone. Over the next month he reworked the image again and again, using a pen, brush and scraper. Once Picasso had finished reworking each image, Mourlot printed eighteen copies of that state. The use of the pen and scraper was very unusual in lithography, but was typical of Picasso’s inventive approach. Succession Picasso/DACS 2007 National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - 1998. In general, one can say that after his successful liver operation in 1988 Bellany moved more and more towards a more accepting, less guilt-ridden view of the world. Especially after his visit to Mexico in 1995-96 and the purchase of his home in Tuscany in 1998, he painted more scenes of life’s pleasures. His palette became warmer and richer and his application of paint less aggressive.the artist National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - 1932. Man Ray moved from New York to Paris in 1921 and, thanks to his friendship with Duchamp, was immediately drawn into the same Dada group. Man Ray had taken up photography in New York and in Paris he quickly became the photographer of choice for the Dada group, allowing him to socialise with a broad circle of artists and poets.© Man Ray courtesy of The Roland Penrose Estate, England 2010. All rights reserved. © Man Ray Trust/ADAGP, Paris and DACS, London 2010. National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - 1998.   Lee Mingwei makes projects that help people connect to themselves, their memories and their emotions. His Letter Writing Project - which will take place for the first time in the UK as part of The Enlightenments - invites viewers to write the letters they always meant to, but have never had the opportunity or time to do. Lee's three-sided booth, constructed of wood and translucent glass, contains a desk and writing materials. In this project, visitors enter the booths to write their letter. The letters are then sealed and addressed (for posting by the gallery), or left unsealed in one of many slots on the wall of the booth, where visitors can read them. Many of the visitors come to realise, through reading the letters of others, that they too carry unexpressed feelings that they would feel relieved to write down and perhaps share. A chain of feelings is created, reminding visitors of the larger world of emotions in which we all participate.  © The Artist and the Yageo Foundation Collection, Taiwan National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - 2008. ‘Light bulb to Simulate Moonlight’ was produced in conjunction with the lighting company OSRAM. It contains a sufficient quantity of light bulbs to provide a person with a lifetime supply of simulated moonlight. Each bulb burns for 2000 hours, and a ‘lifetime’ contains 289 bulbs, a calculation based on the average life-span for a human being alive in 2008 (when the artist produced the work). The viewer enters the darkened room and encounters a light bulb suspended on a long cable from the ceiling. The rest of the bulbs are lined up on shelves, awaiting their turn.© Katie Paterson National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - . In 2004, Chris Levine was commissioned to make a holographic portrait. During the sitting, each lengthy exposure took eight seconds. Resting between shots, the Queen briefly closed her eyes, a moment preserved by this image. National Galleries of Scotland National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - 1983. Katz has placed colourful lilies against the brickwork of his summer house in Lincolnsville. He has been painting flowers since the 1960s, sometimes during Summer residencies in Maine. The cropped, flattened composition is similar to Japanese art. Katz is well known for his large paintings, whose bold simplicity and colours are now seen as precursors to Pop Art. Small oil paintings such as this one are sketched from life and often intended to be scaled up into larger works.© The Artist National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - 1960 - 1961. A talented figurative painter, producing landscapes and still lifes, Victor Pasmore was also a leading practitioner in abstract art, creating paintings, collages and constructions. Pasmore was particularly interested in new ideas and experiences, experimenting with a range of techniques and changing direction several times throughout his career.© Victor Pasmore Estate National Galleries of Scotland National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - 1979. It is hardly surprising that Andy Warhol, being a celebrity-obsessive, possessed an interest in Liza Minnelli. More than anyone else, Minnelli is a symbol of celebrity culture. The daughter of Judy Garland and Vincente Minnelli, Liza was a celebrity from birth, raised on sets and studios, and appeared onscreen at the tender age of 2½. Her life encapsulates the notion of fame, both the glamour and the misery; despite all the success and acclaim, Minnelli’s life has been constantly rocked by divorce, death and drugs. Minnelli was part of Warhol’s circle in the 1970s and 1980s and appears in more than one of his works. Her image lends itself well to Warhol’s style of portraiture: the short black hair, heavily made-up eyes and big red lips create a face that is bold, brash and unmistakable. However, those who know about her troubled life may sense a sadness that clashes with the bright colours. Licensed by the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc/ARS, New York and DACS London 2007 National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - 1890. Painted in early May 1890 in the walled garden of the asylum at St-Rémy, just a few weeks before Van Gogh discharged himself. Van Gogh’s unusual composition has a claustrophobic feel, and only just included, in the upper left corner, is a path to the right of a row of tree trunks. This painting probably belonged to the Van Gogh family and was probably sold at the end of 1925. After passing through the Paul Rosenberg Gallery in Paris it was sold in March 1926 by the London-based French Gallery, also known as Wallis & Son. It was purchased by Samuel Courtauld for £2,100 for the Tate, and was transferred to the National Gallery in 1961. National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - . Impressionist paintings of private gardens often have a sense of intimacy. Here, the American artist Charles Courtney Curran implicitly places the viewer in the boat with his bride and cousin amid the lotuses on their family estate.Terra Foundation for American Art, Daniel J. Terra Collection, Chicago National Galleries of Scotland National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - 2002. This work was made specifically for the Dean Gallery, which is part of the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art complex. It was made immediately after a walk Long made from Oban, on the west coast of Scotland, to Stonehaven on the east coast. It is made of Macduff slate, and is sited in a quiet area of the Gallery grounds, close to an adjacent cemetery.  The circular form is perhaps the most powerful symbol of Man’s interaction with nature: in prehistory, men arranged rocks into circles as a means of communing with the earth, the sun, the moon and their gods. The circle suggests a concentrated filed of force or focus of energy.Courtesy the artist and Haunch of Venison, London National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - 1989. Number 2 in an edition of 3Jeff Koons. Image courtesy Anthony d'Offay Ltd National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - . The alternative title, Woman Making Love, and the inclusion of a foetus and spermatozoa in the border suggest the binding of spiritual and secular worlds through the life cycle. Munch’s sinuous, flowing lines are reminiscent of the Art Nouveau style and create a halo-like effect around the woman. The symbolic power and drama of the image is particularly heightened in this rare version, to which Munch added colour by hand to create a unique work.Courtesy the Gundersen Collection,© The Munch Museum, The Munch – Ellingsen Group, BONO, Oslo, DACS, London 2012 National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - 2002. Mueck's work charts humanity's progress through life from birth to death, and one work stands out for its more symbolic treatment of this journey. In Man in a Boat, 2002 Mueck has placed a naked, middle-aged man in a small, black boat. The man has no means of steering a course and no oars or sails, but is cast adrift on the sea of life. The man tips his head to the right and strains his eyes as though he is trying to make out what is in store for him.Ron Mueck National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - 2002. The work was created as part of Mueck's time as artist in residence at the National Gallery, London, in 2000, where he was invited to seek inspiration from the old masters. (In Man in a Boat, for example, Mueck focussed on an overlooked detail of a tiny ship in Velazquez's Immaculate Conception).Ron Mueck National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - 1926. Man Ray, Barbette, 1926, The J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles © Man Ray Trust / ADAGP. Paris and DACS, London, 2013© Man Ray Trust / ADAGP. Paris and DACS, London, 2013 National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - 1924. Man Ray, Le Violon d’Ingres (Kiki de Montparnasse), 1924 (Original photogravure reproduction by Braun et Cie of Paris published in Daniel Masclet presente: Nus, La beaute de la femme – Album du premier salon international du Nu Photographique, Paris 1933) Private Collection © Man Ray Trust / ADAGP, Paris and DACS, London, 2013© Man Ray Trust / ADAGP, Paris and DACS, London, 2013 National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - . 3rd Prize  Annalisa Avancini, 35, is a painter and design teacher from Italy who studied at the Arts High School of Trento and the Marangoni Institute in Milan. Avancini started this portrait last summer, attracted by the contrast between Manuel's expression, the battered chair and the sunlight coming in through the window.© Annalisa Avancini National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - about 1930. Although Peploe is best known for his depictions of roses, he painted a variety of flowers, including lilies as seen in this work. It is a good example of Peploe’s late style, in which the finesse of his work of the early 1900s has matured to a more rigorous and summary approach. National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - 1995. British author Martin Amis is here captured smoking one of his trademark rollup cigarettes. This photograph was taken in 1995, the year Amis’s novel The Information was published.Nigel Parry / CPI National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - 1968. After his assassination, Martin Luther King Jr.’s body was laid in state in Atlanta.  Inside the Ebenezer Baptist Church, the heat was stifling as people cried and mourners passed by the open casket.Harry Benson National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - 1789. This drawing is arguably one of the finest examples of this type of finished portrait on paper. Lawrence’s deft use of the chalk, for shading and for line, strikes an exquisite balance between the black, grey and red tones of the composition. Lawrence continued to draw similar finished portraits for display throughout his career, and considered them vital elements of his work and reputation. National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - 2005. The work shown here is the third mask created by Ron Mueck. The first two (one of which is also on show in the exhibition), created in 1997 and 2001-2, were considered to be self-portraits.Ron Mueck National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - 2005. All of Mueck's sculptures are captivating in their physical realism, and this is the result of a lengthy creative process. A mould is made of the sculpture using silicone, capturing all the details such as expression and skin texture, supported by fibreglass to hold the shape.Ron Mueck National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - 1994. This comes from a series of twenty monoprints called Family Suite. In them, Emin portrays a range of childhood memories: her father with his briefcase, on one of his irregular visits; the false front teeth she had fitted at twelve; early sexual encounters.the artist National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - 1966. As Benson says himself “There’s never been a party like it in New York”. On November 28, 1966, in honour of publisher Katharine Graham, Truman Capote hosted a legendary masked ball, called the Black & White Ball, in the Grand Ballroom of New York City's Plaza Hotel. It was considered the social event of not only that season but of many to follow. The New York Times and other publications gave it considerable coverage, and Benson covered it for the Express. Frank Sinatra and Mia Farrow (who had recently married) went dressed as cats. Harry Benson National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - . Paul Emsley (b.1947) lives and works in Bradford on Avon, near Bath. Paul has exhibited widely and won several prizes. This portrait is a large close-up of the head of sixty-seven-year-old artist Michael Simpson, whom Emsley often meets by chance in Bradford on Avon, each time struck by his appearance. ‘I find his face and head visually interesting and with a strong presence,’ he says. ‘I feel it is essentially European, particularly carrying something of the history of Eastern Europe.’ Simpson, who is portrayed with his white hair contrasting strongly with a dark background, has Russian ancestry and studied at the Royal College of Art in the 1960s. The artist National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - 2007. Long’s art often refers to the marking of time, in the form of walks which take a specific number of days, or actions which Long makes at regular intervals (picking up or laying down stones). This work was made on 21 June, Midsummer’s Day and the longest day of the year. The circular form echoes the form of the earth, sun and moon. Measuring about 8 feet in diameter, and made directly on the Gallery wall, it includes more than 200 handprints, made in mud from the Firth of Forth.the artist National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - 1839. This picture was painted by Turner as a contrast to a work now in the Tate, which features a reconstruction of ancient Rome. In Modern Rome the fabric of the past has crumbled, and we are shown an anthology of spectacular ruins, interspersed with Baroque churches; goats are milked in the foreground, and a tiny figure, perhaps an archaeologist, ascends a ladder to study a column at the right. National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - 1975. Stephen Partridge's Monitor is a self-reflexive work which explores a visual language unique to TV and video. In turning the camera in on itself, the monitor becomes the subject of the work, as well as its means of presentation. Monitor was originally conceived as a performance-based work, of which this is a live recording, during which Partridge transmits a series of consecutive, repetitive playbacks within the television screen to create a multi-layered, ‘Russian doll' effect.video still courtesy of the artist © the artist National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - 1998. Mortonhall Crematorium was one of the many commissions which Spence received following the success of Coventry Cathedral. The building comprises a main structure with two large chapels, the crematorium and services block, a separate private chapel, a garden of remembrance and staff residencies. All interior fixtures and fittings were kept simple to allow for quiet reflection. The interior of the chapel is lit naturally with the only colour coming from stained glass windows, which project coloured patterns onto the white interior. © RCAHMS National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - 1965. In the 1960s Richter was producing paintings based on enlarged copies of black and white photographs that he would blur the details of, making them appear slightly out of focus. In combining this process with the use of family snapshots and images taken from newspapers and magazines, he attempted to empty painting of its historical baggage and of such conventional considerations as composition and content.Gerhard Richter National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - 2003. Katy Dove's kaleidoscopic animations merge the digital and handmade to create seductive and abstract compositions, reminiscent of early 20th century abstract film-makers including Viking Eggeling and Len Lye. In Motorhead, colors and forms move across the screen in time to a digital soundtrack created by Glasgow band Devotone, revealing Dove's ongoing explorations into the affinities between image and sound. still courtesy of Hales Gallery and the artist © the artist National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - 1927. František Drtikol was the most famous photographer of dance poses internationally in his day. He contrasted elements of the abstract and the erotic, aiming to fuse them into an ecstatic unity. In this photograph, the nude contrasts with the geometrically shaped props and the shadows they cast. National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - . Jennifer McRae trained at Gray's School of Art, Aberdeen and has had solo exhibitions in the UK and USA. This portrait is of Pat and Geoffrey Eastop who have both had a life-long involvement with art. Pat has initiated and chairs an open studio scheme for artists and devised a programme of art workshops and residencies in schools. Geoffrey is a sculptor working with ceramic material.© Jennifer McRae National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - 1998. The bed is unmade and the sheets are dirty, and at its side, scattered on a dusty blue carpet, are bottles, pill packets, cigarettes, condoms, a soft toy and other unsavoury items which tell of drunken nights and a life on the edge. This iconic and extraordinary work is still shocking a decade after it was made.the artist National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - . Many of Elinor Carucci’s photographs are realistic portrayals of intimate scenes, often between family members. Through her camera, intensely private scenes are captured and then presented to the public. My Mother and I is typical of Carucci’s photographic realism; the skin blemishes are clearly visible and the unconventional framing of the two women prevents the work from appearing staged. The physical interaction between mother and daughter is the real subject here: a seemingly close bond contradicted by an awkward gesture, a wedding ring and the white space between them. Elinor Carucci/ Courtesy Edwin Houk Gallery, New York National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - 1962. One of Picasso’s greatest linocut prints, Still life with a Glass under Lamplight was made from a single linoleum block, cut four times and printed in yellow, red, green and black. The colours would have been printed in that order, with the lighter colours followed by the darker ones.Succession Picasso/DACS 2007 National Galleries of Scotland National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - August 1858. This oil sketch is painted over an original photograph of Niagara Falls which Church may have purchased at the time of his 1856 visit there. A decade later he used this hybrid image as a preparatory study for the large painting of Niagara Falls that is now in the permanent collection of the Scottish National Gallery.Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum, Smithsonian Institution. Gift of Louis P. Church, 1917-4-1350 National Galleries of Scotland National Galleries of Scotland National Galleries of Scotland National Galleries of Scotland National Galleries of Scotland National Galleries of Scotland National Galleries of Scotland National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - c.1872-5. This painting is dominated by Battersea Bridge, with Chelsea Old Church and the lights of the newly built Albert Bridge just visible in the background. Whistler does not portray the riverside crowded with factories, warehouses, wharves and mills; instead he captures the atmospheric effects of the water in the evening.Tate, London 2008 National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - 1910. Throughout the summer of 1910, Picasso lived and worked at Cadaqués, on the Costa Brava. It was here that his work ‘cubist’ period began. He began to abandon obvious figurative references and open up the closed form of the body, allowing space and solid forms to interpenetrate and the graphic marks of lines and curves to take on their own logic. In this drawing we can decipher the buttocks, the breasts and the curve of the leg – but otherwise the drawings of this period are about as abstract and austere as Picasso’s graphic work became. Succession Picasso/DACS 2007 National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - 1906. This outstanding drawing demonstrates the giant leap Picasso made between 1905 and 1906, when he moved on from the emaciated and androgynous circus performers of his Pink Period and instead introduced figures which have greater mass and weight. This shift coincided with a trip to Gósol in Spain, where he spent the summer of 1906. On his return to Paris from Gósol, he repainted the portrait of the American writer Gertrude Stein which he had already spent some months working upon. He now gave her a stylised, mask-like face, and introduced that style into other paintings and drawings. Succession Picasso/DACS 2007 National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - 1932. This work belongs to the sequence of portraits that Picasso made of Marie-Therese Walter. As in many of his portraits of her, Marie-Therese is shown as a series of sensuous curves, and even the scrolling arms of the chair have been heightened and exaggerated to reflect the rounded forms of her body. The face is a double, or metamorphic, image: the right side can also be seen as the face of a lover in profile.Tate London 2012, Succession DACS 2012 (photo) National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - 1932. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Sed eu nisi leo. Class aptent taciti sociosqu ad litora torquent per conubia nostra, per inceptos himenaeos. Nunc sodales purus et dolor tincidunt facilisis. In tincidunt erat vitae est ultricies non aliquet sapien tempus. Class aptent taciti sociosqu ad litora torquent per conubia nostra, per inceptos himenaeos. Donec ac neque urna. Nunc dolor tellus, congue quis vestibulum non, laoreet et dui.Tate collection © Succession Picasso/ DACS, London 2012. Photo © Tate London 2012. National Galleries of Scotland National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - 1888. Painted in Arles at the end of August 1888, it depicts pink Oleander flowers in a majolica jug, resting on a table with two novels near the edge – the upper one is Emilie Zola’s La Joie de Vivre, which was published four years earlier. The painting was exhibited at London’s Lefevre Gallery in October 1923 and was bought by the educationalist Michael Sadler, who kept it until 1925, when it was sold by the Lefevre Gallery to Elizabeth Workman, the wife of wealthy shipbroker, Robert Workman. In 1928, Elizabeth sold the painting back to the Alex Reid & Lefevre Gallery. It was offered to the Tate, which decided against the acquisition, and was eventually purchased by New York collector, Mrs William Clark and acquired by the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York in 1962. National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - 1889. Van Gogh was fascinated by the gnarled structures and changing colours of olive trees. This picture is one of at least fourteen canvases of olive trees Van Gogh painted while in the asylum at Saint-Remy, and its intense character may well reflect the artist's agitated state of mind. National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - 1932. On Living is the cover of avant-garde designer Sutnar’s book on the range of upbeat, thoroughly modern offerings available from the design and artisan organisations of which he was a leading member. National Galleries of Scotland National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - 1892. In this painting Melville demonstrates his brilliant control over the use of colour. In such studies he prepared the paper with Chinese white pigment, mapped out the composition lightly in pencil, and then ‘blocked in' and placed accents of vibrant hues.Image © The Fleming Collection National Galleries of Scotland National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - . Flower paintings such as this encompass Blackadder’s different approaches – this one, for example, demonstrates the artist’s interest in a graphic description of the overall, uprooted structure.© The Artist National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - . This is perhaps one of Blackadder’s most striking recent works and shows a rich variety of plant forms that the artist ahs drawn in dark strokes of pencil, and in parts using coloured pencil to show distinct flower heads.© The Artist National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - 1861. Church painted this highly symbolic landscape shortly after the onset of the American Civil War. A barren tree acts as a flagpole to the ‘Stars and Stripes’ in which the North Star shines through a patch of blue sky. In this image, Church links the American landscape to the northern ‘Union’ cause.Terra Foundation for American Art, Chicago, Daniel J. Terra Collection, 1992.27 National Galleries of Scotland National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - . Unfinished in the immediate foreground, this view was taken from the hill of Monreale and shows the coastal plain known as the Conca d’Oro with the city of Palermo in the background, silhouetted against the sea. The beauty of this landscape is rendered by Lusieri with his customary all-embracing view. The highly tactile treatment of the rocky surface in the left foreground is particularly striking. This is the only large watercolour painted by Lusieri in Sicily. National Galleries of Scotland National Galleries of Scotland National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - . Paper Cup is part of Gallagher’s first mature body of work which explored layered and contradictory themes. Gallagher has created a loosely structured grid by lining up small pieces of writing paper in multiple rows, recalling the history of handwriting exercises. From a distance this large work’s subtle geometry resembles an American minimalist painting, but closer inspection reveals not only a darker side of American history but references Gallagher’s own mixed-race origins© The Artist National Galleries of Scotland National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - 1979. Number 6 in an edition of 10Robert Mapplethorpe Foundation National Galleries of Scotland National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - 1889. Painted in early April 1889, this magnificent landscape shows a view of the Crau, a plain which starts a few kilometres east of Arles. It was one of the last paintings Van Gogh made before he left the town for the asylum at St-Rémy. It has recently been established that the work was bought by the Belgian artist Anna Boch, the only identified collector who purchased a Van Gogh painting during the artist's lifetime. In 1906, she sold the painting, and it was eventually acquired (in 1927) by Samuel Courtauld. In March 1935, it was - most unusually - lent to a village hall in Essex for an exhibition entitled Art for the People. The village, Silver End (near Braintree) was a 'utopian' village which had been established by a steel window manufacturer for his workers. The display was organised by the Workers' Educational Association, and sixty pictures were shown, of which this Van Gogh landscape was the star attraction. National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - 1942. Edward Wadsworth was not part of the British Surrealist group yet he produced some of the greatest Surrealist paintings made in Britain. Wadsworth used classic Surrealist visual language - grouping together unrelated, enigmatic objects and tampering with scale - more than a decade before the formation of the official British Surrealist group.© Estate of Edward Wadsworth. All rights reserved, DACS 2010 National Galleries of Scotland National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - 1936. Lusha Nelson’s study of Peter Lorre appeared in the February 1936 issue of Vanity Fair, the last before the magazine suspended publication. The photograph was taken during the shooting of Josef von Sternberg’s film adaptation of Dostoevsky’s classic novel Crime and Punishment.Condé Nast Publications Inc. / Courtesy Condé Nast Archive National Galleries of Scotland National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - 1973. Number 2 in an edition of 7Charles Ray. Image courtesy Anthony d'Offay Ltd National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - 2003. This film, shown on two screens and one or two television monitors, shows an elephant acting out an old circus trick: playing dead. The two screens are virtually the full size of the elephant. The films on the screens show the elephant playing dead and slowly getting up and moving around, but one camera moves clockwise around the animal, the other anti-clockwise. The film shown on the monitors moves more freely and concentrates on the elephant’s eye.Douglas Gordon National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - 2003. A close-up of the elephant's eye.Douglas Gordon National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - 1892. This is a work from Monet's celebrated series of poplar paintings made between the spring and autumn of 1891. He used a boat as a floating studio and captured beautifully the shimmering effects of sunlight on water. National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - 1941. In 1936, at the Deux Magots Café in Paris, Pablo Picasso met Henriette Theodora Markovitch, better known as Dora Maar. The pair soon became lovers, and Dora began appearing in much of Picasso’s work: she was the inspiration behind Weeping Woman I and many of the studies for Guernica. In May 1943 Picasso met Françoise Gilot, who supplanted Maar in Picasso’s affections. Maar then led a reclusive life in Ménerbes, a village in south-eastern France. She was a celebrated photographer and painter, holding numerous exhibitions. Succession Picasso/DACS 2007 National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - 1958. This portrait, made in July 1958, was Picasso’s first independent linocut. It was based on a postcard sent to him by his dealer Daniel-Henry Kahnweiler of a painting by Lucas Cranach the Younger. Cranach’s painting of 1564 is delicately modelled and coloured, making it an unexpected choice for turning into a linocut. Adopting the conventional technique for colour linocuts, Picasso cut a different linoleum block for each different colour in the print. Registering each block correctly was complicated, hence the slight overlaps and gaps between the colours. Succession Picasso/DACS 2007 National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - 1887. This painting, originally in the Van Gogh family collection, was once assumed to be a self-portrait. Contemporaries remarked that Van Gogh and Reid were so alike that they could have been taken for twins, and two portraits of Reid were catalogued by De la Faille in 1928 as self-portraits. When the catalogue was published McNeill Reid recognised the ‘self-portrait’ as a portrait of his father, Alexander Reid. In July 1929, Van Gogh’s nephew, V. W. Van Gogh, sold the Portrait of Alexander Reid to McNeil Reid for £100. It was one of the last works to be sold by the family. National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - 1980. Warhol produced more than one portrait of Joseph Beuys, a contemporary of his, hinting at a mutual respect between the two artists. Both shared an understanding and mastery of the news media which informed their work, albeit in different ways. The pair differed, however, in their attitude toward American popular culture; whereas Warhol celebrated the phenomenon, Beuys remained ambivalent towards it. The Joseph Beuys exhibition at the National Gallery Complex in autumn 2008 is the second in the Bank of Scotland totalART series. Licensed by the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc/ARS, New York and DACS London 2007 National Galleries of Scotland National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - . Painted when Købke was in his early twenties, this is a portrait of his friend and studio colleague, the landscape painter Frederik Sødring. Rather than depict his subject as a kind of intellect, Købke instead presents Sødring as a youthful artist, slouched but self-composed, ready to begin work. This is a carefully organised composition, but one conveying intimacy and relaxation.The Hirschsprung Collection, Copenhagen National Galleries of Scotland National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - 1965. Spence was approached in 1964 to advise on the design of the Parliament extension. The Parliament was occupied from 1918 but had become too small to house the government by the 1960s. Spence’s controversial design proposed demolishing part of the building known as the Bellamys. This caused heated debate, but Spence responded by pointing out that the circular design was serious, considered and practical. He also rationalised that it was a symbol of unity and had a historical context, citing other government buildings such as the Capitol in Washington. Popularly known as The Beehive, the extension was built between 1969 and 1979 has become an iconic emblem for New Zealand, illustrated on the country’s banknotes. National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - 1965. During the late 1950s the 18th and 19th-century slum tenements on the Royal Mile were demolished to make way for better housing. In 1959 Spence was awarded a commission to create a new housing development at the bottom of the Royal Mile in place of these tenements.  Spence ensured that a good amount of open space on the site was available so that residents could appreciate the historic views.  The resulting development consists of three blocks containing one and two bedroom flats, two of which face onto the Royal Mile. National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - 2005. Acclaimed British artist Tacita Dean films the daily routines and rituals of the last remaining members of a small ecclesiastical community. With a patient and gentle regard for the rhythm of the day, plotted through the ethereal light that travels through the lives and rooms of this order, Dean emphasizes the aspects of quiet devotion, contemplation and dedication that define the Sisters' spiritual and earthly existence.  (Running time 60 minutes)© The Artist, Frith Street Gallery, London National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - 1985. Benson had been allocated the White House map room to photograph the Reagans. He had cued up a song on a tape machine, and as they entered the room, dressed for a black tie state dinner, Harry hit play, blasting out Frank Sinatra’s Nancy with the Laughing Face. The press officers looked alarmed, but the Reagans loved it, obligingly dancing across the room. It made the cover of Vanity Fair, and copies waltzed off news-stands. In many ways it caught the essence of the Reagans; Ronald Reagan’s appetite for a joke, their folksy romanticism and their residual Hollywood glamour. Harry Benson National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - 1961. Kennedy visited Paris in the summer of his first year as president, and Parisians lined the streets cheering and craning for a glimpse of him riding with the French president in an open car. Guards in their plumed helmets and gold epaulets on their galloping horses surrounded the procession. John Kennedy Jr. asked Benson for a copy of this photograph for his office at George magazine. He thanked Benson with a note saying, "this was when politics was fun." Harry Benson National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - 1992 -. This work is the first in the exhibition - a retrospective in itself, featuring every film and video work Gordon has made from 1992 until now. Including works such as Film Noir (Fly), Fuzzy Logic; B Movie and A Divided Self I & II, 1996, this piece is shown on a bank of 50 TV monitors in the RSA's Sculpture Hall.Douglas Gordon National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - 1932. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Sed eu nisi leo. Class aptent taciti sociosqu ad litora torquent per conubia nostra, per inceptos himenaeos. Nunc sodales purus et dolor tincidunt facilisis. In tincidunt erat vitae est ultricies non aliquet sapien tempus. Class aptent taciti sociosqu ad litora torquent per conubia nostra, per inceptos himenaeos. Donec ac neque urna. Nunc dolor tellus, congue quis vestibulum non, laoreet et dui.Angela Verren Taunt 2012. All rights reserved, DACS. National Galleries of Scotland National Galleries of Scotland National Galleries of Scotland National Galleries of Scotland National Galleries of Scotland National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - . Colour applied by hand by Beatrice Johnson to Wilding’s photograph produces an image of the Queen that is at once more naturalistic than the original and also more artifical. These two themes, artifice and naturalism, run through the images of the Queen that followed this image. National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - . Freud was asked to depict the Queen wearing the diamond diadem crown she had worn when photographed fifty years earlier. The two images occupy different worlds – the earlier responded to the Queen’s youth and glamour whereas Freud’s image is of age and experience. National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - . Karsh photographed the Queen on four occasions over a period of forty years. This photograph emphasises the sitter’s regal splendour with the Queen shown wearing the Russian fringe tiara and the Garter Sash and Star. National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - .   Freud was asked to depict the Queen wearing the diamond diadem crown she had worn when photographed fifty years earlier. The two images occupy different worlds – the earlier responded to the Queen’s youth and glamour whereas Freud’s image is of age and experience. National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - . In contrast to conventional portraits that emphasises the Queen’s special but remote position, this spontaneous photograph shows the Queen’s qualities as an apparently ordinary, approachable person. National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - 1890. Painted in July 1890, a few weeks before Van Gogh shot himself. The dramatic scene is the view towards the village, and features several hovering crows and pouring rain (the streaking rain effect being reminiscent of Japanese prints). The painting was acquired by Gwendoline Davies, who along with her sister, Margaret, collected works of art on the advice of the artist and dealer Hugh Blaker, with money they inherited from their grandfather David Davies, who made his fortune from railways and coal. Gwendoline purchased Rain – Auvers in April 1920 for 100,000 francs (£2,000) from Bernheim-Jeune in Paris, a gallery she and her sister had got to know during their stay in France in the First World War. Gwendoline Davies bequeathed this painting to the National Museums & Galleries of Wales when she died in 1951. National Galleries of Scotland National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - about 1924. This painting is a fine example of the still lifes which Peploe painted from about 1918 to 1924, which are the works for which he is best known, partly because of the sheer number that he made and also because of their immediate and continuing commercial success. Peploe changed his technique, adopting an absorbent gesso ground and reducing the amount of medium in his paint. He pushed his use of colour to the extreme and obsessively arranged objects – such as the Chinese blue and white porcelain brush pot, fan, books, scattered fruit, fabric-draped table and background seen here – to create finely balanced compositions in some of the most successful works of his career. National Galleries of Scotland National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - . In her works over the past few years, Jemima Stehli appears in the work itself, as subject or object, most often as both. She often appropriates iconic imagery from existing, often clichéd, stylistic genres such as fashion photography. In Red Turning, the artist/model is dressed only in glossy red stilettos with her back to us. She looks slightly ridiculous, her head twisted, her hair like an advert for shampoo. However, it is Stehli who chooses her moment, who takes the picture, who objectifies herself. Courtesy of the artist and the Lisson Gallery, London National Galleries of Scotland National Galleries of Scotland National Galleries of Scotland National Galleries of Scotland National Galleries of Scotland National Galleries of Scotland National Galleries of Scotland National Galleries of Scotland National Galleries of Scotland National Galleries of Scotland National Galleries of Scotland National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - . The Royal Engineers built a huge temporary port at Richborough in Kent to supply the armies on the Western Front. Barges were built on site to carry equipment, munitions and stores across the Channel. Towards the end of the war, a rail ferry berth was constructed, which can be seen on the left of the painting; in the foreground artillery waits to be loaded on to train ferries. Lavery had to climb up to the cabin of one of the electric cranes on the wharf to get this perspective. National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - 2012. London-based artist Alan Coulson completed foundation studies in art and design at Harrogate College of Art and Design but is otherwise self-taught. His work was previously exhibited in the BP Portrait Award 2010 and 2011 as well at the Royal Society of Portrait Painters exhibition in 2010, 2011 and 2012. The portrait is of Richie Culver, a fellow artist and friend. Coulson visited Culver at his home and produced preparatory sketches before completing the painting in his studio. He says: ‘My aim was to produce a direct and honest painting that would capture Richie’s unique appearance alongside his easygoing nature’.Alan Coulson National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - . This painting shows the interior of the third, very large, shed at East Fortune which had been built between the two existing sheds in April 1917 to house the new rigid airships. The R.29 arrived on 29 June 1918 and it proved to be the most successful of the Royal Navy's airships. On 29 September it became the only airship to take part in the destruction of a German submarine, the UB115, at Newton-by-the-Sea off the Northumberland coast. Next to the R.29 is the North Sea Class non-rigid airship N.S.7, in which Lavery would make a flight over the North Sea. National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - . Measuring about 8 foot in diameter, this circle is made from the imprints of Long’s hand, pressed directly onto the wall. Long was born in Bristol and as a child often played by the banks of the River Avon. The mud from the river has been an important element in his work, either dripped or stamped onto walls, or used in drawings. Like the stones used in his sculptures, mud is a natural material, and just as he lays stones into circular forms to symbolise a presence, so the hand prints symbolise Man’s presence in the world in an elemental yet visually arresting way.James Cohan Gallery, New York, 2000 National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - 1795-1796. Robert Burns’s writing has become an important part of Scottish national identity. Burns referred to the painting of this miniature in his correspondence on various occasions during the last year of his life. There is a sense, both in the adoption of the pose in profile and in the elaborate commemorative contemporary frame, that the painting and the framing of this miniature were to mark the presence – and the passing – of a famous man. National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - 1976. Polanski was the guest editor of the Christmas edition of French Vogue and had asked Harry to do the photography.  The theme was pirates and whilst the stylists were readying the shoot Benson suggested to Polanski he bury him in sand.  They dug a hole and he got in.  Polanski was fine until a large wave took them by surprise.  Benson pretended he was going to get help, but Polanski was apprehensive and told Benson to get him out.Harry Benson National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - 1820. This spectacular picture was exhibited at the Royal Academy, following Turner’s first visit to Rome in 1819. It encapsulates his reactions to the splendour and artistic heritage of the city. Turner’s painting was created on the three-hundredth anniversary of Raphael’s death and he depicted Raphael in the foreground, glancing at his frescoes above, accompanied by his mistress, La Fornarina.   National Galleries of Scotland National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - 2012. Vanessa Lubach undertook a BA (Hons) in graphic design and illustration at Brighton Polytechnic. Her work has been seen in group exhibitions in Norwich. The portrait is of the artist’s daughter, Rosie, holding the family’s bantam, Pumpkin. As the bird would not sit still long enough to pose, the initial sketches and longer sittings were made with Rosie holding a toy helmet. Rapid sketches and photographs of Pumpkin helped complete the portrait. Lubach says her aim was ‘to convey the moment of quiet astonishment that followed the battle of wits necessary to catch the agile and evasive bantam.’Vanessa Lubach National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - . Rudolf Nureyev is regarded by many to be the greatest male dancer of the 20th Century. This photograph captures the rare blend of grace and power that so captivated European ballet audiences in the 1960s, 70s and 80s. But Nureyev’s life away from the stage was of equal interest. Born in the Soviet Union, he eventually defected to the West under threat of imprisonment by the KGB. He remained resident in Europe until his death from AIDS in 1993. Richard Avedon National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - . This is one of the three views taken among the ruins of the Baths of Caracalla that were part of Lusieri’s Italian studio property at the time of his death. The viewpoint chosen by Lusieri for this watercolour is remarkable for its informality, for its lack of architectural motif. Instead, the towering masonry recedes from the left of the composition like a massive crumbling cliff face, dwarfing the two minuscule figures below. National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - . Travel Award 2009  Isobel Peachey submitted a proposal to travel to Belgium and Switzerland to sketch and paint portraits of those taking part in historical re-enactments. She hopes to capture the unique mix of history, culture, authentic settings and the participants' passionate involvement in recreating the past. Peachey receives a bursary of £5,000 to travel and paint portraits for display in next year's BP Portrait Award exhibition.© Isobel Peachey National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - 1900. A resolutely independent creative spirit, Redon largely ignored contemporary developments in art and explored instead the world of the imagination, beyond everyday vision. In the 1890s he took up oil paints and pastels and discovered the charms of colour; his art brightened considerably but retained a dark air of mystery. National Galleries of Scotland National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - c.1605. This work is one of eight coppers, identical in format, belonging to a series that once consisted of ten or more pieces. The tiny paintings probably originally decorated a valuable piece of furniture, into which they were inserted or inlaid, although we do not know exactly how. They are remarkable for the monumental effect of the figures and the lush and varied landscapes that Elsheimer incorporated on such a small scale. Here, Saint John the Baptist carries his attribute, a little lamb. He stands in front of a clearing in the woods populated with a deer and storks, which are painted on a miniature scale, yet so accurately that they are clearly recognisable at the edge of a stretch of water. National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - 1962. This is a much later work – a large partially abstract composition that looks from the salmon net posts out to sea.  Some of Eardley’s seascapes were huge and it’s amazing that Eardley was able to carry these boards up and down the steep cliff path.  She did however acquire a motor scooter which helped her transport her materials back and forth.With kind permission of the Eardley Estate National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - 2012. James Stewart studied wildlife illustration at Dyfed College of Art, Carmarthen. After a career as a designer and illustrator, Stewart turned to painting and fine art. His work has been seen in group exhibitions in the UK and USA and was included in the BP Portrait Award 2004. The portrait is of successful amateur jockey Sam Waley-Cohen, who was introduced to the artist by a mutual friend. Stewart says: ’It had long been a desire to paint a jockey and horse. I wanted to strip the sentiment and narrative out of the work leaving just the rider and horse in their purest form.’James Stewart National Galleries of Scotland National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - . The ruins of a large Second World War command centre now occupy the summit of Wee Fea Hill and this is one possible location for the Signal Station in this painting.  Alternatively, this view may have been painted further along the coast of Hoy, perhaps from Rysa Lodge, where there would have been a better view of the Main Fleet anchorage and of Mainland, the largest island of Orkney. National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - 1963. This fairytale castle was dreamt up by Bavaria’s King Ludwig II. This image was probably taken from the cover of an issue of Stern magazine from August 1963.  The painting has an unfinished look, made more apparent by the unpainted strip down the right-hand-side which shows the edge of the grid Richter used to transpose the image onto canvas.Gerhard Richter National Galleries of Scotland National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - . Painted when Picasso was nearly ninety, this nude portrayal shows Picasso's second wife, Jacqueline Roque. The explicit nature of late works such as this led many to dismiss them as the work of a senile, if famous figure. Picasso's late works - utterly free in their uncompromising subject matter and style - are now widely seen as among his best.Succession Picasso/DACS 2009 National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - 1923. The Dutch stockbroker Frank Stoop helped establish Picasso’s profile in Britain. He acquired several works, including Seated Woman in a Chemise, and continued to collect at a time when few in Britain were interested even in Picasso’s more orthodox works. Importantly for the reception of Picasso's work in British institutions, Stoop and his wife Bertha bequeathed their collection to London’s National Gallery.Tate London 2012, Succession DACS 2012 (photo) National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - 1923. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Sed eu nisi leo. Class aptent taciti sociosqu ad litora torquent per conubia nostra, per inceptos himenaeos. Nunc sodales purus et dolor tincidunt facilisis. In tincidunt erat vitae est ultricies non aliquet sapien tempus. Class aptent taciti sociosqu ad litora torquent per conubia nostra, per inceptos himenaeos. Donec ac neque urna. Nunc dolor tellus, congue quis vestibulum non, laoreet et dui.Tate collection © Succession Picasso/ DACS, London 2012. Photo © Tate London 2012. National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - 1960. The fields behind The Row became the setting for many evocative paintings, of which Seeded Grasses and Daisies, September was one.  It uses a collage of real grasses and daisies set against a brooding sky.With kind permission of the Eardley Estate National Galleries of Scotland National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - 1983. Number 1 of 2 artist's proofsRobert Mapplethorpe Foundation National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - about 2006. This theatrical and complex self-portrait is one of the last paintings Campbell completed before his untimely death in 2007. It is filled with a rich narrative, incorporating figures and symbols, mixed together in a dream-like composition. The artist presents himself as a Christ figure, displaying his palms which show stigmata. To the left a cross is marked out with police tape, which, as testament to Campbell’s dark humour, reads “Police. Death In Progress’. He takes this further with a skull visible at the base of the cross, a reference to Golgotha, the place where Christ was crucified. Crammed with death and religious symbolism, it is hard not to consider this work as a portrait of a man in some way aware that death was on his doorstep.© The estate of Steven Campbell National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - 1750. The lifted chin and direct gaze of this beautiful drawing lend it a kind of arrogance which was perhaps more to do with the positioning of the mirror than an indication of Reynolds’ character, which was known to be rather shy. The drawing has been described as ‘idealised’, as it only hints at the damage to his upper lip after a fall from his horse, clearly visible in other portraits of the artist. National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - 2012. Jean-Paul Tibbles studied at Eastbourne College of Art. His work has previously been seen in the Portrait Award at the National Portrait Gallery in 1988 and 1989. He has exhibited in the annual exhibitions of the Royal Society of Portrait Painters (2001–12) and the Portrait Society of America International Competition (2002–7) winning the Grand Prize in 2008. This self-portrait is the first that Tibbles has made in over ten years. He says: ‘The main aim was to be as concise as possible in the composition and to make use of cropping to achieve this.’Jean-Paul Tibbles National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - 2012. Claire Kerr studied modern history at Magdalen College, Oxford and fine art at Dun Laoghaire Institute of Art, Design and Technology. Her work has been seen in group exhibitions in London and Dublin; awards include the Culture Ireland Government Award (2007 and 2010) and being shortlisted for the Jerwood Drawing Prize (2005). This self-portrait is inspired by Titian’s Portrait of an Englishman (1540–5) in the collection of the Pitti Palace, Florence. Kerr says: ‘The idea of a self-portrait that would work against self-definition appealed to me, given that self-definition is such an inescapable part of contemporary life and yet is enormously over-simplified.’Claire Kerr National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - 1895. Munch made self-portraits throughout his career in a range of media including painting and photography. He made his first printed self-portrait in 1895.  It includes an inscription of the artist’s name at the top and a skeleton arm below, which acts as a memento mori (reminder of death). Coupled with the dense black background from which the artist’s disembodied head emerges, this sombre work reflects Munch’s preoccupation with mortality, even at the age of thirty-two.Courtesy the Gundersen Collection © The Munch Museum, The Munch – Ellingsen Group, BONO, Oslo, DACS, London 2012 National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - 1891. In 1891 Signac painted a series of five works, which he exhibited collectively as The sea: the boats (Concarneau). He gave each painting an opus number and a musical subtitle, suggesting a specific mood. This work, the last of the group, depicts the sunrise. The title adagio (a slow movement, full of feeling) is evoked by the calm waters and soft, warm light. The repeated forms of the fishing boats suggest musical notation. Mrs. John Hay Whitney Bequest. Acc. n.: 585.1998New York, Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) © 2012. Digital image, The Museum of Modern Art, New York/Scala, Florence National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - . Bruce Peebles’s electrical engineering works, where this scene was painted, was situated in East Pilton, just south of Granton Harbour. During both World Wars the company produced shells, submarine and aircraft parts and electrical equipment such as mobile search lights. Here women are polishing and finishing shell cases. National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - 2012. Antonios Titakis is a graduate of the Athens School of Fine Arts. His work has been seen on display in the Athens War Museum and in the 2009 Athens Biennale. This portrait is of the artist’s friend Dimitra and is part of a larger body of work. The artist felt a particular connection with the sitter as she had recently experienced the death of her father, as he had. Titakis says of the method used: ‘I used black and white acrylics, focusing on the delicate balance of tones. Broadening the spectrum without adding a third colour has been a challenge.’Antonios Titakis National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - 1966. This fun, interactive work was created for a 1966 exhibition at the Leo Castelli Gallery in New York. It consists of an entire roomful of silver balloons which move with the air currents of the room. Warhol created the original balloons with Billy Klüver, an engineer keen to introduce new technology into the arts. Each one is a metalized plastic film filled with a mixture of helium and air. Wherever the Silver Clouds are exhibited, they prove to be incredibly popular with audiences of all ages. They were even the inspiration for a work of dance theatre, when choreographer Merce Cunningham was enthused enough to include them in one of his shows; RainForest premiered in 1968 with Warhol himself as set designer. Licensed by the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc/ARS, New York and DACS London 2007 National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - 2012. Edinburgh-born Hoy is one of the greatest of modern Olympians. In the 2008 Beijing Olympics Hoy won gold medals in the individual sprint, the team sprint and the keirin. He was the first British Olympian for 100 years to claim three gold medals in a single Games. McRae’s triptych of portraits embodies Hoy’s triple success. As she wrote after spending time with him, ‘two words revolved in my head: golden and wholesome’.Jennifer McRae National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - 2012. Edinburgh-born Hoy is one of the greatest of modern Olympians. In the 2008 Beijing Olympics Hoy won gold medals in the individual sprint, the team sprint and the keirin. He was the first British Olympian for 100 years to claim three gold medals in a single Games. McRae’s triptych of portraits embodies Hoy’s triple success. As she wrote after spending time with him, ‘two words revolved in my head: golden and wholesome’.Jennifer McRae National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - 2012. One of the greatest racing drivers of all time, Sir Jackie Stewart was the Formula One World Champion in 1969, 1971 and 1973. His record of twenty-seven Grand Prix wins stood unbeaten until 1987.  This portrait deliberately evokes the 1960s and 70s.  Platt painted Stewart’s features from life, but the distinctive flowing hair suggests the sitter’s iconic appearance at his racing peak. The background, by Turner, includes Stewart’s three World Championship winning cars. The classic circuits of Monaco, Nürburgring and Monza are symbolised by the palace (top left), the castle and score-tower (right).Theo Platt and Michael Turner National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - about 1861. An Edinburgh doctor specialising in pregnancy and childbirth, James Young Simpson is famous for his discovery of the use of chloroform as an anaesthetic. At the time, many believed that the pain suffered at childbirth was sanctioned by God. Simpson, however, believed that the relief of pain should be a central concern of medical professionals. Although ether had been trialled during surgery, its use had certain disadvantages. Whilst searching for a substitute, in 1847 Simpson and his assistants inhaled a sample of chloroform, and their immediate collapse convinced them of its effectiveness as a sedative and painkiller. This small photograph of Simpson, in ‘carte de visite’ format, was produced specifically for a photography collection – a common hobby in the mid-nineteenth century. National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - 1964. Harry Benson has photographed many world leaders. This was Winston Churchill's last visit to his old school in Harrow, shortly before he died. The students had put on their new blazers and welcomed him by singing the school song.Harry Benson National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - 1976. During the 1970s the artist produced a series of Skull paintings, by the use of screenprints in the same way as his celebrity portraits. It is interesting to compare the anonymity of the former with the instant recognisability of the latter. Of course, behind the face of every celebrity there is an unrecognisable skull. The skull, and the mortality it symbolises, are usually considered to be a morbid subject. In contrast, Warhol painted them in bright, luscious colours and chose a photograph for the image in which the shadow cast by the skull resemble a baby’s head. More than any other work, Warhol’s Skull series encapsulates the death/life duality running through his work: simultaneously, life is celebrated whilst death is considered. Licensed by the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc/ARS, New York and DACS London 2007 National Galleries of Scotland National Galleries of Scotland National Galleries of Scotland National Galleries of Scotland National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - 1868. Millais never visited Madrid but had opportunities to study Velázquez's work in London and Paris. Although the girl in this picture is English, her hairstyle and rich clothing evoke that of Velázquez's infanta portraits, as does the rich, painterly style.Image © Royal Academy National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - 2005. The figures in Spooning Couple are tiny, no more than 65 centimetres long. They are lying together on a fairly low plinth and you look down on them from a bird's eye (almost godlike) perspective. The man, naked from the waist down, the woman, naked from the waist up, are lying together, almost in a foetal position, her body fitting into the hollow of his body - like spoons.Ron Mueck National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - 2005. Artist's proof aside from the edition of 1Ron Mueck. Image courtesy Anthony d'Offay Ltd National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - 2005. They may be 'spooning' in a fairly literal way, but they are in anything but a warm, loving embrace. The expressions on their faces and especially in their eyes show them to be deep in their own separate worlds. His left eye almost catches the visitor's own gaze in complicit acknowledgement that the bond between him and the woman has broken down. This double-take, this moment when you realise that someone is looking back at you, is a memorable part of the experience. For a split second, the sculptures are disturbingly real.Ron Mueck National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - 1635-9. In this powerful image, Zurbarán has depicted St Francis of Assisi, founder of the Order of Franciscans in the thirteenth century. As the monk wears a Capuchin habit this may mean that the picture was commissioned by a community of Franciscan Capuchins.Image © National Gallery National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - 1970. Richter began producing a series of cityscapes from 1968. This painting shows a cityscape from an aerial viewpoint, as if from an aeroplane. His handling of paint seems to suggest a town that has been bombed. Richter was born in Dresden, a town which was bombed during a series of raids in 1945. Richter’s cityscapes reflect the changing face of European cities in the post-war period.Gerhard Richter National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - . Hilda Carline, the first wife of Stanley Spencer, was a consummate artist in her own right, but tended to be overlooked. This tender drawing shows her highly skilful draughtsmanship. It was made when the married couple were living at Burghclere in Hampshire, while Stanley was working on the murals for Sandham Memorial Chapel. Hilda depicts her husband day-dreaming but makes no suggestion as to the content of those dreams. Estate of Hilda Carline/DACS 2007 National Galleries of Scotland National Galleries of Scotland National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - . David Lawton (b.1959) lives and works near Chester, where he is night support worker for the charity Turning Point. David studied art at Chester College of Further Education before gaining a BA in English and Social Anthropology at Lancaster University. His work has been exhibited widely including the BP Portrait Award 2000 which he entered with a portrait of the same sitter as his entry for this year, his friend Stephen Player, a San Francisco-based illustrator. While the last portrait of him was a nude study, this one is a head and shoulders ‘mug-shot’ of a still but intense facial expression set against a plain dark background. The artist National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - 1980. On walks made during the 1970s, Long began laying rocks or twigs out into straight lines or circles. By the late 1970s he was reconstructing these works in interior settings, though the walk remained the basis for collecting the natural material. He remarks: ‘A walk is a line of footsteps, a sculpture is a line of stones. They’re interchangeable and complementary. Through the rhythms of walking, sleeping, walking, sleeping, I can understand better the rhythms of nature.’ The slate for this work came from Delabole in Cornwall: it was Long’s first work in slate.Courtesy the artist and Haunch of Venison, London National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - 1949-51. This brightly coloured oil composition shows three children seated on the pavement kerb, one rapt in the contents of a comic, another holding an apple and the third gazing out of the picture, his spindly legs ending in t-bar sandals.With kind permission of the Eardley Estate National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - 1515-1516. This is a preliminary study dating from 1515-16 for a group of soldiers in a tapestry of the Conversion of Saul, one of a series of ten scenes from the Acts of the Apostles woven in Flanders to Raphael’s designs (Vatican Museums). National Galleries of Scotland National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - 1902. The sun is a universal image of light and vitality and an important motif in symbolist landscape painting. The Danish artist Willumsen painted this work partly from photographs and watercolours of Lake Geneva in Switzerland but mostly from his imagination. The picture evokes the vastness of nature and the relative insignificance of man: the snow-capped mountains rise majestically towards the heavens, towering over the tiny lakeside village, which is temporarily bathed in yellow light. Thielska Galleriet, Stockholm© DACS National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - October–December 1862. Here Church uses the rising sun as a metaphor for the birth of his son, Herbert Edwin, born on 29 October 1862. He would return to this symbolic theme in early 1865 when he painted Moonrise (The Rising Moon) to mark the birth on 22 October 1864 of his daughter, Emma. However, this pair of paintings would become tainted with sadness as both Herbert and Emma died in March 1865 of diphtheria.New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation / Olana State Historic Site, Hudson, NY. OL.1981.12.A.B National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - . Born in Sweden, Johan Andersson moved to England at the age of eight. He is currently studying fine art at Central St Martin’s Art and Design College, London where he gained a Foundation Diploma in 2005. His work was exhibited as part of the Direction 2007 Group show at London’s Lethaby Gallery. This portrait is of his friend Tamara; their friendship adds a silent tension which is revealed in the shyness of Tamara’s demeanour. ‘This insecurity of posing nude,’ he says ‘is evident in the awkwardness of the pose.’ Johan says he was trying to challenge attitudes to voyeurism through his portrait. The artist National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - about 1800. This charming work, which complements Sandby's Englefield Green, near Egham shown nearby conveys an idyllic view of semi-rural life, with children playing, couples strolling and the taking of tea and gardening being depicted.Nottingham City Museums and Galleries National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - 1886-7. This landscape depicts the terrace of the Moulin de Blute-Fin, beneath the windmill. The raised wooden belvedere on the right gave a marvellous panoramic view of the city of Paris. It is a winter scene, probably dating from 1886-7. It was exhibited in December 1923 at the Leicester Galleries. Director Oliver Brown later recalled that ‘a woman collector who lived in London bought a little painting called “On Montmartre” on the advice of Augustus John.’ The price was £300, and her name was recorded in the De la Faille catalogue as ‘Mrs Carstairs’. The woman was Elizabeth Carstairs, the wife of Charles Carstairs, a director of the Knoedeler Gallery. She sold the painting the following year and in 1926 it was donated to the Art Institute of Chicago. National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - . The United States of America entered the war in April 1917. The 6th Battle Squadron, comprising the battleships New York, Texas, Florida, Wyoming and Delaware, was treated as a unit of Britain’s Grand Fleet, based at Rosyth. Here the Squadron is moored beyond the Forth Bridge, more or less where the tanker berth is today. The contained threat of the battleships provides a man-made contrast to the natural beauty of the evening sky, as a spotter plane rises into the clouds. National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - . The Appam was originally an English liner which travelled between Liverpool and West Africa carrying goods and passengers. On 16 January 1916 she was captured by the German ship SMS Moewe, whose crew removed her cargo of gold bullion. A small German crew sailed The Appam to West Hampton, Virginia, since the USA was then neutral territory. In March 1917 the US Supreme Court ruled that the now empty liner should be returned to her previous owners. Her notoriety, as well as her striking appearance, may have prompted Lavery’s attention. National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - . Pissarro's peasant and kitchen garden subjects at Eragny were the direct opposite of the modern floral horticulture of the Paris parks. Pissarro commented on his own environment at Eragny: ‘one extraordinary motif is the garden at the foot of the stairs to the studio.'National Gallery of Art, Washington DC National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - . Monet's two artist's gardens at Argenteuil are amongst the earliest in Impressionism. Renoir, Pissarro, Manet and Sisley all visited him at Argenteuil. Monet's garden reflected his individuality and the artist used it as an opportunity to explore the variety of floral colour.National Gallery of Art, Washington DC National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - . Gardens were truly a passion for Liebermann, the leader of the Berlin Impressionists. Here, the artist emphasises domesticity, showing the garden as an ‘outdoor room' being enjoyed by family members.Carmen Thyssen-Bornemisza Collection, on loan to the Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza, Madrid National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - 2006. ‘Of the Gods, it is said that they are innumerable. That is not to say that they are a multitude, indeed they are relatively few. The Gods are positioned most ostentatiously and with great permanence on the Plane, within walking distance of town. There are the August Snakes who stand erect, as that is how their beards may best be admired. They have attracted a cult following and have their own prayer.’the artist National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - 1938. Escher, among the best photojournalists between the wars in Hungary—a country that schooled such world-class talents as Robert Capa and Martin Munkacsi—was not known for radical politics, but he had a keen eye for parody and a populist sensibility. Caption and image form an indispensable complement in this view of a portly executive using a swimming pool as his washtub. National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - 1881. Renoir painted this work during a trip to Italy in 1880-1. He depicts the cool atmosphere of a winter’s morning, the boats anchored in the harbour and the outline of mount Vesuvius in the background. The painting’s first owner was James Duncan, a Greenock sugar refiner, who bought it in Paris in 1883.1999 The Metropolitan Museum of Art (Photograph) National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - . This breathtaking view must rank as one of the most spectacular demonstrations of the art of watercolour ever created. Painted on six large sheets of paper joined together and measuring nearly nine feet across, Lusieri worked on it over a period of two years. The views embraces the stretch of waterfront from the Castle dell’Ovo past Pizzofalcone and along the Riviera di Chiaia to Mergellina and Posillipo beyond, its waterfront buildings beautifully reflected in the water. National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - 1964. A week after the legendary pillow fight, Benson was on a flight to New York for their (and his) first trip to the States. Photographer Bill Eppridge remembered being in the assembled press corps, on the tarmac waiting for the stars to arrive. "The plane pulls up to the ramp," Eppridge recalls, "and the door opens. A Pan Am stewardess comes off, and out come the four Beatles. Then this character comes out right behind them, and he starts posing them. Eddie [a colleague] and I looked at each other and said, 'Who is that?' We had no idea. It was Harry Benson's first trip to the United States. It's been going on like that for years. Every time you'd know what the best spot is, who shows up in that spot? Harry Benson."Harry Benson National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - 2009. The Bedfords tells the story from the life of 19th-century painter Sir Edwin Landseer as he is sent from his London studio to the Highlands of Scotland to paint a group portrait of the wealthy Bedford family. Coombes' film creates a narrative based on hearsay, in which Landseer embarks on a forbidden affair with the Duchess of Bedford. Battling with the weight of his guilt, Landseer is haunted by increasingly surreal and disturbing visions.film still courtesy of Sorcha Dallas National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - . This is taken from a series of etchings inspired by the poems of Constantine P Cavafy (1863-1933), one of modern Greece’s most eminent poets. A homosexual, Cavafy had to keep his sexuality hidden; his poetry often recounts fleeting encounters and the reliving of such experiences through memory. The Beginning depicts two of Hockney’s friends in London. Its sparse execution echoes the economy of Cavafy’s poetic style. The men are drawn with simplicity, tenderness and undercharged eroticism. David Hockney National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - 1891. One of the most accomplished watercolourists of his generation, Crawhall excelled in depicting animals and birds. In the 1880s he visited Tangier and Spain and became both fascinated and repelled by the spectacle of the bullfight.Image © The Fleming Collection National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - . Lavery came across this scene in May 1919 while driving north to Boulogne.  Members of the Women's Army Auxiliary Corps are tending the graves, which are still being laid out.  The wooden crosses would later be replaced by white headstones. The train passing by in the distance gives an odd poignancy to the scene. National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - about 1905. In the early 1900s Peploe began to work on a larger scale and with growing technical virtuosity. The Coffee Pot is one of his most ambitious and important paintings of the period. A sophisticated after-dinner atmosphere is suggested in the table-setting, whilst the stark contrast of white tablecloth set against a dark background is enlivened by the highlights of brilliantly coloured fruit. It was executed following Manet’s technique of first painting in light areas and then adding darks and half-tones while the paint remained wet. The silver coffee pot depicted in this work is also in the exhibition. National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - 1828 – 1829. The Defence of Saragossa depicts the climax of the siege of the city by French forces in 1808. The painting forms part of a sequence of works which explores aspects of the Peninsula War and is an outstanding example of Wilkie exploring more ambitious historical subjects.Image © Royal Collection National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - . This is a preliminary drawing for one of the coppers on the lower tier of the Frankfurt Tabernacle, The Digging for the Cross. Executed in pen and wash, it is the only surviving study for a painting that has the same dimensions as the final work. Some of the contours and parts of the inner modelling have been perforated (pounced), a technique used to transfer a design from a drawing onto another surface. Details show that Elsheimer made small corrections to his original design while creating the final painting. National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - 1812 – 14. Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington (1769 - 1852) led the British forces to victory during the Peninsular War. This portrait was painted in August 1812, after the battle of Salamanca was won. The orders and medals worn by Wellington survive in the collection at Apsley House in London.Image © National Gallery National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - c.1603-05. The Frankfurt Tabernacle relates to a complex story about the rediscovery of the cross on which Christ was crucified by Helena, the mother of the Roman emperor Constantine the Great, and its subsequent return to Jerusalem. Although the original patron was not known, it is an unusual subject, and almost certainly made on commission. The central panel of the altarpiece shown here is the culmination of Elsheimer’s religious works. It combines two themes: the Exaltation or Worship of the Cross, traditionally celebrated in the Roman Catholic Church on 14 September, and the Coronation of the Virgin in heaven. Myriad saints and figures from the Old and New Testaments participate in the glorification of the cross and witness the coronation. The Frankfurt Tabernacle not only tells a complex story, the work itself has a complex and fascinating history. National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - c.1609. This extraordinarily poetic landscape dominates the actual subject of the painting, the Holy Family's flight into Egypt. Despite the darkness of the night, this landscape exudes a sense of peace and calm, an auspicious sign that God is watching over the family. The scene is illuminated by three sources of light, which not only clarify the composition, but have a symbolic meaning. Joseph carries only a small torch that barely illuminates the face of the child and symbolises Christ's humility. The full moon in the distance, which reflects in the calm water below, and the countless stars in the sky testify to the presence of God. In the left foreground, shepherds tend to a campfire, which sends sparks up into the air. This group probably refers to the shepherds in the field who received the nocturnal annunciation of the birth of Jesus. This is the first moonlit nocturnal scene in the history of European painting, and the first representation of the Milky Way. In Rome, Elsheimer was in contact with astronomers who were making rapid advances in their knowledge of the stars. It has recently been discovered that Elsheimer's representation was so accurate, that the position of the moon in relation to the heavens can be dated to the month - June 1609. National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - . This view was probably painted in September 1914, in the knowledge that war had recently been declared and that this tranquil scene would soon be transformed. The biplane seen over the bridge would have come from the recently established aerodrome at Port Laing, North Queensferry. This was the first military air station in Scotland. The view is from the fields above South Queensferry and the small ship is approaching Hawes Pier. National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - . In the light of Lusieri’s twin enthusiasms for classical monuments and volcanic phenomena, it is surprising that this is his only known portrayal of Pompeii. Lusieri’s vantage point was a mound above the Via dei Sepolcri, just outside the Herculaneum Gate on the fringe of the ancient city. Groups of tourists are being guided around the site and pointing out notable features. The ruins and surrounding vegetation are described in Lusieri’s meticulous detail, their materials and textures painstakingly differentiated. National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - 1524. This wonderfully fluent drawing belongs to Parmigianino’s early career, probably dating from shortly before his departure from his native Parma to Rome in 1524.  A scene of intimate domesticity, the subject has no scriptural source and was essentially an invention of the artist. National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - c.1599. This work was long considered to represent the Holy Family’s flight into Egypt, but this is contradicted by the presence of John the Baptist, who is represented here as a young boy embracing the Christ Child. The Baptist is accompanied by his attribute, a lamb with a reed cross in the foreground, and a large angel in a brocaded garment (called a dalmatic) to the left of the Virgin. In some aspects, the painting is grounded in German artistic tradition, especially in the landscape, the figure of Joseph and the hovering angels. But the painting is also rife with Venetian influences, particularly the large angels floating in the sky. These Italian touches, new in Elsheimer’s work, suggest he painted this in Venice. National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - 2012. A shot of the interior of the actual House of Annie Lennox, taken during the exhibition's run at the Victoria & Albert Museum in London.V&A National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - about 1645. Antoine, Louis and Mathieu Le Nain moved from their native Laon to Paris in the late 1620s. Attribution of specific paintings to individual brothers is difficult. The brothers never married and shared the same studio, where this picture is presumably set. Antoine is shown seated in front of his easel. Mathieu stands, palette in hand, with Louis to his left. Another brother, Nicolas, is seated on a fine chair, while an unframed portrait of their father, Isaac, rests on the floor. National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - 1995. Mark Neville's The Jump Films are three 16mm films shot in Amsterdam in which the artist jumps or falls from various bridges. In documenting these events, Neville investigates the mythology associated with 'heroic' male performance artists from the 1960s such as Bas Jan Ader and Yves Klein. Neville varies the speed and location in each film to create a series of unusual and contradictory works about the act of jumping.film still courtesy of the artist © the artist National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - 1904. Many symbolist painters and writers were inspired by the medieval city of Bruges, with its winding streets and mysterious canals. In 1892 the Belgian writer Georges Rodenbach published his influential novel Bruges-la-Morte, in which the city becomes a bleak reflection of the narrator’s own grief at the death of his wife. In his monochromatic images of Bruges Khnopff evokes the desolate atmosphere of Rodenbach’s novel. The Hearn Family Trust National Galleries of Scotland National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - . John Singer Sargent was one of several overseas artists who came to train in Paris and painted the city's parks and gardens. In Luxembourg Gardens at Twilight we can see the influence of Impressionism fused with the nocturne tradition of Whistler.Minneapolis Institute of Arts National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - . At the time of its acquisition by the Gallery, this recently rediscovered picture was the only known oil painting by Lusieri. Since then another, earlier work by him in oil on paper has come to light, demonstrating that this was a medium with which he experimented periodically, although watercolour always remained his principal forte. Several references in Lusieri’s extensive correspondence with Lord Elgin show that he occasionally used oils; several times he asked Lord Elgin to send him oil paints so he could get back into practice. National Galleries of Scotland National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - . The French Impressionists typically preferred the old historic parks of Paris, such as the Parc Monceau or the Tuileries. These older gardens were frequented by the wealthier classes, whose patronage the Impressionists sought.The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York National Galleries of Scotland National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - about 1800. The Rainbow is one of Sandby's finest and most widely appreciated late works and is a dramatic, imaginative celebration of mature woodland and rural life. The motif of the rainbow may well have been inspired by the Sir Peter Paul Rubens' great Rainbow Landscape (about 1636).Nottingham City Museums and Galleries National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - . This rare lithograph of Munch’s most famous image is one of only two versions that Munch hand-coloured. Munch first painted The Scream in 1893 and the image was part of his series The Frieze of Life. The print was made in Berlin where Munch lived for a number of years. The title and an accompanying text are reproduced below the image in German: ‘Ich fühlte das grosse Geschreidurch die Natur’ (I heard a great scream pass through nature).Courtesy the Gundersen Collection © The Munch Museum/ The Munch - Ellingsen Group, BONO, Oslo/DACS, London 2012 National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - 1959. One of Eardley’s many seascapes, The Sea depicts dark winter seas.With kind permission of the Eardley Estate National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - 2007. Richard Long has created a major stone piece especially for the exhibition. It is sited behind the Gallery of Modern Art, in an area adjoining the Gallery’s café grounds. Consisting of eight tons of Delabole slate from Cornwall, it is shaped in the form of a cross – a relatively new motif in Long’s work, following from the circles and lines adopted in the 1960s.The artist National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - 1888. Van Gogh sought some kind of spiritual meaning in everyday existence. This work was probably loosely inspired by the biblical parable of the sower, but also by the French artist Jean-François Millet’s version of the same subject. In a letter to his brother Theo, Vincent van Gogh emphasised the role of colour in creating an intensity of effect: ‘An immense lemon yellow disc for the sun ... the field is violet, the sower and the tree Prussian blue.’ Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam (Vincent Van Gogh Foundation) National Galleries of Scotland National Galleries of Scotland National Galleries of Scotland National Galleries of Scotland National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - c.1603-04. One of the earliest Christian martyrs, Stephen was sentenced to death by the high priest and elders of Jerusalem. He delivered a provocative sermon, which caused such turmoil that he was dragged out of the city and stoned to death. Seen here being pelted with stones, Stephen is bleeding from his forehead and has collapsed. He gazes upward at the angel, who points towards God and Christ, bathed in a heavenly light. The splendid figure on horseback wearing a turban is presumably Saul, later Saint Paul, who is said to have attended the execution. The wealth of invention and the dynamism of the composition with its many figures represents a breakthrough for Elsheimer, and is said to be his debut as a true Baroque painter. National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - 1885. This work was painted near Paisley in Renfrewshire during the summer of 1885. Lavery captures the figures in mid-action, like a photographer taking a single snapshot. Despite is spontaneous appearance, the composition was based on a preliminary sketch and built up over a period of weeks. National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - 1925. An enigmatic work that can be read as a play on a love triangle, Picasso considered The Three Dancers one of his two greatest paintings (with Les Demoiselles d’Avignon). He thought it more of a ‘real painting’ than Guernica, describing it as ‘a painting in itself, without outside considerations’. This landmark painting was acquired by the Tate Gallery in 1965 and was the first work to be sold directly by the artist to a museum.Tate London 2012, Succession DACS 2012 (photo) National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - about 1913. Duncan Grant recollected seeing Picasso’s Les Demoiselles d’Avignon in the artist’s studio and the central figure from this painting is echoed in Grant’s The Tub. Grant’s incorporation of Picasso’s art nègre style is shown in this painting of a female nude (probably Vanessa Bell) taking her bath. Her frontal pose, with her hands held above her head, also recalls that of Picasso’s Nude with Raised Arms whose distorted physical features she shares.Tate London 2012 (photo) National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - about 1913. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Sed eu nisi leo. Class aptent taciti sociosqu ad litora torquent per conubia nostra, per inceptos himenaeos. Nunc sodales purus et dolor tincidunt facilisis. In tincidunt erat vitae est ultricies non aliquet sapien tempus. Class aptent taciti sociosqu ad litora torquent per conubia nostra, per inceptos himenaeos. Donec ac neque urna. Nunc dolor tellus, congue quis vestibulum non, laoreet et dui.Tate collection © Estate of Duncan Grant. All rights reserved, DACS 2012. Photo © Tate London 2012. National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - 1840-50. The traditional title of this late work connects it with key moments in his relationship with Italy – his 1802 visit to Aosta, when he first visited the country, and his 1836 journey through the Val d’Aosta with his good friend Monro of Novar. These seminal experiences are perhaps recalled here in a wholly original, visionary work.   National Galleries of Scotland National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - 1904. Monet painted a whole series of Water Lilies inspired by the pond that he created at the edge of his garden in Giverny. He captures the reflection of the sky, trees and vegetation in the pond, as well as the water lilies floating on the surface. The artist rated the garden itself above his paintings, calling it his ‘most beautiful work of art’.Denver Art Museum National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - 2003. Luke Fowler's The Way Out: A Portrait of Xentos Jones, made in collaboration with Kosten Koper, is a tribute to underground punk musician and film-maker Xentos Jones and his band The Homosexuals. Fowler collages together diverse material related to Jones including interviews, music and even found fragments from Jones' own experimental films to create a haphazard and intriguing portrayal of this maverick character.courtesy of The Modern Institute © the artist National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - 2006. ‘The most sexually attractive of all the Gods are the identical twins, Theodora and Dorothea.  Not twin sisters as might be assumed, but an altogether more miraculous phenomenon: twin cousins. Although Dorothea and Theodora are identical, they are the exact opposite of one another. That is to say, if she is to the right of you she is Theodora, and if she is to the left of you she is Dorothea. If you see her straight on it is impossible to tell Theodora and Dorothea apart, and nobody has ever seen them together.’the artist. National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - 2006. Newly sited outside the Dean Gallery is this remarkable work by the artist Nathan Coley. The work originates from a project in which Coley posted a series of public announcements around the town of Stirling, including one with this text taken from a 17th-century royal proclamation made in a French town believed to have been the frequent site of miracles.Courtesy of the artist National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - 1809. Exhibited in 1809 at Turner’s own Gallery, this is one of the grandest and most successful of all his exercises in transporting his vision of the classical world to Britain. It depicts an imaginary view across the Thames at Twickenham, and is a tribute to the work of the Scottish poet James Thomson (1700 - 48). National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - 1961. Eardley was a regular reader of Picture Post which in January 1948 carried a now infamous article, The Forgotten Gorbals, featuring photographs of children by Bert Hardy and Bill Brandt. Eardley herself was never without a camera, and some of Eardley’s drawings and oils such as Three Children at a Tenement Window are closely based on her photographs.With kind permission of the Eardley Estate and a private collection National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - about 1944. Despite the religious associations of the title, Bacon referred to the figures in this triptych as the Eumenides, the Greek Furies. The panels exemplify the wide range of sources that Bacon drew upon, but the strange, anthropomorphic shapes recall the biomorphic figures that appeared in Picasso’s work of the late 1920s and 1930s. Bacon may have seen these works illustrated in publications such as Cahiers d’Art.Tate London 2012 (photo) National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - 1718-1719. Pioneered by Flemish artists like Rubens, the technique of combining red, black and white chalk (trois crayons) was adopted in France at the end of the seventeenth century and was taken by Watteau to new levels of refinement. National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - 1856-7. This vibrant painting was exhibited by Dyce at the Royal Academy in London in 1857.  The subject was inspired by an anecdote recounted by Carlo Ridolfi in his Meraviglie dell’Arte.  As a young boy in his home town of Pieve di Cadore, Titian was inspired to paint a wayside image of the Madonna using the juices from brightly coloured flowers.  This rooting of the artist’s craft so firmly in nature may particularly have appealed to Dyce, just as the statue of the Virgin in the painting is given an ancient tree-stump for a plinth. The picture is a homage to the artist who was the inspiration of much of Dyce’s early work. National Galleries of Scotland National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - 1883. The setting for Guthrie’s rosy-cheeked goose girl is Crowland, in the flat fenlands of Lincolnshire. The unusual, cropped composition was possibly inspired by Japanese prints which were then in vogue. National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - c.1606. This tiny landscape painting actually represents the story related in the Apocrypha of Tobias, who journeyed from Niniveh to Media with his guardian, the archangel Raphael, and his little dog. While washing on the shores of the River Tigris, Tobias was attacked by a great fish. On the angel’s instructions, Tobias pulled the fish onto land by its fins, killed it and removed its heart, liver and gall. He later used these fish guts to exorcise the demon that had cursed his wife Sarah and to restore his blind father’s sight. This painting, with its poetic depiction of Tobias’ journey and atmospheric landscape, caused a stir in Rome. It became famous through the many copies and prints reproducing it. The painting is generally called the ‘small Tobias’ to distinguish it from a larger version Elsheimer painted several years later, today only known from a contemporary copy. National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - . 2nd Prize  This shortlisted portrait by Michael Gaskell is of his son, Tom, who was 17 at the time of the first sitting. ‘In spirit my painting owes most to Botticelli's Portrait of a Young Man which is its primary inspiration and a painting I've always loved. The pose itself is more reminiscent of a number of portraits by Holbein, an artist I greatly admire.'© Michael Gaskell National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - . In Munch’s writings, forests are often seen as sacred spaces: ‘They went into an opening in the forest – on both sides stood tall conifers and birches – lush and dark against the twilight evening air – the wet grass sparkled. They walked up and down silently, heads bowed – they were enveloped in an atmosphere of solemnity, as though in a church.’ This woodcut is one of a number of later impressions of this subject that Munch made, reworking a print he had first conceived in 1897.Courtesy the Gundersen Collection© The Munch Museum, The Munch – Ellingsen Group, BONO, Oslo, DACS, London 2012 National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - 1986. In 1976, Warhol began to photographically document every aspect of his life. In 1986 he developed some of these images into what became known as his stitched photographs. Created by sewing several identical images together, these works are similar to his early screen prints using repetition and grid formation. He would often photograph and repeat seemingly ordinary objects and signs. By doing this Warhol is emphasising the broader significance of the commonplace things we encounter daily.© The Artist's Estate National Galleries of Scotland National Galleries of Scotland National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - . In this botanical painting, the background remain untouched, allowing the flower heads to create their own complex patterns, which would otherwise be subdued by a background wash.© The Artist, Private Collection National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - c.1912. The vivid yellows and vigorous brushwork in this unusual still life were a result of Peploe’s exposure to modern French art. Peploe moved to Paris in 1910 and was able to see the work of the Fauves, a group of artists led by Henri Matisse, who believed in the expressive power of pure colour. National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - 1840. In 1840 Turner stayed in Venice on the third floor of the Palazzo Giustiniani, near the entrance to the Grand Canal, and made his room the subject of this fascinating work, one of the most original of all his Venetian studies. Turner would have used this room as a temporary studio for working on his watercolours of the city. National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - 1971. In August and September 1971, ten short video works by British artist David Hall, commissioned by the Scottish Arts Council, were broadcast unannounced on Scottish TV. Later, seven of the ten were compiled as TV Interruptions (7 TV Pieces) and have subsequently been exhibited internationally, achieving cult status. Hall said of the original TV broadcasts, ‘These transmissions were a surprise, a mystery. No explanations, no excuses. Reactions were various.'© the artist National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - 1889. This painting was probably done in the middle of January 1889, less than three weeks after Van Gogh had mutilated his ear. He had just left hospital, and wrote to his brother telling him that he wanted to get back in to the habit of painting. It was the first Van Gogh painting to be bought by a British collector. William Robinson, the British consul for North Holland, acquired the painting in May 1893 from Jo van Gogh-Bonger, the widow of Vincent’s brother, Theo for 200 gilders (£17). In 1906 Robinson sold the painting at auction in Amsterdam, where it fetched just 100 gilders (£8), just half of what he had paid thirteen years earlier. National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - 2009. John Beagles and Graham Ramsay work collaboratively as a double act, casting themselves in a variety of mirroring roles to explore the theatrics of self-portraiture, referencing British comedy duos from Morcambe and Wise to Reeves and Mortimer. Previous guises have included corpses, old men and fast-food workers. Much of their practice satirises the conventions of art production and explores a range of cultural and social anxieties from food poisoning to gratuitous violence.© Beagles and Ramsay National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - . Despite standing side by side, the couple in this work appear isolated against the landscape. As with other prints, Munch used a fretsaw to divide the woodblock to create the image in order to treat elements individually. The figure of the woman has been entirely separated from other areas of the image, adding to the sense of remoteness between the man and woman in the scene.Courtesy the Gundersen Collection © The Munch Museum, The Munch – Ellingsen Group, BONO, Oslo, DACS, London 2012 National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - . In July 1988, in between sessions working on a large, full-length double portrait of the same two men (Two Men in the Studio), Freud began a painting of his models resting on a mattress on the floor of his studio. He became so absorbed in this smaller painting that he temporarily put aside the larger portrait. The intensity of the artist's gaze meets its opposite in the image of two relaxed figures. As in many of Freud's paintings, the pose is apparently casual but slightly provocative, the clothed man gently resting his hand on the other's calf. Lucian Freud National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - 1895-1900. This powerful drawing was made during Gauguin’s second and final protracted stay in the South Pacific, where he died in 1903.  Although in the past the studies have been linked to a painting of Women by the Sea (1899; Hermitage Museum, St Petersburg), the connection with the two women in Three Tahitians in the National Gallery of Scotland’s own collection is in fact much closer. National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - 2005. The two elderly women gossiping, standing on a small plinth, draw you into a new miniature world. Everything is lifelike, down to the wrinkles on the women's faces and the creases in their stockings, but on a much smaller scale.Ron Mueck National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - 2005. Naturally, they have the opposite effect to the monumental woman lying in bed. You tower over them, all-powerful. This image shows Ron Mueck making final changes to the sculptures before the opening of the exhibition at the Cartier Foundation in Paris last year.Ron Mueck National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - 1993. Uncle Colin is a homage to a favourite uncle who was killed in a car crash. It includes photographs of him, a newspaper page which reports the crash and the packet of cigarettes he was clutching at the time. Binding the elements together is Emin’s poignant letter to him. Such raw, emotional work ran completely counter to the ‘cool’ ethos which was fashionable in young British art at the time.the artist National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - 1968. In 1964 Spence began work on the University of Edinburgh main library. He had been involved with the university development programme since 1954 and he was finally offered the post of Planning Consultant. The core requirement of the brief given to Spence and his practice, Glover and Ferguson, was that the new building would meet the demands of a modern academic building. The library would accommodate 8 floors and had to serve the daily needs of 6,000 students and researchers. It also had to accommodate 2,000,000 books, 2,500 reading spaces, photographic services and book binding departments. When completed it was the largest university library in Britain. National Galleries of Scotland National Galleries of Scotland National Galleries of Scotland National Galleries of Scotland National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - 2006. Kitty Kraus makes use of humble materials, such as glass, cloth, ice or mirrors. Inherently fragile, much of her work embraces the possibility of its own destruction. Untitled consists of a lightbulb, frozen in a block of ink. The heat of the electrical device melts the ice, staining the floor and leaving only a chance drawing behind.Courtesy Galerie Neu, Berlin National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - 1924. Born in Gotha in central Germany, Hannah Höch met the Dada artist Raoul Hausmann in 1915 and through him became involved with the Berlin Dada group. She is best known for her collages and photomontages. This collage has the look of a machine-age, Constructivist picture, but actually derives from popular embroidery patterns.© DACS 2010 National Galleries of Scotland National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - 2008. ‘For a long time it was believed that there was only one Aleph: Nul, who ruminates on the Plane of the Gods.  Aleph Nul was held by some to be the only descendent of the Noumenon, to be its worldly face, the embodiment of existence and the arch phenomenon. This remained the popular conception until a herd, comprised of a bull, two cows and a calf, was discovered on one of the remote Planes to the north of the Island.’the artist. Courtesy the artist. National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - c.1930. The Hungarian Imre Kinszki (1901-1945) took up photography as a hobby in the 1920s and soon became an unshakeable advocate for modern living. His work concentrates on typical scenes of modern daily life and the urban environment. This photograph depicts the celebrated Elizabeth Bridge in Budapest, which at its completion was the world’s longest chain-suspension bridge. National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - 2008. ‘I ventured into the darkness and lost all sense of space. I could hear a Ridable barking but it was distant and in all directions. I pushed on aimlessly for hours as there was nothing else to be done. I could not feel the steppe for my feet were frozen stumps.’the artist. Courtesy of the artist. National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - 1934. Štyrský was a central figure in the Czech avant-garde. This work forms part of an extensive series of parodic, often unsettling photomontages entitled The Moveable Cabinet. Here, Štyrský takes caricatures of fashionable Parisian life to a fetishistic extreme, underscoring a proclivity for violent sexuality and blindness found in certain of his drawings and paintings as well. National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - 2006. ‘After an afternoon ambling through the market our tourist will no doubt frequent one of the taverns around the port that provide bush meat and beer, before tottering onto the cruiser that will convey him back to Triangleland, as the Islanders disparagingly call the outside world.’the artist National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - 2007. ‘The Avenue of the Gods is the boulevard which leads to the Plane of the Gods, and the site of a lively bazaar. At about its midpoint it doglegs at a square named the Place of the Rout of the If’en, being approximately the site where the If’en were ignominiously subdued during the initial conquests of the continent. There is no better way of getting to know the Island and its people than by visiting the market.’the artist. National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - 2008. ‘I started to contemplate my greatness, and the hero’s welcome that I expected to receive on my return home: the crowd on the pier, an interview with Fancy That magazine, a message from the government.’the artist. Courtesy the artist. National Galleries of Scotland National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - 1935. Hungarian-born Francis Haar was initially involved in that country’s strong left-wing social photography movement, then turned to work for the mainstream trade and the government. The Landlord, for example, was part of a state-sponsored tourist initiative. However, its perspective sheds doubt on the fiction of harmonious peasant life: the stout landowner fills the frame, obscuring the distant, faceless farmhands. National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - 2008. ‘I let off my gun in fright and a bullet ricocheted off the mountainside, missing the beast completely but awaking my companion, who came rushing around the corner to find me with a smoking barrel and the Aleph. When Johnny saw the creature he circled around it a couple of times eyeing it, then he walked up close and lay his head on its body. He stood motionless for a few moments as if listening for something, and declared it dead.’the artist. Courtesy the artist. National Galleries of Scotland National Galleries of Scotland National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - 1992. This work combines three traits common across Richard Long’s work. Firstly there is the use of River Avon mud as an artistic material. Secondly there is the use of his fingers in applying this mud to the paper. Thirdly, the mud prints form the shape of that primitive symbol, the circle. These three traits combine to create a work that explores Long’s favourite theme: man’s ancient and ongoing relationship with the Earth.Courtesy the artist and Haunch of Venison, London National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - 2005. Just as Long’s stone lines made in the landscape suggest the presence of Man, so too do Long’s works on paper, which feature his hand and finger prints. Everyone’s hand and finger prints are similar yet unique. These works therefore mediate on the individual and the cosmic. Just as a handprint or fingerprint may be seen as the mark of an individual, so they are also the mark of Man in general.Courtesy the artist and Haunch of Venison, London National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - 2005. Long has been using mud in his work since the late 1960s. Mud is stone, weathered by the action of water over a long period of time: it therefore incorporates a time element, in the same way as Long’s sculptures made on walks incorporate a time element. He always uses mud from the River Avon: he was born in Bristol and still lives in the area, so this mud has strong personal associations. These works are made simply by dipping card into diluted mud. The rivulets which emerge from this process are similar yet unique: they are like fingerprints, yet have a cosmic variety. They have an ambiguity of scale which suggests something viewed through a microscope or a planet viewed through a telescope.Courtesy the artist and Haunch of Venison, London National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - 2006. This three-part work is from a recent series made from china clay. They are made by splashing a wall with the diluted clay, and allowing it to drip and splash onto the sheets below. The works emerge as landscape paintings of a kind, redolent of Chinese calligraphy.Courtesy the artist and Haunch of Venison, London National Galleries of Scotland National Galleries of Scotland National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - . This work shows the spectacular 1794 eruption of Vesuvius. Although fully finished, the watercolour was apparently retained by Lusieri as a private record of the cataclysmic event. It differs from other views of Vesuvius erupting by night in that it concentrates solely on the exploding volcano and the fiery lava flows, with no shoreline in the foreground and no figures, boats or trees. National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - about 1910 - 1911. One of the group of four artists known as the 'Scottish Colourists', Peploe studied art in Paris and lived there from 1910 to 1912. Peploe shared with the Colourists a love of brilliant hues, acquired largely through knowledge of recent French art, and in around 1910 bold colour became a feature of his own work. National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - . This painting shows a view from the edge of a man-made lake at the bottom of Købke's garden. The scene is romanticised through the cool tones set against the warm violet of the water. Here the simplest things are made beautiful, such as the soft light falling on the women's clothing.Statens Museum for Kunst, Copenhagen National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - 1959. Following its destruction by bombing during the Second World War, Spence was awarded the commission to rebuild Coventry Cathedral. He was chosen from over 200 architects who had entered a competition to design the new cathedral. Coventry Cathedral was to become Spence’s most famous design. The building work started in 1955 and was completed by 1962. National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - . This work is characteristic of those produced by Købke in his final years: an intimate work which allowed him the freedom to work entirely as he wished, without the pressure of academic success. Here Købke once again engages with his familiar surroundings, producing an acutely observed scene.Statens Museum for Kunst, Copenhagen National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - . Spence received the commission to plan and design a new campus for the University of Sussex in 1959. The brief required the campus to be built on a rural 94 hectare site approximately 4 miles from the city of Brighton over a 15-year period. By 1971, the practice had designed 17 buildings for the new university and had won several prestigious awards for their work. To ensure that students and staff felt happy during the long construction period, Spence ensured that he ‘created pockets of completeness’ by finishing each building phase before starting another. National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - . The lucid, crystalline view of this cityscape, with its unerring draughtsmanship and beautifully rendered effects of light and aerial perspective, marks a new and lasting departure in Lusieri’s approach to landscape, the first real evidence of his penchant for the panoramic. The high viewpoint and absence of an anchoring foreground reinforce the seemingly detached neutrality of his vision. National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - . Here Købke has chosen a popular scene, depicting distant mountains from the water's edge with the whole scene bathed in sunlight. From this angle, no perspective lines could direct the viewer's eyes into the background and so Købke has created depth using different colour tones alone.Statens Museum for Kunst, Copenhagen National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - . Painted when Købke was only twenty years of age, the refinement and subtlety of this image shows an artist now working at the highest level of artistic accomplishment. Presenting a student observing the Academy's cast collection, Købke offers a quiet and unpretentious homage to the ancient world.The Hirschsprung Collection, Copenhagen National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - . Lusieri arrived on Kythera in April 1807, having fled Athens after Britain decalred war on Turkey in February that year. He was clearly impressed by the rugged landscape of Kythera, reporting to his patron Lord Elgin: ‘On this island there are sublimely picturesque subjects the like of which I have not seen elsewhere.’ Six drawings have been identified dating from the time he spent on the island.  National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - . This was Købke's first commission from the Fine Arts Society and is a significant moment in the artist's development. Picturing an ordinary moment in time, the work celebrates ‘the merely observed on to a monumental level...the chosen moment a part of eternity'.Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek, Copenhagen National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - 1828. Vision of Medea was one of the most ambitious and unusual of Turner’s works painted and exhibited in Rome in 1828. As a figurative picture, of a type he rarely attempted, it must have been inspired in part by the grand history paintings – narratives from myth and literature – he could study in Italy. National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - 2004. Waldhaus is based on a photograph the artist took while on holiday in Engadin in Switzerland. The painting is dominated by dark green forest. Richter has returned to the motif of the forest throughout his oeuvre. He has noted that as a German he has a fascination with forests and as a young man, he even hoped to become a forest ranger. Richter’s landscapes allude to the tradition of German Romantic paintings.Gerhard Richter National Galleries of Scotland National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - . Water Falls Down evolved from a series of research trips Dalziel and Scullion made to Norway which informed their awareness of how Scots respond to the landscape in comparison to Norwegians. Highlighting the sense of a traditional community and their respect towards nature, this was the last film that Dalziel and Scullion shot whilst living in St Combs in the north east of Scotland.Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art, Purchased with assistance from Halifax Bank of Scotland 2007, © Dalziel + Scullion National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - . Water Lilies was painted at Monet's garden in Giverny. The artist rated his famous garden above his paintings, calling it his ‘most beautiful work of art'. Monet would often return to the same scene repeatedly; he painted this water garden several times.Amgueddfa Cymru - National Museum Wales, Cardiff National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - 1999. Celmins's monochromatic images of the night sky, based on photographs, focus on small and individual marks. The images seem fragile because they record a specific human glimpse through a telescope or camera which is ephemeral and frozen in time. Celmins's serial exploration of her subject allows the artist to exploit the distinct characteristics of the variety of media she uses. This meticulous, translucent web is typical of her apparently fragile, ephemeral images.© The Artist National Galleries of Scotland National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - 1937. Though the features of the figure here are based on the artist and photographer Dora Maar, this is not a conventional portrait. Instead it is an icon representing Picasso's view of Spain's suffering during the Civil War and was one of a group of works Picasso created while working on his monumental painting Guernica.© Succession Picasso/DACS 2009. Image © Tate, London 2009 National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - 1937. During 1937 Picasso became obsessed with the subject of the weeping woman, using it as a symbol of the grief and suffering of the Spanish Civil War. He returned to the theme several times, making a total of twenty-seven drawings and nine paintings and this oil painting is the last and most elaborate of the series. Weeping Woman had an enduring impact in Britain and featured in a series of major exhibitions.Tate London 2012, Succession DACS 2012 (photo) National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - 1937. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Sed eu nisi leo. Class aptent taciti sociosqu ad litora torquent per conubia nostra, per inceptos himenaeos. Nunc sodales purus et dolor tincidunt facilisis. In tincidunt erat vitae est ultricies non aliquet sapien tempus. Class aptent taciti sociosqu ad litora torquent per conubia nostra, per inceptos himenaeos. Donec ac neque urna. Nunc dolor tellus, congue quis vestibulum non, laoreet et dui.Tate collection © Succession Picasso/ DACS, London 2012. Photo © Tate London 2012. National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - 2012. Gianluca Capaldo undertook both undergraduate and postgraduate diplomas in painting at the Accademia di Belle Arti di Bologna and has tutored at the institution. His work has been seen in a solo exhibition and in group exhibitions in Italy. The portrait is of the artist’s fiancée, Marialuce. It was painted from life over a series of sittings that took place in the mornings to get the correct light effect. Capaldo says he was: ‘Inspired by the works of the great exponents of nineteenth-century portraiture such as Ingrès, Mussini and Sargent’.Gianluca Capaldo National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - 1995. Emin loved dancing and hoped to become a professional. As a teenager she competed in the final rounds of a dance competition in Margate, but her moment of glory ended when she was heckled by local lads. This short, haunting film recreates that episode, but in it Emin turns tragedy into triumph.the artist National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - 2008. This photograph is a contemporary recreation of Titian’s Diana and Actaeon composition, set in a London club.  It was the joint initiative of the photographer and students at the Courtauld Institute of Art in London, was created specially to support the campaign to raise funds to acquire Titian’s great painting for the nation.  The actress Kim Cattrall, famous for her man-eating role as Samantha Jones in the Sex and the City series, features as the goddess Diana, while Actaeon and the nymphs are members of the performance group La Clique and students from the Courtauld Institute. The work was featured on BBC2’s The Culture Show in November 2008, sparking a lively debate. Tom Hunter said of this piece: “One of the great attractions of Titian’s painting Diana and Actaeon is the theatrical element. The painting has such a strong sense of narrative, it makes me think that if Titian were alive today he would be directing films or T.V. That’s why it was so great to use Kim Cattrall from Sex and the City to make my updating. The soap opera has now become the narrative painting of the modern age.” Tom Hunter National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - 2005. Artist's proof aside from the edition of 1Ron Mueck. Image courtesy Anthony d'Offay Ltd National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - 1786. Sandby brilliantly depicts four light sources in this memorable image; the bonfire, fireworks, moon and torch carried by the figures travelling home in the foreground. It is a work of great technical sophistication, for example, the use of gold paint to evoke the firelight glistening on the castle windows.The Royal Collection © 2009 Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II National Galleries of Scotland National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - . The garden shown in this painting is Renoir's neglected garden of the studio he had taken in 1876 at an old mansion on the rue Cortot in Montmarte. The garden vividly embodied the multicoloured quality that Renoir admired.Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza, Madrid National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - . Work No. 975 EVERYTHING IS GOING TO BE ALRIGHT is typical of the playful and minimalist nature of Creed's work. Visually spectacular in its neon audacity, the work, however, encourages a more contemplative response. Although it is at first an overtly familiar and reassuring phrase, it plays on our personal insecurities and gently suggests what if everything is not alright.© Martin Creed National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - 1964. Richter produced a series of military aircraft paintings in 1963-4. Rather than attempting to convey an anti-war message, Richter has argued that he painted the aircraft pictures because of his fear and fascination with war, having grown up in Germany during World War II. NATO aeroplanes were stationed at German bases in the 1960s so it is possible that the source for this image was taken from a photo in a newspaper or magazine.Gerhard Richter National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - 2001. Emin has stated that writing lies at the heart of her work. Writing features in her blankets, her paintings and her films, and also in her neon works, which she has been making for more than a decade. Commentators have noted that her neons recall the signage at the fairground and the seafront booths at Margate.the artist National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - 1972. Every birthday Bellany paints a self-portrait. On this, his thirtieth birthday, usually seen as being a particularly significant threshold event, Bellany depicts himself wearing what looks like a shroud, with a skeletal rib cage depicted over the chest. There is more than a passing resemblance to the famous monument to John Donne of 1631 in St. Paul’s Cathedral. The sculptor, Nicholas Stone the Elder, famously depicted the poet wearing his shroud. the artist National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - 2006. Made during a football match between Real Madrid and Villarreal in the Estatio Santiago Benabeu in Madrid, the film follows Zidane from start to (almost) finish. Seventeen synchronised film cameras, using different types of film and in various positions around the stadium, were trained on Zidane. The footage was cut to create a 90 minute film of only Zidane. The film was inspired by portraits by Velázquez and Goya which hang in the Prado and Andy Warhol’s real-time film portraits. The film offers an insight into the characteristics and idiosyncrasies of one of the greatest footballers of all time. The gallery version of the film, recently acquired by the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art, will be given its world premiere towards the end of the exhibition. Douglas Gordon National Galleries of Scotland Unknown - . Born in the Czech Republic, Hynek Martinec currently works as a painter in Prague, Paris and London. This large portrait is of his girlfriend Zuzana Jungmanova in his Paris studio captured in microscopic facial close-up wearing sunglasses. The photographic precision of the painting results in striking detail in the execution of the sitter’s hair and skin tones and in the reflection in her sunglasses. She says of the finished work ‘when I look at my painted twin I get a frisson’. The artist National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/14781/artist_name/Marina Abramović Marina Abramović - 1994. This photograph relates to a performance called ‘Lips of Thomas’ from 1973, in which the artist tested her physical endurance. In the manner of offering herself as a ritual sacrifice, Abramović ate a kilogram of honey, drank a litre of red wine, and cut a five-pointed star into her stomach with a razor blade. She then whipped herself until she could no longer feel any pain and finally lay on a cross made of ice. The photograph is from a portfolio called ‘Dear Stieglitz,’ named in homage to Alfred Stieglitz, the photographer and gallery owner who published the art-photography journal ‘Camera Work’ in the early Twentieth century. The portfolio features the work of artists whose photography ‘shows an obvious, personal and also very outspoken attitude towards their surroundings.’© Courtesy of the Artist and Sean Kelly Gallery, New York., 2006 http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/14781/artist_name/Marina Abramović National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/2635/artist_name/Patrick William Adam Patrick William Adam, John Miller Gray - 1885. From the age of sixteen Gray worked in a bank as an apprentice clerk, but found the work ‘utterly repugnant’ and studied literature and art in his spare time. After ten years as a freelance art critic he was appointed the first curator of the Scottish National Portrait Gallery in 1884. His main task was the systematic cataloguing of the national collection of portraits, something for which he received great praise. His numerous publications include a book on George Manson, a Scottish artist whose self-portrait is thought to be the right-most painting in the background, the other two depicting Burns and Scott. Friendly but somewhat reserved in character, Gray lived in Edinburgh all his life and never married. After his premature death he left nearly all he owned to the Portrait Gallery. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/2635/artist_name/Patrick William Adam National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/2636/artist_name/Robert Adam Robert Adam - about 1770 - 1780. Adam deliberately chose a low viewpoint to emphasise the height of the single span bridge, built by his father in 1744. Elegant trees frame the composition, underlining its picturesque character. Figures provide a sense of scale and human interest, and the play of light and shadow brings the scene to life. Adam described the chief details in pen and ink and used grey washes to define volume, space and atmospheric light. He made hundreds of drawings throughout his career, exploring the relationship between buildings and settings, which informed his own architectural designs. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/2636/artist_name/Robert Adam National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/3866/artist_name/Marcus Adams Marcus Adams, Queen Elizabeth II, Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother, George VI - about 1928. This photograph was not available for public viewing in the lifetime of Queen Elizabeth (the Queen Mother) as she did not like it and considered it too informal. However, Mrs I. L. Hunter, who was then the photographer, Marcus Adams’ assistant, enjoyed it and made a print for her own pleasure. Far from damaging the public image of the monarchy, it shows one happy family: a slightly shy George VI, then still The Duke of York; his radiant wife; and a happy little girl having the giggles, yet to become Britain's Queen Elizabeth II.© Photograph by Marcus Adams, Camera Press London http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/3866/artist_name/Marcus Adams National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/4476/artist_name/John Adamson John Adamson, Dr. Oswald Home Bell - about 1855. In his later work in the 1850s and 60s, John Adamson used the collodion negative. He wrote: 'This is the most beautiful of all photographic processes. Pictures are taken by it almost instantaneously, with a minuteness of detail and a delicacy of expression which give results no less wonderful than beautiful.' In this photograph of his greyhound, Blanche, only her flickering ear betrays her energy. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/4476/artist_name/John Adamson National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/4476/artist_name/John Adamson John Adamson, Professor James Syme - about 1855. One of the leading surgeons in Europe of his day, Professor James Syme was Chair of Clinical Surgery at Edinburgh University from 1833 until 1869. He was renowned for his pioneering surgery involving amputations, and the speed with which his operations were carried out. He once reported: "I cut along the bone, which started, with a loud report, from its socket. Finally, I passed the knife around the head of the bone, cutting the remaining portion of the ligament, and this completed the operation, which certainly did not occupy at the most more than one minute." This photograph by John Adamson looks yellow because of the printing process used. Albumen, or pure egg white, was used to coat the paper and create a smooth surface. Unfortunately it often yellows over time. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/4476/artist_name/John Adamson National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/4476/artist_name/John Adamson John Adamson, Robert Adamson - about 1843. This very early calotype by John Adamson shows his younger brother, the photographer Robert Adamson. Despite both being pioneering photographers, Robert became the more famous of the two due to his partnership with the painter David Octavius Hill. Having been taught the calotype process by his brother, in 1843 Robert opened his own photographic studio on Calton Hill in Edinburgh. Shortly afterwards he met Hill and their successful working relationship led to a period of close collaboration, during which they produced an impressive body of work that greatly influenced later practice in photography. This photograph shows the artistic influence of Sir Henry Raeburn in the use of light and shadow, focusing attention on the head and hand of the sitter. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/4476/artist_name/John Adamson National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/4476/artist_name/John Adamson John Adamson, Robert Adamson - 1842. This small picture may be the result of the photography lessons that John Adamson was giving to his younger brother, Robert, using particular spots in the town of St Andrews. After a long struggle with the difficult chemistry of the calotype process, Dr John Adamson took his first successful portrait calotype in May 1842 and continued to develop this technique until he could obtain clear and strong images. The success of this photograph is in itself a remarkable technical achievement. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/4476/artist_name/John Adamson National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/6096/artist_name/Robert Adamson Robert Adamson, David Octavius Hill - April 1846. Soldiers know how to stand still for long periods and for that reason were often used as life models by artists. To show them as men of action was more difficult. The blur in this photograph is deliberate and gives an impression of movement. Hill 'would during the exposure give his camera an almost imperceptible jerk' to achieve this effect. The artist preferred the blur of the calotype to the more precise daguerreotype because the former looked like 'the imperfect work of a man' and the latter like 'the much diminished perfect work of god'. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/6096/artist_name/Robert Adamson National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/6096/artist_name/Robert Adamson Robert Adamson, David Octavius Hill, John Liston, William Ramsay, Alexander Rutherford - 1843 - 1847. One of Hill and Adamson’s calotypes of Newhaven and its inhabitants, this powerful portrait shows three self-confident fishermen in a relaxed pose in front of one of the boats. The way in which they form a solid, mutually supportive group gives a sense of the close-knit social structure of this independent fishing community. Dressed in individual-looking hats, their clothes are shaped and battered by their work at sea, which was highly-skilled and dangerous but profitable. The Newhaven men worked from open boats, close to the shore as well as further out on open sea. Every year during the herring season, they moved 200 miles north to Wick for six to eight weeks, often rowing the entire distance. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/6096/artist_name/Robert Adamson National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/6096/artist_name/Robert Adamson Robert Adamson, David Octavius Hill, Charles William Peach - 1844. Charles Peach was a mounted coastguard officer and a distinguished amateur naturalist and geologist. As a coastguard he had plenty of opportunity to study marine life and as a result he discovered new mollusca, sea urchins, starfish, sponges and a spectacular holothurian – or sea cucumber – with twenty tentacles. In 1853 he made an important fossil discovery in limestone on the coast near Durness. Peach had a wide circle of scientific and literary friends, including the famous geological writer Hugh Miller. This calotype is one of the more successful portraits taken by Hill and Adamson at the meeting of the British Association for the Advancement of Science in York, in the autumn of 1844. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/6096/artist_name/Robert Adamson National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/6096/artist_name/Robert Adamson Robert Adamson, David Octavius Hill, David Octavius Hill, Professor James Miller - about 1845. This image demonstrates the complexity of Hill's compositions. It is a joke about his own hangover and a warning about the after-effects of unreasonable alcohol consumption, from which the Roman bust appears to be turning away in disgust. Hill's wrist is held by the surgeon and anatomist, Professor James Miller, who stares reproachfully at the embarrassed artist. From letters we know that Hill liked his ale and frequented literary and artistic gatherings where 'the wit and intelligence improved with the quantity of drink and the lateness of the hour'. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/6096/artist_name/Robert Adamson National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/6096/artist_name/Robert Adamson Robert Adamson, George Combe, David Octavius Hill - about 1843. George Combe worked briefly as a lawyer and a brewer before devoting his career to the promotion of phrenology; a pseudo-science which explored the relation between the shape of someone’s skull and their personality, intelligence and economic prospects. Although even at the time many people doubted the ‘scientific’ evidence for such assumptions, Combe believed that phrenology was ‘the greatest and most important discovery ever communicated to mankind’. He published widely on the subject, and his book ‘The Constitution of Man’ became something of a bestseller. In 1833 he married Cecilia Siddons, but only after subjecting both himself and his future bride to a phrenological examination in order to find out if the match was a suitable one. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/6096/artist_name/Robert Adamson National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/6096/artist_name/Robert Adamson Robert Adamson, Jessie Bertram, Harriet Farnie, Miss Farnie, David Octavius Hill - 1920 (original negative around 1845). This is one of four calotypes of young girls with David Octavius Hill’s dog, a terrier pup called Brownie. The girls depicted are the Farnie sisters; the eldest one, Annie, protectively holding the younger, Harriet, who is pretending to be asleep. Sleeping children were a recurring theme in nineteenth-century art, as it played on the Victorian fascination with childhood innocence and death. The image is clear and well-defined, which means that the girls must have sat very still for anything from several seconds up to a minute. Although the calotype was taken in the 1840s, this particular print was produced in the photography studio of Jessie Bertram around 1920. In total, 49 ‘new’ prints were made from the original negatives and were subsequently published as an album. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/6096/artist_name/Robert Adamson National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/6096/artist_name/Robert Adamson Robert Adamson, David Octavius Hill, Horatio McCulloch - 1843 - 1846. This calotype shows the painter Horatio McCulloch, who is best known for his magnificent views of the Scottish Highlands. He was born in Glasgow and named after the great naval hero, Lord (Horatio) Nelson, who had died only weeks earlier at the battle of Trafalgar. McCulloch studied art under John Knox and briefly worked as a snuff-box decorator before moving to Edinburgh. He quickly established himself as a respectable landscape painter, exhibited at the Royal Scottish Academy from 1829 and was elected an associate in 1834. By the 1840s, his standing as an artist was equal to Hill’s, but his later career established him as the better painter. His large-scale paintings of Scottish scenery helped shape the Victorian perception of the Highlands as a wild, romantic place. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/6096/artist_name/Robert Adamson National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/6096/artist_name/Robert Adamson Robert Adamson, David Octavius Hill, Hugh Miller - 1843. Hugh Miller began his working life as a mason. After a number of career changes, he became the editor of 'The Witness' newspaper in the 1840s. One of the first to pose for Hill and Adamson, he also wrote a pioneering critical article on the possibilities of photography in 1843. Miller is here shown as a stone mason, as he had been in earlier life. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/6096/artist_name/Robert Adamson National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/6096/artist_name/Robert Adamson Robert Adamson, Isabella Burns, Mrs John Begg, David Octavius Hill - 1843 - 1846. Isabella Burns Begg was the youngest sister of the poet, Robert Burns. There was a striking resemblance between the two. Robert Burns died before photography was established but through this vivid portrait of his sister, we get an idea of how he might have looked in old age. Isabella was widowed young and raised nine children single-handed. In later years, she was given a picturesque cottage where she lived almost as a monument to her brother, entertaining hoards of visitors from the United Kingdom, the Continent and America. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/6096/artist_name/Robert Adamson National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/6096/artist_name/Robert Adamson Robert Adamson, David Octavius Hill, James Nasmyth - about 1844. This is one of a number of calotypes showing James Nasmyth, the son of the painter Alexander Nasmyth and a close friend of D.O. Hill, in a reflective mood. He was an engineer and invented the steam hammer and pile driver, which revolutionised industry and engineering work, from the docks of Glasgow to Russia and the Nile. He took a keen interest in photography as he considered it "a delightful means of educating the eye for artistic feeling, as well as educating the hands in delicate manipulation". http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/6096/artist_name/Robert Adamson National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/6096/artist_name/Robert Adamson Robert Adamson, David Octavius Hill, John Murray - . Born in London, Murray spent a year at Edinburgh University in 1827 studying geology and mineralogy. Whilst he was there he explored much of the Scottish landscape and made meticulous notes. The following year he became involved in the family publishing business. From trips to the continent, which he began in 1829, Murray started to build up detailed accounts of the countries he visited. He began publishing these as a series of ‘Handbooks’ in 1836. These proved extremely popular and within fifteen years the range covered nearly the whole continent. The company, under his leadership, also published many notable authors including explorer David Livingstone and naturalist Charles Darwin. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/6096/artist_name/Robert Adamson National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/6096/artist_name/Robert Adamson Robert Adamson, Lady Elizabeth (Rigby) Eastlake, David Octavius Hill - about 1845. Elizabeth Rigby was a journalist and art critic, writing for journals such as The Quarterly Review. As one of the earliest enthusiasts for photography, she posed more than twenty times for Hill and Adamson. In a review of their work in 1846, she referred to 'the beautiful and wonderful Calotype drawings...as the triumphant proof of all to be most revered as truth in art'. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/6096/artist_name/Robert Adamson National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/6096/artist_name/Robert Adamson Robert Adamson, Marion Finlay, David Octavius Hill, Mrs Margaret (Dryburgh) Lyall, Mrs Grace (Finlay) Ramsay - 1843 - 1847. ‘The Letter’ is one of about 120 calotypes by Hill and Adamson of the fishing port of Newhaven, to the north of Edinburgh. Carefully arranged and all taken out of doors, these photographs explore the life, work and social structure of this small but independent community. This particular one shows three fishwives examining a letter, a familiar theme in art that was often used by seventeenth-century Dutch painters. The letter effectively focuses the attention of the women, whilst leaving us to speculate about its content and sender. At the time, the new penny post enabled the literate working classes to communicate properly across distance for the first time, a matter of great importance to the fishwives whose men often faced dangerous situations at sea. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/6096/artist_name/Robert Adamson National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/6096/artist_name/Robert Adamson Robert Adamson, David Octavius Hill, Mohum Lal - October 1844. Mohun Lal arrived in Edinburgh in October 1844. He had been the companion of the government agent, Sir Alexander Burnes (1805-1841), in Kabul in Afghanistan. After his death, Mohun Lal had 'at the risk of his life entered Sir Alexander's mansion when it was in flames and secured his private papers', and travelled to Scotland to return them to Burnes's family in Montrose. The newspaper report added: 'He has a remarkably pleasant and highly intellectual cast of countenance, and is dressed in a magnificent Hindoo costume'. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/6096/artist_name/Robert Adamson National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/6096/artist_name/Robert Adamson Robert Adamson, David Octavius Hill, Mr Laing or Lane - 1843. The identity of the smartly dressed tennis player in this staged scene is uncertain and yet this calotype has become a popular picture postcard. Hill and Adamson are best remembered for the subtlety and perceptiveness of their photographic portraits but at times they showed a keenness for the representation of movement. Here movement is easy to detect in the blur of the racket and the man's forearm. The player's intense gaze furthermore suggests that a tennis ball just just gone out of the picture frame. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/6096/artist_name/Robert Adamson National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/6096/artist_name/Robert Adamson Robert Adamson, David Octavius Hill, Mrs Anne (Palgrave) Rigby - 1843 - 1846. Anne Rigby was the widowed wife of a doctor and had fourteen children. While living in Edinburgh in the 1840s, she and her daughters were photographed on a number of occasions by Hill and Adamson. This photograph bears a striking resemblance to Whistler's famous portrait of his mother, which is not at all surprising given that the two ladies were friends. Mrs Whistler may have owned a copy of this calotype of Mrs Rigby. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/6096/artist_name/Robert Adamson National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/6096/artist_name/Robert Adamson Robert Adamson, Mrs Barbara (Johnstone) Flucker, David Octavius Hill - . Mrs Barbara Flucker was a fishwife of Newhaven, then an independent fishing village to the north of Edinburgh where Hill and Adamson took some 120 calotypes. Hill had a great affection of women as independent individuals, something which is demonstrated by the large number of calotypes of women he took and the dignity they convey. He admired the Newhaven fishwives for their strong and heroic character, their hardworking nature and the way in which they coped with the dangerous conditions their husbands faced every day. Whilst the men were out at sea the women prepared the fish and carried them into town in baskets like the one in the photograph. Here, Mrs Barbara Flucker is opening oysters, the contents of which were sold on the street as a kind of snack food. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/6096/artist_name/Robert Adamson National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/6096/artist_name/Robert Adamson Robert Adamson, Mrs Elizabeth (Johnstone) Hall, David Octavius Hill - 1843 - 1846. The fishwives of Newhaven were famous for both their beauty and confidence. They carried the fish their men had caught in baskets on their backs up to Edinburgh to sell it. Whenever storms at sea made the fishing especially dangerous and the price of fish rose, they were heard saying "It's no fish ye're buying, it's men's lives". The phrase became internationally known after Sir Walter Scott used it in his novel, 'The Antiquary'. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/6096/artist_name/Robert Adamson National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/6096/artist_name/Robert Adamson Robert Adamson, David Octavius Hill - 1843 - 1847. This is the only Newhaven child shown alone in a calotype. The title, His Faither’s Breeks, implies that this boy is an orphan and has inherited his father’s trousers, as well as his work and responsibilities. Fishing was a profitable but dangerous profession, and children whose fathers had been drowned at sea were not uncommon. Hill and Adamson took about 120 calotypes in the fishing village of Newhaven, documenting the life and work of its inhabitants. The fishing community was self-sufficient and close-knit; fishermen and women married amongst themselves and raised their children in the fishing tradition. Founded around 1570, the Society of Free Fishermen played a large role in the community, providing help in times of need and protecting the widows and orphans. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/6096/artist_name/Robert Adamson National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/6096/artist_name/Robert Adamson Robert Adamson, David Octavius Hill - 1844. Scoresby was a leading scientist in his day. He produced outstanding work relating to oceanography and magnetism. He made his first voyage to the Arctic with his father, an Arctic whaler, when he was ten years old. From 1803-23 he apprenticed his father and from 1806 studied chemistry and natural philosophy at the University of Edinburgh. His lecturers encouraged him to carry out experiments during his time on board his father’s boat. His wife’s death in 1822 had a profound effect on him and he decided to enter the church. However, he continued with his scientific studies, publishing over 100 works. In 1831 he was a founding member of the British Association for the Advancement of Science. It is believed that this photograph was taken during the group’s meeting in York in 1844. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/6096/artist_name/Robert Adamson National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/6096/artist_name/Robert Adamson Robert Adamson, David Octavius Hill, Sandy (or James) Linton - 1843 - 1846. Hill and Adamson took about 120 photographs of fishing life at Newhaven and intended to publish them in a separate album. They admired the strength of the fishermen and their families, flourishing even in times of great economic difficulty. Boys learned from their fathers how to manage the small, open boats, which travelled a hundred miles up the east coast to the summer fishing grounds. As it turned out later, the design of the boats was particularly dangerous. A disastrous storm in the 1840s killed men from the north but no one from Newhaven. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/6096/artist_name/Robert Adamson National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/6096/artist_name/Robert Adamson Robert Adamson, David Octavius Hill, Sir John Steell - about 1845. This portrait is a suitable model of Romantic practice in photography. The body of the sculptor John Steell appears as a dark, undefined shape. His right hand, indicated by an edge of white cuff, is sunk in his coat, suggesting depth. His head and other hand are supported on an off-centre diagonal. The vague mottled background reinforces the 'romantic' effect. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/6096/artist_name/Robert Adamson National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/6096/artist_name/Robert Adamson Robert Adamson, Harriet Farnie, Sophia Finlay, David Octavius Hill - 1843 - 1847. This is one of four calotypes of young girls with David Octavius Hill’s dog, a terrier pup called Brownie. The girls depicted are Sophia Finlay – Hill’s great-niece – and Harriet Farnie, the younger of two sisters. Sleeping children were a recurring theme in nineteenth-century art, as it played on the Victorian fascination with childhood innocence and death. The image is clear and well-defined, which means that the girls must have sat very still for anything from several seconds up to a minute. Presumably the dog had been played with until it collapsed in exhaustion. Hill later called this picture ‘The Sleepers’ and added ‘Brownie, my stolen and lamented terrier pup’. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/6096/artist_name/Robert Adamson National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/6096/artist_name/Robert Adamson Robert Adamson, David Octavius Hill - about 1845. Around 1845 Hill and Adamson took a camera across the Firth of Forth to St Andrews, where they photographed the buildings in the harbour and the Fishergate. The width of North Street enabled them to capture a large and spread-out group of the fishwives and children, working outside their own houses. The high viewpoint indicates that the photograph was taken from one of the stairs opposite the women. The composition is impressive, with all individual figures appearing sharp and distinct. Most remarkably, the scene is given life by the central figure who is apparently striding across the street with a child on her arm. In reality, she would have had to stand motionless for at least a full minute in order not to appear blurred. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/6096/artist_name/Robert Adamson National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/6096/artist_name/Robert Adamson Robert Adamson, Rev. Thomas Chalmers, David Octavius Hill - 1844. A large camera, specially made by an Edinburgh instrument maker, was used to photograph the evangelical leader of the Free Church of Scotland with his family. We get an idea of Chalmers as both public and private figure. The sun seems to radiate through the man and illuminates the stone ball, the little world at his feet with the books of the Christian faith, symbolising his importance as a religious leader. At the same time, his family, gathered around him, remind us that he is a father and grandfather too. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/6096/artist_name/Robert Adamson National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/6096/artist_name/Robert Adamson Robert Adamson - 17 May 1843. The Royal High School on Calton Hill was built in 1829 to a design by Thomas Hamilton. Used as a school until 1966, it has since been considered as a home for other institutions including the Scottish Parliament. The building stands close to Robert Adamson’s former studio on Calton Hill, which he shared with David Octavius Hill. This calotype was printed on 17 May 1843, the day before the Disruption within the Church of Scotland that would bring about Hill and Adamson’s famous partnership. Hill intended to paint a large-scale picture of all those present at this historic event, and the success of taking portrait photographs as memory aids resulted in the men’s close collaboration until Adamson’s untimely death in 1848. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/6096/artist_name/Robert Adamson National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/6096/artist_name/Robert Adamson Robert Adamson, David Octavius Hill - about 1845. The decision to build the Scott Monument was taken at a public meeting in Edinburgh less than a month after Sir Walter Scott's death in September 1832. The tall Gothic structure was not completed until the autumn of 1844 and the official inauguration took place only in August 1846. Hill and Adamson were lucky to be resident in Edinburgh and could document the building stages and the work of the masons. Here the monument is shown after its completion as an impressive feature bordering Princes Street, seen from the East End. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/6096/artist_name/Robert Adamson National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/6096/artist_name/Robert Adamson Robert Adamson, David Octavius Hill - 1843 - 1847. Also known as ‘Men leaning on a Boat’, this calotype shows a group of Newhaven fishermen around one of their boats. Fishing was a profitable but highly skilled and hazardous business. The Newhaven men worked with the ‘small line’ to catch haddock, whiting and codling, and the ‘great line’ out at open sea. Every year during the herring season, they rowed 200 miles north to Wick, where they would fish during the night for six to eight weeks. After their strenuous and dangerous work at sea, they returned to land to rest. Cynical landlubbers would sometimes see the fishermen hanging around in the harbour and think of them as lazy, without understanding the difficult but irregular nature of their work. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/6096/artist_name/Robert Adamson National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/6096/artist_name/Robert Adamson Robert Adamson, David Octavius Hill, Major Wright - 1843 - 1847. This calotype by David Octavius Hill and Robert Adamson shows a group of officers and soldiers from the Royal Artillery. It was taken within the walls of Leith Fort, which was located on North Fort Street in Leith. Built in 1779 by architect James Craig, the fort was used as an army base by the Royal Artillery until the early 1950s, when it was largely demolished. The building in the background of this photograph is the fort’s gatehouse, which incidentally is now the only remaining part of the original structure. This photograph is of particular interest for its slanting use of light, as the camera is nearly pointing into the sun. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/6096/artist_name/Robert Adamson National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/6096/artist_name/Robert Adamson Robert Adamson, David Octavius Hill, Willie Liston - 1843 - 1847. This is one of about 120 calotypes by Hill and Adamson that document the life and work of the fishermen and fishwives of Newhaven, a fishing village to the north of Edinburgh. This dramatic portrait shows Willie Liston, a fisherman, at work ‘redding’, or preparing, the fishing line. This lengthy and painstaking job involved cleaning hundreds of hooks on the line and baiting them with mussels. The careful positioning of Liston in the sunlight has created a dark shadow across his face, which helps to focus attention on his working hands. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/6096/artist_name/Robert Adamson National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/2643/artist_name/Jankel Adler Jankel Adler - Dated 1946. Naum Gabo was a Russian sculptor who, like the artist of this painting, lived in Britain for several years due to the effects of the Second World War on mainland Europe. Working mainly in the artists’ community of St Ives, Gabo was interested in scientific developments in the understanding of space and materials. Jankel Adler was particularly influenced by Gabo’s use of space, and in this painting pays homage to one of his artistic influences. Gabo is depicted as a semi-realistic figure holding one of his abstract sculptures, exemplifying the pull between realism and abstraction in post-war British art. The Gallery of Modern Art has two sculptures by Naum Gabo in its collection.© DACS 2006 http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/2643/artist_name/Jankel Adler National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/21878/artist_name/Marion Adnams Marion Adnams - 1946. Adnams was particularly influenced by the surrealist artists Salvador Dalí, René Magritte and Paul Nash. This painting shows the influence of Dalí in the delicate application of the paint. Painted in the aftermath of World War II, the artist alludes to the unfathomable amount of death and destruction that the conflict brought in the skull and barbed wire. Set at the English seaside, Adnams has included a ribbon tied in a bow around the animal skull, suggesting it is a gift or a sacrifice, perhaps for the freedom of Britain’s shores. However, skulls and barbed wire were also standard surrealist motifs and their inclusion may purely be Admans’ exploration of peculiar objects juxtaposed in unrelated environments.© John Rooks http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/21878/artist_name/Marion Adnams National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/18119/artist_name/Joseph Anton Adolf Joseph Anton Adolf, Caroline D'Arcy, 4th Marchioness of Lothian - about 1750. This portrait of Caroline D'Arcy was previously attributed to Allan Ramsay. They are now believed to have been painted by Adolph around 1750 when they were living at Blickling, Norfolk. Adolph had settled in Norfolk around this time. This life-size portrait shows Caroline in an elaborate red satin dress, standing against an autumnal landscape with the sun setting behind distant hills. The flat foreground acts like a stage on which she is presented as ‘performer’, delicately playing her guitar and demonstrating her musical accomplishment. Her alliance with music and harmony was perhaps intended to balance the military associations of their family, a consequence of her husband’s distinguished Army career. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/18119/artist_name/Joseph Anton Adolf National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/15604/artist_name/Afong Lai Afong Lai - 1869 or 1870. This picture was taken outside the city of Foochow in the south of China near the coast. It shows members of the British community of bankers, merchants and consular officials who lived in the region, enjoying a day out. The spot was, in fact, named after them. The western figures at the heart of this image, including the British Consul and his wife, appear tiny in this magnificent setting. It may be that the photographer was trying to emphasise the splendour of the mountain rocks, which, according to the Chinese, embody the sacred aspect of the landscape. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/15604/artist_name/Afong Lai National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/2644/artist_name/Eileen Agar Eileen Agar - 1939. This work is thought to have been made in the autumn of 1939, after Agar and her husband had spent their summer holiday near Toulon on the Mediterranean coast. Agar had been an avid beachcomber since 1930, composing works from the flotsam and jetsam washed up on the shore. The collage features a real starfish, pinned on with a thumbtack, together with collaged and drawn elements. The starfish is the pivot of the composition, its shape providing the perfect link between the geometric and organic elements of the collage.© Estate of Eileen Agar http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/2644/artist_name/Eileen Agar National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/2644/artist_name/Eileen Agar Eileen Agar - 1936 (printed later). Agar first visited Brittany in 1936 after participating in the International Surrealist Exhibition in London. She spotted these rock-formations from the train and was intrigued by their unusual shape, describing them as 'enormous prehistoric monsters sleeping on the turf above the sea'. Agar may also have been influenced by her friend Paul Nash's photography of ancient sites such as Stonehenge and Avebury. Agar's photograph brings out the metamorphic imagery in the rocks, showing the poetic and comic qualities of the natural forms.© Estate of Eileen Agar http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/2644/artist_name/Eileen Agar National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/2644/artist_name/Eileen Agar Eileen Agar - 1970. This large painting was inspired by the Throne of Ludovisi, a Roman marble panel which shows Aphrodite bring raised from the sea by two women. Although the painting is very different in style from the classical sculpture, Agar was interested in exploring the upward movement of the women’s arms, and the overall circular movement created in the sculpture. The painting contains sweeping, interlinking motions throughout. It also suggests a Spanish fan dancer, with arms raised in the air, wearing a dress decorated with spots or stripes. The use of blue recalls an element of the painting’s main inspiration - the sea, and also echoes Agar’s interest in taking inspiration from nature. In this painting, natural and fantastical forms are combined.© Eileen Agar Estate http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/2644/artist_name/Eileen Agar National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/2644/artist_name/Eileen Agar Eileen Agar - Dated 1939. The reference to classical mythology, both in the title of this work and in the Greek mask featured, was probably inspired by Agar's trip to the south of France in 1939. With this collage, which was based on a cut-out illustration of a ‘primitive’ mask, Agar evokes a world of carefree indulgence, much as she imagines the fabled lotus eaters to have inhabited. When the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art acquired the work, Agar wrote a note concerning the title: “Lotophagi: A fabulous people living on the Lotus-flower, the effect of which was to make the eater forget his own country and desire to live in the Lotus-land of his own choosing. The legend was the origin of [this] collage”.© Estate of Eileen Agar http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/2644/artist_name/Eileen Agar National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/4478/artist_name/William Aikman William Aikman, Allan Ramsay, the Elder - 1722. Allan Ramsay began his career in Edinburgh as a wigmaker; he went on to become a bookseller, successful poet and an important member of Edinburgh's literary and artistic circles. He was a close friend of the artist, William Aikman, and this portrait was owned by another friend, Sir John Clerk of Penicuik. Clerk wrote on the back of the canvas, imitating Ramsay's verse: 'Here painted on this canvas clout by Aikman's hand is Ramsay's snout'. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/4478/artist_name/William Aikman National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/4478/artist_name/William Aikman William Aikman, James Thomson - 1720. This portrait is one of a set, all by William Aikman, depicting the eight members of the Worthy Club. The Worthies met weekly, initially above the Old House Tavern in Leith, and then at Newhall House, south of Edinburgh. Fellow members included Aikman himself and the poet, Allan Ramsay senior. Aikman also included in this series the landlady of the tavern, Mrs Forbes. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/4478/artist_name/William Aikman National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/4478/artist_name/William Aikman William Aikman, John Campbell, 2nd Duke of Argyll and Greenwich - About 1720. In 1703, John Campbell succeeded his father as Duke of Argyll and Chief of Clan Campbell. A strong supporter of the Union of Parliaments, he was an important political figure as well as an accomplished soldier. In 1710 he was made a Knight of the Garter, the blue ribbon of which he wears in this portrait. During the 1715 rebellion, Campbell commanded the government army at Sheriffmuir and defeated the Jacobites led by the Earl of Mar. He was rewarded for his victory with the Dukedom of Greenwich, was promoted to Field Marshal in 1736 and eventually became Commander in Chief of the British Army. William Aikman painted at least fourteen paintings of Campbell, who was a firm supporter of the artist and encouraged him to settle in London where his career flourished. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/4478/artist_name/William Aikman National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/4478/artist_name/William Aikman William Aikman, John Gay - about 1720. John Gay was an English poet and dramatist. Born at Barnstaple in Devon, Gay was raised by his uncle after the death of his parents. He was apprenticed to a silk merchant, but disliked the work and started to write and publish poetry. He soon found his way into literary circles and acquired influential friends, including the poet Alexander Pope and Irish writer Jonathan Swift. His most famous work is ‘The Beggar’s Opera’ (1728), several scenes of which were later painted by William Hogarth. Its sequel, ‘Polly’ (1729), was banned because of its criticism of Prime Minister Robert Walpole. The diagonal canvas weave in this portrait is now very visible. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/4478/artist_name/William Aikman National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/4478/artist_name/William Aikman William Aikman, Sir Gilbert Elliot, 1st Lord Minto - about 1726. This portrait is one of a set, all by Aikman, depicting the eight members of the Worthy Club. The Worthies met weekly, initially above the Old House Tavern, Leith, and then at Newhall House, south of Edinburgh. Fellow members included Aikman himself, and the poet, Allan Ramsay senior. Aikman also included the landlady of the tavern, Mrs Forbes. Elliot, who studied law at the University of Utrecht, sat as MP for Roxburghshire before pursuing a successful career in the judiciary culminating in his appointment as Lord Justice Clerk. An archetypal Enlightenment man of many interests, he played the flute for the Edinburgh Musical Society and was instrumental in creation of Edinburgh’s New Town. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/4478/artist_name/William Aikman National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/4478/artist_name/William Aikman William Aikman, Sir Patrick Hume, 1st Earl of Marchmont - about 1720. Sir Patrick Hume was a Scottish Presbyterian statesman and a supporter of William of Orange. He began his long political career in opposition during the reigns of Charles II and James VII and II. Because of his involvement in the 1685 anti-Catholic rebellion, Hume spent several years in exile in the Netherlands. He returned after the revolution of 1688 when he accompanied the Protestant William of Orange to Britain. His forfeited estates were returned to him and in 1696 he was appointed Lord Chancellor. Created Earl of Marchmont in 1697, he opposed the claims of the Jacobites and voted for Parliamentary union between Scotland and England. This portrait depicts the earl in old age after he retired from politics. He is wearing an Indian robe and turban. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/4478/artist_name/William Aikman National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/4478/artist_name/William Aikman William Aikman, William Aikman - 1711. In this self-portrait, the young artist has shown himself much as he would one of his sitters. Aikman was the son and heir of an Angus laird but he sold his estates to fund his training as a painter. This confident image probably belongs to the period shortly after his return to Edinburgh after several years of study in London and Italy. No other artist in Scotland was able to match his European sophistication of style and he rapidly became the country's leading portrait painter. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/4478/artist_name/William Aikman National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/2646/artist_name/Craigie Aitchison Craigie Aitchison - 1974. This is among Aitchison’s first paintings of the lily, one of the artist’s favourite flowers due to its simple and elegant shape. The painting is primarily a still life, dominated by the single flower in a vase, yet it also contains both landscape and religious elements. The lily takes on a religious significance, due to the presence of the small Crucifixion in the background. Yet the composition remains simple and balanced, with echoes of shapes and tones throughout the painting. The pink triangular cloth on which the vase sits reflects the shape of the hill in the background and the coloured line beneath, and the artist has balanced the intense red with a patterned vase and a landscape view, without any one element dominating. © the Artist / Bridgeman Art Library. All rights reserved. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/2646/artist_name/Craigie Aitchison National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/2647/artist_name/Josef Albers Josef Albers - 1966. This painting is from Albers's 'Homage to the Square' series, which he began in 1950, when he was sixty-two, and continued until his death in 1976. These works explore the effects colours have on each other, reducing painting to its most basic constituents - colour and form. All of the paintings in the series are similar in composition to this work, consisting of three or four squares placed inside each other. Albers chose the square as he felt it was the shape that most emphasised the man-made quality of painting, thus distinguishing art from nature.© The Joseph and Anni Albers Foundation/VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn and DACS, London 2006 http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/2647/artist_name/Josef Albers National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/2648/artist_name/Cosmo Alexander Cosmo Alexander, James Duff of Corsindae - 1760. James Duff was a wealthy Banff merchant who had ‘acquired a fortune through honest industry'. His affluence allowed him to purchase the Aberdeenshire estate of Corsindae from William Duff, Lord Braco (later the 1st Earl of Fife), for whom he had once been a factor. This portrait shows Duff of Corsindae as an alert elderly gentleman of eighty-three. His restrained, muted clothing and intense stare give the impression of a shrewd and puritanical man. The portrait was obviously admired, as there was another version in the collection of his former employer Lord Braco, the proprietor of Duff House. James Duff’s eldest son and heir William was, like Cosmo Alexander, a strong Jacobite sympathiser. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/2648/artist_name/Cosmo Alexander National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/2651/artist_name/John Alexander John Alexander, Lord Charles Gordon - 1738. Lord Charles Gordon was the son of the Jacobite, Alexander 2nd Duke of Gordon. Lord Charles fought on the government side, serving in Lord Loudon’s 54th Regiment during the 1745 Rising. In March 1746 he took part in the capture of the French ship, Le Prince Charles Stuart, in the Kyle of Tongue. This vessel, with its cargo of over £13,000, had been sent by Louis XV to assist the Jacobites. Its loss, three weeks before the battle of Culloden, was a disaster for them. Lord Charles’s younger brother, Lord Lewis, was a Jacobite officer. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/2651/artist_name/John Alexander National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/2651/artist_name/John Alexander John Alexander, Lord Lewis Gordon - 1738. Lord Lewis followed the example of his father by actively supporting the Jacobite cause. In October 1745 he abandoned his career in the Royal Navy and swore allegiance to Prince Charles Edward Stuart. He was appointed lord lieutenant of Aberdeen and Banffshire, with orders to raise another Jacobite army in the north. When the main army headed south to England in November, Lord Lewis remained in Scotland where he recruited, with difficulty, a regiment and defeated government troops at Inverurie on 23 December 1745. After the Battle of Culloden, Lord Lewis escaped to France. He became increasingly mentally unstable and died in exile in Montreuil, not yet thirty. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/2651/artist_name/John Alexander National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/2651/artist_name/John Alexander John Alexander - 1736. The date 1736 inscribed on the reverse of the lining canvas places this portrait firmly within the context of Alexander’s later career in Scotland following his return to Britain from Italy in 1720. His aristocratic patronage remained concentrated in the north-east of Scotland, requiring him to operate from his Edinburgh studio as a travelling portrait painter throughout the 1720s and the 1730s. By 1933, when this painting was auctioned in Aberdeen, the precise identity of Alexander’s elderly sitter and the early history of her portrait had been lost. The provisional re-identification of the sitter as Helen Taylor, also known as Lady Braco, is supported by comparison with a portrait of her in old age painted by William Mosman in 1738. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/2651/artist_name/John Alexander National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/2651/artist_name/John Alexander John Alexander - Dated 1720. This is thought to be a highly worked compositional sketch for the most challenging work of Alexander’s entire career, a huge staircase ceiling decoration in oils on canvas commissioned for Gordon Castle near Fochabers by Alexander Gordon, 5th Marquess of Huntly and 2nd Duke of Gordon. Supposedly measuring twenty-two by twenty feet, the finished ceiling has long since disappeared, possibly in the 1760s or the 1770s during extensive alterations to the Castle. Painted between 1720 and 1725, it was the most ambitious Baroque ceiling in Scotland, for which the artist was paid eighty pounds. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/2651/artist_name/John Alexander National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/2651/artist_name/John Alexander John Alexander, William Keith, 4th Earl of Kintore - about 1736. William Keith succeeded his brother John as 4th Earl of Kintore in 1758. He never married and on his death in 1761 no-one could prove a claim to his title, which resulted in the earldom lying dormant for seventeen years. The artist John Alexander visited Keith Hall in 1736 and probably painted William Keith at that time. In this portrait, Keith wears a great example of a fashionable knotted wig. The eighteenth century was the golden age of male wig wearing. The full-bottomed periwig, universally worn by the aristocracy during the second half of the seventeenth century, was now only used as formal wear by judges and clergymen. Wigs for daily use were increasingly cropped, while styles and materials – human, horse, goat or yak hair – continued to change with fashion and personal taste. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/2651/artist_name/John Alexander National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/2655/artist_name/David Alison David Alison, Alexander Wood - about 1805. Alexander Wood was a highly respected and extremely popular Edinburgh surgeon. The son of a Restalrig farmer, he studied medicine in Edinburgh and for a while practiced in Musselburgh. He subsequently moved back to the capital and became a fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh in 1756. Known for his philanthropy and kindness he was nicknamed by the citizens of Edinburgh, ‘lang Sandy’ for his lanky figure. Wood was a friend of Robert Burns and was held in high esteem by Byron. When one night he was mistakenly seized by a rioting mob, he saved himself by exclaiming: 'I'm lang Sandy Wood; tak' me to a lamp and ye'll see'. One of Wood’s pupils was the pioneer of psychiatric medicine, Sir Alexander Morison. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/2655/artist_name/David Alison National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/3884/artist_name/Grace Alison Grace Alison, Alberto Morrocco - 1991. Born in Aberdeen to Italian parents, artist Alberto Morrocco is perhaps best known for his beach scenes and views of Venice. At the outbreak of the Second World War Morrocco was detained in Edinburgh Castle as an enemy alien but he was released and allowed to serve as a conscientious objector in the Royal Army Medical Corps. After the war he had a brief spell teaching evening classes. He then spent the rest of his professional life in Dundee, as Head of the School of Painting at Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art. In this image the photographer’s goal was to capture the true nature of the sitter. © The Artist’s Estate http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/3884/artist_name/Grace Alison National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/4483/artist_name/David Allan David Allan - about 1780. This beautiful watercolour of a Highland dance is full of joy and vitality. Allan was especially attracted to the image of dancing figures, and throughout his career he produced many drawings of peasants dancing. The graceful pose of the female figure to the right of the central group suggests that Allan was influenced by the classical figures that he encountered during the ten years that he lived in Rome. His natural ability for making rapid sketches of figures and costumes meant that he was often in demand as an illustrator of local festivals and events. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/4483/artist_name/David Allan National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/4483/artist_name/David Allan David Allan - about 1785. In 1788, Allan began a series of watercolours depicting the local characters of Edinburgh. This drawing of a Highland soldier was part of the series, which also included a fishwife, chimney sweep and a fireman. Allan carefully studied these figures, often exaggerating certain traits or characteristics so that they almost look like caricatures. His pictures of the people and scenes of everyday life earned him the title of the 'Scottish Hogarth'. His work greatly influenced other artists in Scotland and he was considered the father of Scottish genre painting. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/4483/artist_name/David Allan National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/4483/artist_name/David Allan David Allan, Anne Forbes - 1781. Look at the strong backbone and determined eyes of the artist Ann Forbes - to be an independent woman in the eighteenth century was hard work. Ann Forbes, grand-daughter of William Aikman, the portrait painter, studied in Rome before setting up a studio in London. Her society friends shunned her for going into business. Ill and discouraged, she returned to Edinburgh where she established herself as a drawing teacher, a more acceptable occupation for a woman, although she still accepted commissions for portraits whenever she could. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/4483/artist_name/David Allan National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/4483/artist_name/David Allan David Allan, David Allan - 1770. David Allan painted this self-portrait during his stay in Rome from 1767 to 1777, a very successful period in his early career. He has depicted himself as a gentleman-connoisseur in a grand Roman apartment, which is unlikely to have been his actual home at the time. Porte crayon in one hand, he looks away from his drawing of the view from his window and stares at the viewer. Falling off the table is another work, a copy after Agostino Carracci’s Venus fresco in the Farnese Gallery in Rome. Here, Allan alludes to his study of old masters, something which was deemed an essential part of an artist’s education. This self-confident portrait shows the young artist already at the height of his powers and yet full of ambition. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/4483/artist_name/David Allan National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/4483/artist_name/David Allan David Allan, Niel Gow - 1780. This was painted after Allan's return from Italy, and was the first of his many Scottish genre subjects. Neil Gow, the celebrated violin player, composer and collector of music, takes his place amongst the musicians; Gow's services were retained by the Duke of Atholl, for a fee of £5 a year. The tartan worn in this picture was done so illegally, for highland dress had been proscribed after the Jacobite rising of 1745 in an Act not repealed until 1782. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/4483/artist_name/David Allan National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/4483/artist_name/David Allan David Allan - about 1790. 'The Cottar's Saturday Night' was published in 1786 and tells the story of a young man's adventures one evening while visiting his beloved. The subject of the poem was charged with personal associations and observed from direct experience. Burns's father was himself a Cottar (a landless peasant employed on a farm and provided with a cottage attached to the farm building). In the poem, the verses are divided into sections of patriotic and religious commentary, which are written in English; the descriptions of the Cottar's home and his daughter Jenny and her young man, are written in Scots. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/4483/artist_name/David Allan National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/4483/artist_name/David Allan David Allan - Dated 1780. In 1780 Lord Alva, a Judge of the Court of Session, became one of Allan’s first clients for a group portrait in the ‘conversational manner’ which the artist developed on his return to Scotland. During the early 1760’s the patronage of James Erskine had helped to launch Allan’s career as a portrait and figure painter. At the same time Erskine became a founder-subscriber to the building of St Cecilia’s Hall as the new premises for the Musical Society of Edinburgh. Lord Alva evidently wished to commission from Allan a musical conversation piece of the type rendered fashionable in London by Johann Zoffany. In the foreground the younger Erskines are shown performing one of the Scottish ballads which featured regularly in the weekly concerts of the Musical Society. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/4483/artist_name/David Allan National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/4483/artist_name/David Allan David Allan, James Tassie - about 1781. Tassie and Allan had been art students together at the Foulis Academy in Glasgow in the early 1760s. For a short while in the late 1770s they shared a house in London. Tassie invented a new medium, vitreous glass paste, which he used for making small portrait medallions and for making reproductions of antique gems and cameos. His products were sought by collectors all over the world, with Catherine the Great his most important patron. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/4483/artist_name/David Allan National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/4483/artist_name/David Allan David Allan - Probably 1780s. David Allan painted a fascinating set of pictures when the Industrial Revolution was taking hold in Scotland. The setting is the famous lead mines at Leadhills in South Lanarkshire, owned by the 3rd Earl of Hopetoun, who commissioned these paintings. They show the four key stages in lead processing, of which this is the first. The company’s junior employees are engaged in the simplest stage of the process, observed by the Earl and his Countess. Once pounded and broken down by the young boys, who were frequently as young as nine, the lumps of crude ore were sent to be sieved and washed. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/4483/artist_name/David Allan National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/4483/artist_name/David Allan David Allan - Probably 1780s. David Allan painted a fascinating set of pictures when the Industrial Revolution was taking hold in Scotland. The setting is the famous lead mines at Leadhills in South Lanarkshire, owned by the 3rd Earl of Hopetoun, who commissioned these paintings. They show the four key stages in lead processing, of which this is the third. In the smelting house the ore was loaded into small blast furnaces with peat or turf or coal and a small portion of lime. The molten lead was then drawn off into a reservoir and ladled into moulds to form ingots. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/4483/artist_name/David Allan National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/4483/artist_name/David Allan David Allan - Probably 1780s. David Allan painted a fascinating set of pictures when the Industrial Revolution was taking hold in Scotland. The setting is the famous lead mines at Leadhills in South Lanarkshire, owned by the 3rd Earl of Hopetoun, who commissioned these paintings. They show the four key stages in lead processing, of which this is the second. The broken ore needed to be washed several times to sift out impurities. The waste water, often contaminated with arsenic, sulphur and zinc, compounded the pollution from toxic fumes emanating from the smelters. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/4483/artist_name/David Allan National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/4483/artist_name/David Allan David Allan - Probably 1780s. David Allan painted a fascinating set of pictures when the Industrial Revolution was taking hold in Scotland. The setting is the famous lead mines at Leadhills in South Lanarkshire, owned by the 3rd Earl of Hopetoun, who commissioned these paintings. They show the four key stages in lead processing, of which this is the fourth. Once the molten lead had been moulded into ingots they were weighed. The final weighing ceremony was attended by company officials and apparently by the Earl of Hopetoun’s bailie. He was entrusted with extracting the proprietor’s quota (every sixth bar). The remainder of the ingots would then be loaded on to carts for the long and costly overland journey to the port of Leith and onward distribution or export to the markets of Northern Europe and Russia. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/4483/artist_name/David Allan National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/4483/artist_name/David Allan David Allan, Mary, Queen of Scots - c 1790. This wash drawing is one of David Allan’s sketches for a series of large-scale history paintings, most of which were never executed. Mistakenly inscribed ‘Queen Mary surrenders at Pinkie’, this drawing shows Mary’s return to Edinburgh after her surrender at Carberry Hill. Essentially a prisoner of the Confederate Lords, she was taken to the Provost’s residence on High Street. An angry and excited mob eagerly awaited her arrival, shouting abuse and accusing her of murder. The rebel Lords’ propaganda had clearly worked. To the left, their banner shows an image of the young Prince James and his murdered father, Lord Darnley. The writing: ‘Judge and revenge my cause, O Lord’, implied that the Lords were acting in the prince’s interest by avenging Darnley’s death. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/4483/artist_name/David Allan National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/4483/artist_name/David Allan David Allan, Sir John Halkett - Dated 1781. Halkett and his second wife Mary are shown with his daughter by his first wife, and his thirteen younger children, whose names are provided by Allan in a key on the back of the canvas. The Halketts are posing in the grounds of their Fifeshire seat at Pitfirrane House – now the premises of the Dunfermline Golf Club – against a background vista of the town of Dunfermline. Completed in 1871, this painting is one of the first examples of the elaborate type of group portrait or ‘conversation piece’ which Allan pioneered in Scotland after his permanent return from Italy and London in 1780. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/4483/artist_name/David Allan National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/4483/artist_name/David Allan David Allan, Sir William Erskine - 1788. After returning from his prolonged study trip to Italy, David Allan specialised in painting conversation pieces for Scottish aristocratic families. These were informal group portraits, often in an outdoor setting, and showed the sitters occupied in leisure activities. In this scene, Sir William's sons, William, James and John, present the trophies of a hunt – a fox's mask and tail – to their mother, Lady Frances, and their sisters, Frances, Henrietta, Elizabeth and Magdalene. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/4483/artist_name/David Allan National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/4483/artist_name/David Allan David Allan, John Bonar, James Bruce, John Caw - 1783. David Allan specialised in small-scale group portraits, called 'conversation pieces', which showed people, usually families, in contemporary and informal settings. Here, his subject is three friends, depicted as 'connoisseurs', that is, as knowledgeable and appreciative of the fine arts. John Caw holds up an engraving after a painting by Raphael of St John the Baptist, which his companions discuss. The small portrait of the wall behind them may be an absent, or even a deceased, friend. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/4483/artist_name/David Allan National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/4483/artist_name/David Allan David Allan - Dated 1774. A remarkably brilliant and successful General in the Roman war against the Carthaginians, Scipio was also regarded, down the ages as the pattern of a good and upright man. After capturing New Carthage, and taking prisoner a very beautiful princess, he not only restored her unharmed to her parents, but added immense presents for her fiancé. The archaeological investigations being carried out whilst Allan was in Italy were revealing unknown facts about the dress and furnishings of ancient Rome, and the artistic circle to which he belonged delighted in using this information for pictorial reconstructions of ancient history and poetry. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/4483/artist_name/David Allan National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/4483/artist_name/David Allan David Allan - Dated 1791. This charming watercolour shows the River Forth at South Queensferry, a small town near Edinburgh. Queensferry takes its name from Queen Margaret (later Saint Margaret), who had married Malcom III in 1070. The ceremony took place across the river in Dunfermline, Fife. There, Margaret set up a priory with Benedictine monks which soon became a place of pilgrimage. This created a high demand for ferries to carry the religious travellers across the river Forth to Dunfermline. The Queen’s Ferry was paid for by Margaret and would depart and arrive at various points along the shore near the village that soon adopted the name Queensferry. The first bridge to span the river was the famous Forth Rail bridge in 1890, more than a century after Allan painted this watercolour. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/4483/artist_name/David Allan National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/4483/artist_name/David Allan David Allan - Dated 1775 (on the back). This was painted in Rome at a time when the discovery of lost, ancient Graeco-Roman sculptures and mural paintings was exciting great interest in the artistic world. Greek or Roman subject matter was adopted by many artists. Here, Allan has chosen to illustrate a charming anecdote by the ancient Roman author Pliny, claiming that the art of painting had first been invented by a Corinthian girl who traced the outline of her lover's shadow on the wall before he went into battle. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/4483/artist_name/David Allan National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/4483/artist_name/David Allan David Allan - Dated 1775 (on the back). According to an inscription on the back of the picture ‘The Uncultivated Genius’ was painted from life in Naples in 1775 during Allan’s extended stay in Italy (1764-77). Allan’s etching of this same subject bears an alternative title ‘Neapolitan Painter’. The hack artist is shown painting a view of the eruption of Vesuvius. Recent research has indicated that the target of Allan’s satire was probably Pietro Fabris, the popular landscape and figure painter. Fabris was a protégé of Sir William Hamilton, the British Ambassador to Naples, who owned another version of this picture. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/4483/artist_name/David Allan National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/4483/artist_name/David Allan David Allan, William Inglis - 1787. Surgeon William Inglis was best known as a keen member of the Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers, the oldest golf club in the world. Allan, a member of the same golf club, shows Inglis and his caddy on Leith Links, about two miles from the city centre, where the club was then located (it's now based at Muirfield in East Lothian). Behind Inglis, the annual trophy presented by the City - a golf club with silver balls attached - is being paraded across the Links. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/4483/artist_name/David Allan National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/2660/artist_name/Sir William Allan Sir William Allan, Joseph Mallord William Turner - 1819 - 1833. Turner is seen here probably in his mid to late forties, between his two journeys to Venice of 1819 and 1833. An informal study which borders on caricature, it shows him standing before an easel, clutching his palette and working on a canvas. It is difficult to date precisely: Allan may have met Turner during his visit to Scotland in 1818, and almost certainly saw him in 1822 and 1831. The inscription on this drawing states that Sir William Allan was President of the Royal Scottish Academy. The drawing belonged to the painter and pioneering photographer, David Octavius Hill. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/2660/artist_name/Sir William Allan National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/2660/artist_name/Sir William Allan Sir William Allan, Matthew Hardie - about 1822. Edinburgh-born Matthew Hardie was an important and influential violin maker, who has been called the 'Scottish Stradivari'. His instruments were praised for both their beauty and quality of tone. Towards the end of his life, Hardie's business was undercut by cheaper factory imports and he spent some time in a debtor's jail. He died in a poorhouse. His skills, however, were passed onto family members, in what was to become a dynasty of violin makers. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/2660/artist_name/Sir William Allan National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/2660/artist_name/Sir William Allan Sir William Allan, Sir Walter Scott - about 1844. Known as ‘The Minstrel of the Scottish Border’, this full-length portrait shows Sir Walter Scott against a background of moorland, with two lively terriers at his feet. The landscape is that of the area surrounding his beloved Abbotsford home in the Scottish Borders, on the banks of the river Tweed. The peculiar pose and characteristic clothing appear in several other works by Allan, one of which is a quick sketch painted during a visit to Abbotsford in September 1831. The present portrait was painted some ten years after Scott’s death, and exhibited first in 1846. Throughout the nineteenth century, Walter Scott’s fame and influence were immense, with fellow authors in Europe and beyond classing him with Shakespeare, Cervantes and Chaucer as one of the great universal writers. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/2660/artist_name/Sir William Allan National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/2660/artist_name/Sir William Allan Sir William Allan - 1831. Sir Walter Scott’s tale ‘The Black Dwarf’ first appeared in ‘The Tales of My Landlord’ in 1816. Its central character was based upon the historical figure of David Ritchie. Hounded by mockery of his physical deformity, ‘Bow’d Davie’ took refuge in the Manor Valley in Peeblesshire where he built a curious cottage of stones and turf. After meeting Scott about 1818, Allan became his protégé, close friend and favoured illustrator. By 1827, when this picture was commissioned by the Royal Institution for the Encouragement of the Fine Arts in Scotland, Allan had established himself as the leading narrative painter of Scottish history. His particular approach towards the presentation of Scotland’s past frequently paralleled the literary reconstructions of Scott. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/2660/artist_name/Sir William Allan National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/2660/artist_name/Sir William Allan Sir William Allan, James Hogg, Alexander Nasmyth, Sir Walter Scott, Professor John Wilson (nom de plume, 'Christopher North') - 1823 or 1825. This scene shows a group of friends celebrating the birthday of James Hogg, the writer nicknamed 'the Ettrick Shepherd'. The gathering includes the artistic and literary elite of Scottish society. John Wilson (Christopher North), the author and moral philosoher, raises a toast to Hogg, who is swaying back on his chair at the left of the group. Next to Hogg, leaning on the table, is Sir Walter Scott. The setting is Hogg's house at Eltrive, and includes some beautifully observed details of a domestic interior in the early nineteenth century. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/2660/artist_name/Sir William Allan National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/2660/artist_name/Sir William Allan Sir William Allan - Dated 1832. Walter Scott employed the architect William Atkinson (c.1773 - 1839) to build Abbotsford House in Roxburghshire. It was for Scott’s own pleasure and its strong theatrical elements provided a perfect setting for his collection of antiquities. Begun in 1816 and extended after 1822, Abbotsford started a trend for the 'castle-style' buildings of the Scottish Baronial Revival. It was built in two stages after a prolonged process of planning. It reflected Scott's passion for the medieval and had many medieval carvings and idiosyncratic features incorporated into the design. The main entrance was based on the entrance porch to Linlithgow Palace, the Gothic chimney piece in the entrance hall copied from stone seats at Melrose Abbey, and the hall's wood panelling came from Dunfermline Auld Kirk. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/2660/artist_name/Sir William Allan National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/2660/artist_name/Sir William Allan Sir William Allan, Mary, Queen of Scots, David Rizzio - Exhibited 1833 (Royal Academy). For centuries, the dramatic life of Mary, Queen of Scots, has provided exciting subject matter for painters, writers and composers. Here, Sir William Allan depicts the assassination of David Rizzio, the queen's Italian secretary, in March 1566. The artist took great care to be historically accurate, establishing the exact identity and role of all the individual conspirators and recreating the look of Mary's rooms at the Palace of Holyrood. Allan based his Earl of Morton (with black hat to the far right) on a contemporary portrait, attributed to Arnold Bronckhorst, which is in the collection of the Scottish National Portrait Gallery. To the left, Mary is being restrained by her husband, Lord Darnley, who was part of the conspiracy but later denied any involvement. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/2660/artist_name/Sir William Allan National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/2660/artist_name/Sir William Allan Sir William Allan - Dated 1838. First exhibited in London in 1838, the year of Allan’s election as President of the Royal Scottish Academy, this complex and ambitious picture confirmed the artist’s status as a pioneer of British Orientalist painting. In 1829-30 Allan had travelled to Constantinople with the ambassadors who concluded the treaty which ended the struggle for Greek independence from Turkish domination. In the central group of the painting, which was supposedly based on Allan’s direct experience, an Egyptian slave-merchant is shown selling a Greek girl to a Turkish Pasha on horseback. The melodrama of the scene with the girl being torn form her distraught family contrasts with the relaxed group of men about to be served tea. Allan brought back many Turkish items which he used when composing this picture. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/2660/artist_name/Sir William Allan National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/2660/artist_name/Sir William Allan Prince Albert, Sir William Allan, Queen Victoria - 1844. Queen Victoria and Prince Albert visited Hawthornden Castle in Midlothian on 14 September 1842, the last day of their first holiday in Scotland. The owners of the castle, the Walker Drummond family, were away from home and so the royal couple paid only a brief visit. The 23-year old queen was much impressed by the view of the river Esk, and afterwards the party explored the caves in the sandstone cliff, said to have once sheltered Robert the Bruce. Two years after the visit Sir William Allan painted this charming picture of the scene, presumably for the Drummonds. Typical of Allan’s romantic landscape painting, he exaggerated the height of the cliff and possibly the trees, with the result that the people – albeit a royal party – almost disappear in the grandeur of the natural scene. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/2660/artist_name/Sir William Allan National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/2660/artist_name/Sir William Allan Sir William Allan, William Blackwood - About 1830. Blackwood was Scotland’s most successful publisher in the early nineteenth century. He was born in Edinburgh and at the age of fourteen began a six year apprenticeship to the booksellers Bell & Bradfute. Following further training in Glasgow and London, he opened his first shop on Edinburgh. Specialising in selling rare books the business was a success. In 1813 Blackwood became the agent for the printers of Sir Walter Scott’s novels. Four years later he founded the ‘Edinburgh Monthly Magazine’ as a Tory counterpart to the ‘Edinburgh Review’, which had Whig leanings. As editor from the seventh issue onwards the magazine became knows as ‘Blackwood’s Edinburgh Magazine’. This elegant portrait was painted by William Allan who was a good friend of Scott and painted subjects from his novels. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/2660/artist_name/Sir William Allan National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/2660/artist_name/Sir William Allan Sir William Allan, William Henry Murray - 1848. William Henry Murray was an actor, known both for his comedy performances and 'character' parts. He was manager of the Theatre Royal in Edinburgh from 1830 until 1848. When Sir Walter Scott was preparing for the visit of King George IV to Scotland in 1822 he drew on Murray's expertise for the management of events. This portrait was painted by William Allan who was a close friend. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/2660/artist_name/Sir William Allan National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/2661/artist_name/Mrs Helen Allingham Mrs Helen Allingham, Thomas Carlyle - 1879. Thomas Carlyle was one of the greatest historians and essayists of the nineteenth century. Born and educated in Dumfriesshire, he briefly worked as a teacher before turning to writing. The publication of his translations of foreign literature brought him into contact with other writers such as Coleridge and Thomas Campbell. In 1826 he married Jane Baillie Welsh, an intelligent self-educated woman and a writer in her own right. The couple settled in Chelsea where they became a focus for many well-known literary and political figures of the time. The artist of this work was the wife of Irish poet William Allingham, a friend of Carlyle. Although Helen Allingham specialised in romantic views of rural England, she occasionally painted portraits of her family and her husband’s friends. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/2661/artist_name/Mrs Helen Allingham National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/14697/artist_name/Darren Almond Darren Almond - 1997. This was the first screenprint the artist had ever made. Inspired by the Almond’s boyhood hobby of train-spotting, it also relates to a series of work in which Almond commissioned British Rail to make nameplates of his own name in the same styles as the plaques found on the 125 inter-city train. This type of train has a diesel locomotive at each end and is called a ‘multiple coupling’. The title of the print also references the nature of the work, as a multiple print. This work is from a portfolio of prints by eleven different London-based artists, called ‘Screen’. The title is taken from the screenprint technique but also refers to the fact that most of the artists had worked with film or photography.© The Artist and The Paragon Press http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/14697/artist_name/Darren Almond National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/294/artist_name/Amelia Anderson Amelia Anderson, William Home Lizars and Daniel Lizars - about 1816. John Sakeouse was born in Disco Bay, Greenland, an anchorage much frequented by whalers. At the age of eighteen he persuaded Captain Newton of the Thomas and Ann to ship him and his kayak back to Edinburgh, arriving in Leith in August 1816. He gave a series of demonstrations of his skills on the harbour in his sixteen pound kayak, beating locals for speed and dazzling them with his rolls and the accuracy of his dart and harpoon throwing. This drawing of Sakeouse was made on his arrival in Leith by Amelia Anderson and shows him paddling in his kayak. In 1818 Sakeouse was recruited as an interpreter on an Admiralty-sponsored Arctic expedition and was by all accounts a valuable member of the crew. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/294/artist_name/Amelia Anderson National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/2667/artist_name/John de Andrea John de Andrea - 1981. This sculpture is cast from a living model. De Andrea's objective was to make his figures as life-like as possible, and this work has been meticulously painted, so that no joins or other clues to its construction are evident. De Andrea's earlier figures had been made to stand on the floor or sit on real chairs. With 'Model in Repose' the artist considered he had attained such a perfect match of realism and beauty that he could place the work, literally, on a pedestal.© John de Andrea http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/2667/artist_name/John de Andrea National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/4492/artist_name/Pierre Jean David d'Angers Pierre Jean David d'Angers, Mary Fairfax, Mrs William Somerville - about 1833. Born in Jedburgh, the daughter of a naval officer, Mary Fairfax received the education then thought fitting for young ladies - very little, and a lot of needlework. She taught herself algebra in secret and became one of the period's leading mathematicians. She wrote several influential books on mathematics and astronomy. Somerville College, in Oxford, is named in her honour.This portrait was made during a visit to Paris in 1833. Although the medallion was very popular with the scientific community, some thought it too hard-edged and unfeminine. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/4492/artist_name/Pierre Jean David d'Angers National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/2668/artist_name/James Craig Annan James Craig Annan - 1913. In 1913, Annan travelled to Spain, accompanied by the painter and etcher, William Strang. The composition of 'Bullock Cart, Burgos' combines a strength and pride with the simplicity of the subject. The bullocks appear monumental against the low-lit background and the contrast between dark and light creates a sense of delicate movement. This melancholic image evokes D.Y. Cameron's comment on Annan's work, as 'reticent, reserved, weird and tenderly beautiful.'© Estate of James Craig Annan http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/2668/artist_name/James Craig Annan National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/2668/artist_name/James Craig Annan James Craig Annan, Jessie M. King - about 1910. Jessie M. King was an outstanding designer. She studied at Glasgow School of Art and became famous internationally as a book illustrator and a designer of jewellery and wallpaper. In 1902 she collaborated with Charles Rennie Mackintosh on the Scottish Pavilion at the Exposizione Nazionale in Turin, where she won a gold medal. At the outbreak of war she returned to Scotland and with her husband settled in Kirkcudbright, which by then was an artists' colony.© Estate of James Craig Annan http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/2668/artist_name/James Craig Annan National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/2668/artist_name/James Craig Annan James Craig Annan - 1913. In 1913, the photographer James Craig Annan visited Spain with the artist William Strang. This photogravure, ‘Group on a Hill Road’, is one of several images of Spanish subjects in which the figures appear to be unaware of the camera, yet in reality have been carefully positioned to create a balanced composition. Annan never found the time to produce and sell an album of his Spanish photographs, but the photographer Alfred Stieglitz published eight of these images in the photo magazine ‘Camera Work’ in 1914.© Estate of James Craig Annan http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/2668/artist_name/James Craig Annan National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/2668/artist_name/James Craig Annan James Craig Annan - about 1903. The great American photographer, Alfred Stieglitz described J. Craig Annan as: 'A true artist, and a decidedly poetic one at that'. His photogravure of Stirling Castle was executed in this spirit. The gravure print was a process that Annan and his father, Thomas Annan, learned in Vienna from its inventor, Karl Klic in 1883. The Glasgow photographer was proud of his Scottishness and some have read a nationalist statement into this picture. Although the castle looks proud and untouchable up on the crag, it overlooks a farmyard - an element which instantaneously makes this an informal and accessible image.© Estate of James Craig Annan http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/2668/artist_name/James Craig Annan National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/2668/artist_name/James Craig Annan James Craig Annan - 1890. This photograph was taken on Ben Vorlich, a mountain to the north of Loch Lomond. Its sombre, introspective mood is typical for this period of Annan’s work and the result of his skilled use of the photogravure technique. Over the years, the subject matter of this image has been interpreted in different ways. Soon after its first publication in 1895, it was thought to refer to the Old Testament, in which Moses receives the Ten Commandments on Mount Sinai. In 1901, another critic read into it: "Dantesque dreams, ideas of massive, awful grandeur, unknown threatening dangers". By 1986 the image was described as a Romantic landscape in the tradition of the painter Caspar David Friedrich.© T & R Annan & Sons Ltd, (The Annan Gallery). http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/2668/artist_name/James Craig Annan National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/2668/artist_name/James Craig Annan James Craig Annan - 1902. Born in Dumbarton, William Strang was briefly a clerk in the family shipbuilding firm before he entered the Slade School of Art in London in 1876. At the Slade he was deeply influenced by the teaching of Alphonse Legros, particularly the etching class which Legros instituted in 1877. The subject matter of Strang's etchings, largely produced between 1880 and 1900, ranges from intense portraits to scenes of working-class life and imaginary grotesques. By the turn of the century, Strang was developing the symbolic themes of his printed work in oil paintings, using rich colours in a style ultimately influenced by Venetian art. This atmospheric photogravure shows Strang preparing an etching plate, with the wheel of a printing press behind him.© The Artist’s Estate http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/2668/artist_name/James Craig Annan National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/2668/artist_name/James Craig Annan James Craig Annan - 1894. Annan was one of the first to use the Kodak snapshot camera and this picture of two monks, taken in Venice, demonstrates both his interest in the capture of movement and his printing skill. This photogravure conjures up the glaring heat of a dusty road and the almost audible rustle of the men's robes.© Estate of James Craig Annan http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/2668/artist_name/James Craig Annan National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/2668/artist_name/James Craig Annan James Craig Annan - 1909. James Craig Annan's photogravure ‘The White House’ of 1909 is now considered to be an important and early example of an image that is both a formal composition and casual snapshot. Annan carefully set up the view of the house and boats, but waited until the punt had drifted into exactly the right position before taking his photograph. He then reworked the image, emphasising certain areas and blurring others, so that in the end only the canopy of the barge in front of the house boat remains sharp. The house and boats belonged to George Davison, a photographer and former Managing Director of Kodak in Britain. The boy in the punt boat is his son Ronald.© Estate of James Craig Annan http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/2668/artist_name/James Craig Annan National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/2668/artist_name/James Craig Annan James Craig Annan - 1894. In 1894 Annan travelled in Genoa and Venice with the artist and etcher, D.Y. Cameron. He remarked that: 'It has been when I have associated with artists that I have made my most successful pictures'. In this work, Annan has framed the posts in the water against the far towers and then waited until the oar of the drifting gondola has cut the skyline of the city at exactly the correct point to balance this striking abstract composition.© Estate of James Craig Annan http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/2668/artist_name/James Craig Annan National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/8356/artist_name/John Annan John Annan - September 1894. This photograph is one of a series which charts the progress of the building of the Glasgow docks at the end of the nineteenth century, when the city was a centre for world trade and considered as the 'Second City of the Empire'. This image is a record of one of the stages of the construction work and demonstrates the pride which people took in the large-scale engineering works of the time.© Estate of John Annan http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/8356/artist_name/John Annan National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/10702/artist_name/T. & R. Annan & Sons T. & R. Annan & Sons - 1897. Thomas Annan’s prints of ‘The Old Closes and Streets of Glasgow’ had been published in his lifetime. His sons John and James Craig inherited the project and in 1900 produced a photogravure album with new images probably taken by John and, for the first time, a written text. According to the author, William Young: “The value of many of the plates embraced in this volume consists in their true presentation or suggestion of the seamy side of the city's life; in their depicting with absolute faithfulness, the gloom and squalor of the slums”.© Estate of John Annan http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/10702/artist_name/T. & R. Annan & Sons National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/10702/artist_name/T. & R. Annan & Sons T. & R. Annan & Sons, Sir William Thomson, Baron Kelvin - about 1900. A child prodigy, William Thomson went to university at the age of eleven. At twenty-two he was appointed Professor of Natural Philosophy in Glasgow where he set up the first physics laboratory in Great Britain and proved an inspiring teacher. He primarily researched thermodynamics and electricity. On the practical side he was involved in the laying of the Atlantic telegraph cable. He was also the partner of a Glasgow firm that made measuring instruments from his own patents. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/10702/artist_name/T. & R. Annan & Sons National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/2669/artist_name/Thomas Annan Thomas Annan - About 1860. This photograph shows a rather nostalgic view westwards from the village of Aberfoyle, on the dividing line between the Highlands and Lowlands. To the right of Ben Lomond are the lands of Craigrostan, which once belonged to Rob Roy. A famous character in Scottish history, Rob Roy MacGregor was a cattle trader who, as a result of business failure and switching political sympathies, lost his lands and became an outlaw and rebel. His reputation as a folk hero took on mythical proportions after the publication of Sir Walter Scott’s romanticised version of his life in 1817, and this photograph would certainly have been interpreted in that context. Before Scott’s visits to the area, Aberfoyle was small and insignificant, but the success of his novels led to a sudden increase in visitors.© T & R Annan & Sons Ltd., (The Annan Gallery) http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/2669/artist_name/Thomas Annan National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/2669/artist_name/Thomas Annan Thomas Annan - 1868 - 1871. After the city passed an act through parliament to demolish the slums of central Glasgow in 1866, Thomas Annan was asked to record the buildings that were coming down. He worked in conditions as bad for photography as they were for humans and took only about thirty successful photographs in the three years he spent on the commission. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/2669/artist_name/Thomas Annan National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/2669/artist_name/Thomas Annan Thomas Annan - 1868 - 1871. In 1868 the City of Glasgow commissioned Thomas Annan to photograph the run-down buildings and closes of the old town before their destruction in a large urban improvement scheme. It was a difficult task, because light levels in these built-up, overcrowded slums were very low. Hence exposure times had to be increased, which made it harder to create sharp, well-defined images. In this photograph, many of the carefully grouped and positioned children appear blurred as they will have moved while the photograph was taken. However, the boy with his hands on his hips stands out from the rest. His strong, clear-cut figure appears to challenge his squalid surroundings and gives the viewer a sense of hope and indestructibility. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/2669/artist_name/Thomas Annan National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/2669/artist_name/Thomas Annan Thomas Annan - 1868 - 71. In 1868 the Fife-born photographer, Thomas Annan, began his series of thirty-one photographs of the closes and wynds of old Glasgow. This area was one of the worst urban slums in Britain and had recently been scheduled for demolition by the City Improvement Trust, a body set up by the Glasgow Improvement Act of 1866 with sweeping powers to clear property. Annan was charged by the Trustees with recording its passing, an antiquarian commission that answered an anxiety about the city’s ferocious pace of change. Facing technical problems due to the dark and dank conditions, he utilised the wet collodion process, the most sensitive technology then available. The series is acknowledged as the first record of slum housing in the history of photography. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/2669/artist_name/Thomas Annan National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/2669/artist_name/Thomas Annan Thomas Annan, David Livingstone - 1864. David Livingstone was one of the great Christian missionaries of the nineteenth century, and fought the slave trade in Africa throughout his life with great dedication. His journey from coast to coast and his discovery of Victoria Falls made him Britain's national hero. This is the most successful portrait of Livingstone, taken in his sisters' house in Hamilton in 1864. The cap on the table is his 'Consul's cap', symbolising his authority as a consul-on-the-move in the Zambezi expedition (1858-1864). http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/2669/artist_name/Thomas Annan National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/2669/artist_name/Thomas Annan Thomas Annan - 1868 - 1871. In 1868 the City of Glasgow commissioned Thomas Annan to photograph the old town before improvement works could proceed. Annan did not find this an easy assignment due to the poor working conditions - light was almost entirely absent from the built-up and overcrowded closes of the slums. There, nevertheless, must have been humorous moments like the one recorded in this picture when the photographer was evidently struggling to get a clear view of the street while facing an overwhelming and curious crowd. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/2669/artist_name/Thomas Annan National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/2669/artist_name/Thomas Annan Thomas Annan - Published 1877. This picture is part of a series of photographs showing the remarkable engineering work designed to give Glasgow a supply of fresh water. A network of tunnels and aqueducts crisscrossed the Duchray Valley, carrying 50,000,000 gallons of water a day to the city, from Loch Katrine, made famous by Sir Walter Scott's poem, 'The Lady of the Lake'. In the opinion of one engineer at the time the Duchray aqueduct surpassed 'the greatest of the nine famous aqueducts which fed the city of Rome'. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/2669/artist_name/Thomas Annan National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/2669/artist_name/Thomas Annan Thomas Annan - 1868 - 1871. In 1868 Annan was commissioned to record the old closes and streets of Glasgow prior to their demolition. Light hardly ever stole into the narrow closes, whereas here the photographer has the benefit of a bird's eye view. The broad avenue, washed clean by recent rain, appears far more presentable than the squalid courts hiding behind the facades of the tall buildings. This is deceptive: a closer look reveals how run-down the buildings are and the washing sitting out on windowsills speaks of the overcrowded conditions in which the inhabitants live. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/2669/artist_name/Thomas Annan National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/20354/artist_name/David Annand David Annand, Edwin Morgan - about 2004. Edwin Morgan was one of the most important Scottish poets of the twentieth century, writing poetry in a wide variety of styles. Born in Glasgow in 1920, he lived in the city almost his entire life. In 1937 he entered the University of Glasgow and, after interrupting his studies to serve with the Royal Army Medical Corps in the Middle East, graduated in 1947. He became a lecturer and later a professor at the university and retired in 1980. Morgan’s interests are wide-ranging and include technology, art, film, travel and languages – he has translated poetry from Russian, Hungarian, French, Italian, Latin, Spanish, Portuguese and German. From 1999 to 2002 he served as Glasgow’s Poet Laureate before being made the first ever ‘Scots Makar’ or Scotland’s national poet, in 2004.© David A Annand, Sculptor http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/20354/artist_name/David Annand National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/20354/artist_name/David Annand David Annand, Norman MacCaig - about 2004. Norman MacCaig, who was a prolific writer of poetry, worked as a schoolteacher in Edinburgh for most of his life. He studied classics before training to be a teacher at Moray House in Edinburgh. After the Second World War, during which he adopted a pacifist stance, MacCaig continued to teach and in 1967 became the first Fellow in Creative Writing at the University of Edinburgh. Both his home city of Edinburgh and his holiday home in Assynt, in the north-west of Scotland, provided inspiration for his poetry. His early works belong to the New Apocalypse Movement, a surrealist mode of writing which he later abandoned in favour of a wittier and more elegant style. His fame grew later in life; he was awarded an OBE in 1979 and in 1986 received the Queen’s Medal for Poetry.© David A Annand, Sculptor http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/20354/artist_name/David Annand National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/20705/artist_name/Platon Antoniou Platon Antoniou, Gordon Brown - 8 September 2004 (printed September 2005). When the Labour Party came to power in 1997 Gordon Brown was appointed Chancellor of the Exchequer. Ten years later, in June 2007, he became Prime Minister and held office until May 2010. Educated at the University of Edinburgh, Brown was elected Rector of the University and appointed Chairman of its Court from 1972-5. He then lectured in politics before taking up a post at Scottish Television in 1980. Since 1983 Brown has been the Member of Parliament for Dunfermline East and has held several senior posts on the opposition front bench. This portrait is typical of Antoniou’s bold and striking photographic style. The viewer is confronted, in very close proximity to the politician who bears a slight, almost knowing, smirk. The dramatic lighting contrasts to this intimacy.© Platon http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/20705/artist_name/Platon Antoniou National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/2674/artist_name/Karel Appel Karel Appel - 1959. This painting was made shortly after Appel had seen the work of the abstract expressionist artist (and fellow Dutchman) Willem de Kooning, while on a trip to America. Appel's painting suggests spontaneity and directness. Some of the paint has been squeezed onto the canvas directly from the tube and other areas have been smudged with his hands. The painting is an explosion of colour and movement, with an ominous black mass at either end of the canvas suggesting the threatening storm.© Karel Appel Foundation/DACS, London, 2004. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/2674/artist_name/Karel Appel National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/2676/artist_name/James Archer James Archer - 1866. From 1848 Archer specialised in subjects from medieval history and literature. In 1862 he settled permanently in London. Much of his work, including Emelye, shows the influence of the Pre-Raphaelites including Millais and Rossetti. In the Knight's story from Chaucer's poem, ‘The Canterbury Tales’, the maiden Emelye, "Fairer than the lily, Fresher than the May with flowers new", is the heroine of a medieval romance. She rises at dawn to pick white roses (symbol of both purity and love) and unwittingly inspires love-at-first-sight in two knights, who thus become rivals. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/2676/artist_name/James Archer National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/2677/artist_name/Avigdor Arikha Avigdor Arikha, Alexander Frederick Douglas-Home, Baron Home of the Hirsel - 1988. Lord Home, better known as Alec Douglas-Home, was one of the most important Conservative statesman of the last century, whose long political career spanned over fifty years. He was Parliamentary Private Secretary to Neville Chamberlain, whom he accompanied to Germany in 1938 on the government's abortive attempt to appease Hitler and Mussolini. In 1963, after Harold Macmillan's resignation, Lord Home briefly became Prime Minister. The Conservatives lost the election the following year but in 1970 Home returned to the post of Foreign Secretary, which he held until 1974. With its elongated figure slipping to the side of the canvas, this image suggests the character of a man described as the "quiet aristocrat of British politics".© Avigdor Arikha http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/2677/artist_name/Avigdor Arikha National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/2677/artist_name/Avigdor Arikha Avigdor Arikha, Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother - 1983. Born Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon, the youngest daughter of the 14th Earl of Strathmore, the Queen Mother was descended from Robert II of Scotland. She was born in England but spent part of every year at Glamis Castle in Angus during her childhood. In 1923 she married the Duke of York, who became George VI unexpectedly after his brother's abdication in 1936. The Queen Mother always enjoyed the affection of the British public and had a gift of manifesting genuine interest. This sensitive and dignified portrait was the first commissioned by the Scottish National Portrait Gallery to record important living Scots.© Avigdor Arikha http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/2677/artist_name/Avigdor Arikha National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/2677/artist_name/Avigdor Arikha Avigdor Arikha, Ludovic Kennedy, Moira Shearer - 1993. Ludovic Kennedy and Moira Shearer married in 1950. Born in Dunfermline, Shearer shot to fame in 1948 with her role as the doomed young ballerina in the film, 'The Red Shoes'. From 1952 she combined family life (she and Kennedy had four children) with a second career as an actress and lecturer. A pioneer of television broadcasting, Edinburgh-born Kennedy became a newscaster in 1956 and presented some of the first current affairs programmes, most notably, Panorama. As an investigative journalist who specialised in miscarriages of justice, he has exposed some of the most notorious cases of injustice in Britain.© Avigdor Arikha http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/2677/artist_name/Avigdor Arikha National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/2677/artist_name/Avigdor Arikha Avigdor Arikha, Leon Wieseltier - 1992. This portrait depicts the writer Leon Wieseltier (b.1952). Wieseltier is perhaps best known for the work 'Kaddish', an examination of the way Jewish tradition deals with death and mourning, and a book which has been translated into many languages. Wieseltier has also been the literary editor of the periodical 'The New Republic' since 1983. Like many of Arikha's other portraits, this painting has a neutral background, with the sitter looking into the distance. In his portraits, Arikha frequently depicted his male sitters clothed in a uniform of shirt and jacket, as he does here.© Avigdor Arikha http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/2677/artist_name/Avigdor Arikha National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/458/artist_name/Arman (Armand Fernandez) Arman (Armand Fernandez) - 1967 - 1968. This work was made by pouring resin into a flat box, to the depth of about a centimetre, and inserting elements of the cello. Once set, another layer of resin could be poured, and more of the pieces added. The final work is like a cello frozen in space a fraction of a second after it has exploded. The sculpture is a development from the artist's 'Happenings', when he would smash up pianos, cars and even whole rooms. Arman attached the broken remains to panels but, from 1962, he began setting them in clear polyester resin, calling the series 'Colère' (Anger).© ADAGP, Paris and DACS, London 2004 http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/458/artist_name/Arman (Armand Fernandez) National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/6014/artist_name/Kenneth Armitage Kenneth Armitage - 1953. This is one of a series of works, begun in 1949, in which the artist joined two or more figures together. He described the resulting sculptures as ‘a new organic unit - a simple mass of whatever shape I liked containing only that number of heads, limbs or other detail I felt necessary.’ In this work, the children appear to have linked arms and are running or skipping in unison. Armitage was in charge of a War Office School during the Second World War, using models of aeroplanes and silhouettes to teach aircraft identification. This influenced the flat forms of his later work by making him particularly aware of shape. He has also acknowledged that his sculptures were affected by the shape of screens he had in his studio, which comprised a flat area with protruding feet.© The Estate of Kenneth Armitage http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/6014/artist_name/Kenneth Armitage National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/2682/artist_name/John Armstrong John Armstrong - Dated 1953. Symbolism was of great interest to Armstrong, and, in the early 1950s, he began to develop his own symbolist vocabulary. This encompassed many of his views and beliefs - relating to mythology, religion, theatre, architecture and politics. These are visible in his series of large ‘battle’ paintings, such as ‘The Battle of Religion’, for which this is a study. An echo of surrealism is also apparent with Armstrong playing on the incongruity of the rocking horse on the battlefield and the figures blindly waving their wooden swords yet failing to clash. In its subject and composition this work is clearly inspired by Uccello’s ‘Battle of San Romano’ in the National Gallery, London.© SODART/DACS 2006 http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/2682/artist_name/John Armstrong National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/1693/artist_name/Eve Arnold Eve Arnold, George Lincoln Rockwell - 1960. Members of the American Nazi Party attended one of the conventions of the Black Muslim movement in America with the aim of supporting its policy of racial segregation. The Nazi Party leader, who is shown here between two bodyguards, threatened Arnold that he would "make a bar of soap" out of her because he found the presence of a Jewish woman photojournalist disturbing.© Eve Arnold/ Magnum Photos http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/1693/artist_name/Eve Arnold National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/1693/artist_name/Eve Arnold Eve Arnold, Malcolm X - 1960. This photograph, commissioned by 'Life' magazine, was the product of a year spent with Malcom X, then the powerful emerging leader of the Black Muslim movement in America. Malcolm X is shown collecting money at a rally. Although unpublished by 'Life', the subsequent photo-essay came out simultaneously in several other magazines worldwide, and brought Eve Arnold her first big career success.© Eve Arnold/Magnum Photos http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/1693/artist_name/Eve Arnold National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/2687/artist_name/Jean (Hans) Arp Jean (Hans) Arp - 1962. Arp began making free-standing sculpture in the early 1930s. His sensuous, 'abstract' works changed little in style from that time to the 1960s. Arp called his sculptures 'human concretions', a term chosen to suggest that they might have grown out of the human body. He did not consider these works as abstract, but rather as organic forms which had occurred naturally. The vertical nature of this sculpture suggests parallels with the human form: Arp made a number of vertical works from the mid-1950s to the 1960s.© DACS 2004 http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/2687/artist_name/Jean (Hans) Arp National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/27214/artist_name/Brad Askew Brad Askew - 2011. Eve Muirhead has won the World Junior Curling Championships four times and was the youngest ever skip [captain] at an Olympic Games in 2010 in Vancouver. She is a European Champion and won a silver medal as she skipped Team Scotland in the 2011 World Women’s Curling Championships. At the 2012 World Championships she was awarded the Frances Brodie Award for the curler who best exemplified sportsmanship, fair play, honesty and friendship. Muirhead is photographed here at Blair Castle, near her family home in Blair Atholl. She holds a curling broom together with the tools of her two past championship activities - golf and bagpiping.© Brad Askew http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/27214/artist_name/Brad Askew National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/18714/artist_name/Shelagh Atkinson Shelagh Atkinson, Sally Beamish - 2006. This screenprint entitled ‘Making Music’ shows composer Sally Beamish, whose intimate compositions include chamber, vocal, choral and orchestral pieces that are performed and broadcast throughout the world. Beamish started her musical career playing the viola in the Raphael Ensemble before being appointed composer in residence with the Swedish and Scottish Chamber Orchestras, from 1998 to 2002. During that period she wrote four major works, including the ‘Knotgrass Elegy’, which was commissioned by the BBC Proms in 2001, and an opera, ‘Monster’, based on the life of Mary Shelley. In 2006, in honour of her 50th birthday, the Cheltenham Festival staged a major retrospective of her work.© Shelagh Atkinson http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/18714/artist_name/Shelagh Atkinson National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/26682/artist_name/Atributed to John Vanderbank Atributed to John Vanderbank, Major James Fraser of Castle Leathers - about 1720. Major James Fraser of Castle Leathers was a supporter of the Hanoverian government during the Jacobite risings. He later became known as the author of ‘Major Fraser's Manuscript’, which describes his journey to France to bring home the exiled Simon Fraser of Beaufort, later 11th Lord Lovat. Fraser married Janet, daughter of Sir Robert Dunbar, and had two sons and nine daughters. This remarkable portrait shows Major Fraser in the classic Highland outfit of tartan ‘trews’ and plaid. This style of dress was suitable for riding and seems to have been adopted by men of privilege in the early seventeenth century. Another version of this portrait hangs in the courtroom of the Tollbooth in Forres, near Inverness. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/26682/artist_name/Atributed to John Vanderbank National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/2691/artist_name/Frank Auerbach Frank Auerbach, Stella West - 1961. Auerbach made a series of portraits of E.O.W. (his companion Estella West) from the 1950s to the 1970s. He painted her regularly in her home, three evenings a week and always by electric light. The lighting is part of the reason he has used these colours. Also, the monochrome paints were cheaper. Auerbach has commented on these portraits: ‘"She was the most important person in my life at the time... The intensity of life with somebody and the sense of its passing has its own pathos and poignancy. There was a sense of futility about it all disappearing into the void and I just wanted to pin something down that would defy time, so it wouldn’t all just go off into thin air." The very thick paint, which is typical of Auerbach’s work, comes from this desire to fix and ‘pin down’.© Frank Auerbach, Courtesy Marlborough Fine Art http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/2691/artist_name/Frank Auerbach National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/2691/artist_name/Frank Auerbach Frank Auerbach - 1992. Auerbach mainly paints landscapes and townscapes in the Camden Town area of London, and portraits of a few close friends and relatives. This is a portrait of his wife, Julia Wolstenholme, who Auerbach met at the Royal College of Art in London. Auerbach is noted for his use of extremely thick, impasto paint. Yet here the majority of the paint is thinner and more diluted, which contrasts to a few areas where it is thick and tangible. Overall the appearance created is of a bold, vibrant portrait.© The Artist http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/2691/artist_name/Frank Auerbach National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/2691/artist_name/Frank Auerbach Frank Auerbach - 1959. Auerbach’s landscapes are predominantly of the area of north London which includes Primrose Hill, Mornington Crescent and Camden Town, the location of his studio. This painting is one of the earliest in a series of works which depict Primrose Hill. It was painted during a long, hot summer - the bright colours and shadows in the foreground suggest the effects of dazzling sunlight. After making drawings on location, Auerbach works up the paintings in his studio. A lengthy process of painting, and then scraping off layers of paint to enable him to start again, meant that Auerbach would complete on average only two or three of these large paintings per year.© Frank Auerbach, Courtesy of Marlborough Fine Art http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/2691/artist_name/Frank Auerbach National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/2691/artist_name/Frank Auerbach Frank Auerbach - 1961 - 1962 / 1964. The park at Primrose Hill, near Auerbach’s studio in Camden Town, is one of the artist’s favourite motifs. This work was painted in 1961-62 in a range of brown tones; it was then put aside and completely re-worked in 1964 in brighter colours. The practice of painting, scraping off paint, and repainting is integral to the artist’s working process, resulting in works which are thickly encrusted with paint. Auerbach’s subjects, whether people or places, come from his immediate surroundings as he prefers to be familiar with what he paints in order to capture the essence of his subject. Auerbach has depicted Primrose Hill in all seasons and weathers.© Frank Auerbach, courtesy Marlborough Fine Art http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/2691/artist_name/Frank Auerbach National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/2693/artist_name/Hendrick Avercamp Hendrick Avercamp - about 1630. This crowded winter scene presents a cross-section of Dutch society enjoying a wide range of winters sports, on the frozen waterways. The figures in the foreground with long sticks are playing ‘kolf’, an early form of golf. The walled town in the background was previously thought to be the artist’s native town, Kampen, but is an imaginary site. To the left by the windmill is an inn, indicated by the sign with a white crescent. The brightly coloured figures stand out against the restrained, subtle tones of the landscape. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/2693/artist_name/Hendrick Avercamp National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/11964/artist_name/Charles Avery Charles Avery - 2007. In 2004 Avery began a long-term project called ‘The Islanders’, in which he describes, through a variety of media, the land and the inhabitants of an imaginary island. This drawing represents the square on this island that was the site of the slaughter of many of the island’s natives (the If’en), when humans arrived. The square also signifies a division in the town as the If’en are forbidden to venture further without an accompanying human. Although appearing unfinished in areas, there are contrasting sections of minute detail that precisely describe the lively bazaar. Avery depicts the island’s characters selling their unusual goods including - ‘Dihedra’ (a butterfly-like bird with “wings so thin that they only have one side”) and the island’s legendary ‘Henderson’s Pickled Eggs’.© Charles Avery http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/11964/artist_name/Charles Avery National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/11964/artist_name/Charles Avery Charles Avery - 2006. In 2004 Avery began a long-term project called ‘The Islanders’, in which he describes, through a variety of media, the land and the inhabitants of an imaginary island. ‘The Plane of the Gods’ is the most popular tourist attraction of this island. It features nine deities which vary dramatically from once “unfathomable” black holes to identical twin cousins, each with their own narrative: ‘Duculi (The Indescribable)’ resembles two headless dogs joined at the neck and locked in a seemingly violent struggle with themselves and the ‘August Snakes’ with their long beards, hold an air of wisdom and have attracted a “cult following”. Avery approaches the traditional subject of religion in an unusual and somewhat humorous manner, exploring belief and how we perceive our own Gods.© Charles Avery http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/11964/artist_name/Charles Avery National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/11964/artist_name/Charles Avery Charles Avery - 2002. Charles Avery creates his drawings of enigmatic groups of figures by starting from one area of the body, often a nose, and working outwards from there until a character is created. Each subsequent figure is created in reaction to the previous one until a narrative begins to emerge. Avery puts most detail into the faces and hands of his figures, as he views these as vital for expression. The left-hand edge of this drawing reveals that it has been neatly removed from a spiral-bound pad. However, this is not a preparatory sketch for a painting, as Avery views drawing as important in its own right and uses it as a way to encourage the viewer to interact. He explains, 'Drawing puts much more trust in the viewer. Drawing is a form of writing, it’s a telling medium and people get involved in it.'© Charles Avery http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/11964/artist_name/Charles Avery National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/19215/artist_name/Studio of Alexander Ayton Studio of Alexander Ayton - 26 February 1938. Before Alexander Ayton Junior died in 1894 he had been successful in photographing sportsmen, including tennis players and football and cricket teams. In 1892 The Practical Photographer magazine featured two prints on behalf of Alex Ayton showing both the English and Scottish rugby teams that played that year. This sporting interest was continued in the Ayton business following his death. This photograph from 1938 shows the Scottish rugby team that played against Ireland on 26 February 1938. Mounted on card, the players’ names are listed below, alongside the score from the match.© Courtesy of the Estate http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/19215/artist_name/Studio of Alexander Ayton National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/19215/artist_name/Studio of Alexander Ayton Studio of Alexander Ayton - 5 February 1938. Before Alexander Ayton Junior died in 1894 he had been successful in photographing sportsmen, including tennis players and football and cricket teams. In 1892 The Practical Photographer magazine featured two prints on behalf of Alex Ayton showing both the English and Scottish rugby teams that played that year. This sporting interest was continued in the Ayton business following his death. This photograph from 1938 shows the Scottish rugby team that played against Wales on 5 February 1938. Mounted on card, the players’ names are listed below, alongside the score from the match.© Courtesy of the Estate http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/A/19215/artist_name/Studio of Alexander Ayton National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2694/artist_name/Platt Babbitt Platt Babbitt - about 1855. In the 1850s, Babbitt had been granted a monopoly to photograph on the American side of the Niagara Falls. Competition amongst photographers could be ruthless. When a Scotsman, William Thompson, tried to photograph the falls from Prospect Point, it was noted that: 'Mr Babbitt would not have it.... Every time Mr Thompson made an attempt to take the cap off the camera for an exposure, Mr Babbitt and his forces would stand between the camera and the falls swinging large-sized umbrellas to and fro...' http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2694/artist_name/Platt Babbitt National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/545/artist_name/Bacchiacca (Francesco Ubertini) Bacchiacca (Francesco Ubertini), Moses - after 1525. Bacchiacca used this Old Testament subject as a means to include a wide range of exotically clothed figures and various birds and animals in a stylised, rocky landscape. Moses kneels in the centre, before the rock from which water miraculously appears to relieve the thirst of the Israelites as they journey to the Promised Land. This is collected in, and enthusiastically drunk from, beautifully crafted jugs. The picture may well be connected with a commission Bacchiacca received from a Florentine guild of jug-makers to decorate a festival stand in 1525 with scenes from the Old Testament. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/545/artist_name/Bacchiacca (Francesco Ubertini) National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2697/artist_name/Otto Bache Otto Bache, James Hepburn, 4th Earl of Bothwell - 1861. James Hepburn, 4th Earl of Bothwell, is a notorious figure in Scottish history. He is most associated with the murder of Mary, Queen of Scots’, second husband, Lord Darnley. Then abducting Mary, raping her and forcing her hand in marriage. As a result of the Scottish nobility’s outrage over these claims Bothwell fled to Denmark, where he was arrested and imprisoned in Malmö Castle. Bothwell was reported to have been kept prisoner in the dark, tied to a post half his height so he could not stand. He died ten years later. He was buried at Faarevejle, but it was discovered that the sea air had preserved his body. His body was exhumed several times and displayed in an open casket at Frederiksborg Museum in Copenhagen. This rather gruesome painting depicts the head of Bothwell’s mummified body. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2697/artist_name/Otto Bache National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2699/artist_name/Francis Bacon Francis Bacon - 1945 - 1946. This is an important early painting by Bacon, as he destroyed much of his work from the period of 1935 to 1944. Despite the title, it is a figure study only by implication. It is one of the few works in Bacon's oeuvre that does not feature a figure, though the trilby hat and tweed overcoat suggest a human presence. The painting was followed by a similar work, 'Figure Study II' (Huddersfield Art Gallery), which shows the same coat motif, from which a deformed, screaming figure - perhaps lurking under the coat in this painting - emerges.© Estate of Francis Bacon 2004. All Rights Reserved, DACS. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2699/artist_name/Francis Bacon National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2699/artist_name/Francis Bacon Francis Bacon, Anthony Zych - 1991. This is one of the last paintings Bacon completed. It is the second in a series of three portraits of his friend, the artist Anthony Zych. Zych appears to be standing in a doorway, possibly that of the artist's studio. The camera tripod is an element repeated from the central panel of a triptych painted in 1944. Bacon's portraits were almost without exception of people with whom he was familiar. He preferred to paint his subjects not from life but from photographs. This was the first painting by Bacon to enter the collection of the Gallery of Modern Art.© Estate of Francis Bacon 2004. All Rights Reserved, DACS. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2699/artist_name/Francis Bacon National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/20642/artist_name/Adrian Bailey Adrian Bailey, Fiona Macpherson - 1990 - 1999. Fiona Macpherson was born in London with her family moving to Inverness when she was five. She studied English and Modern History at St Andrews University, before starting her career as a magazine editor in Dundee. In 1963 she moved to London to become a sub-editor on ‘Woman’s Own’, and in 1965 joined the staff of ‘Queen’. When the latter merged into ‘Harpers & Queen’, Macpherson became deputy editor. In 1975 she married Adrian Bailey, the artist of this portrait, and after the birth of her first child she devoted herself to family life. Only after being offered the position of editor of ‘Harpers & Queen’ in 1994 did she return to full-time work. She worked until weeks before her death from cancer in 2000.© Adrian Bailey http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/20642/artist_name/Adrian Bailey National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/1566/artist_name/Edward Baird Edward Baird, James Carson - 1944. Much of Baird’s artistic output from his later years consisted of portraits of friends and local characters. In this example of his formal portraiture, the sitter is James Carson, who was headmaster at Rossie Farm School in Montrose. The portrait was commissioned by a local businessman and was originally presented to the school shortly after the sitter’s retiral. It commemorates Carson’s forty years of service and the associated award of an MBE. Carson was born in Dalry, Ayrshire, and was also Chair of the Montrose branch of the Worker’s Education Association. As a committed Socialist, it is likely that Baird also knew the sitter in this capacity.© Graham Stephen / The Artist's estate http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/1566/artist_name/Edward Baird National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/1566/artist_name/Edward Baird Edward Baird, Fionn MacColla - 1932. Fionn MacColla was the pen name of the writer Thomas Douglas MacDonald. He was born and brought up in Montrose, where he became acquainted with Hugh MacDiarmid who edited the 'Montrose Review' from 1919 to 1929. In 1928, MacColla and the artist Edward Baird, both passionate Scottish patriots, joined the newly founded National Party of Scotland. Baird wrote that this was his “attempt to paint a modern and distinctively Scottish portrait” and that both he and the sitter had “a sense of being part of a re-vivified Scottish Culture”.© The Artist’s Estate http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/1566/artist_name/Edward Baird National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/1566/artist_name/Edward Baird Edward Baird - 1940. Baird’s paintings are characterised by an obsessive attention to detail, and this meticulously painted still life is no different. Painted during the war years when fruit was scarce, the apples and pears had been brought from abroad by the artist's brother. However, as Baird was a perfectionist, by the time he had finished the painting the apples and pears were completely rotten – an extravagance, friends said, given the scarcity of fruit during the war years. The blue and white jug is known as a ‘Glasgow Jug’.© Graham Stephen/The Artist's Estate http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/1566/artist_name/Edward Baird National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/1566/artist_name/Edward Baird Edward Baird, Venus - 1934. This painting is a rare example of Scottish Surrealism. It was painted as a wedding present for the artist James McIntosh Patrick. McIntosh Patrick said of Baird's gift, “It rather shocked me as he painted so few pictures yet he gave this one away. He was our best man and, being a sentimental person, he chose Venus, the goddess of love, as the subject of the painting. He was a keen Scottish Nationalist; he also admired Botticelli and Crivelli, the Renaissance painters. Hence the 'Scottish Venus' as he called it, arose out of his associations with a wedding, his involvement with Scottish Nationalism, his love for messing about in boats, and his love of Botticelli.”© Graham Stephen/ The Artist’s Estate http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/1566/artist_name/Edward Baird National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/10640/artist_name/Stephan Balkenhol Stephan Balkenhol - 1988. This large wooden figure is over ten feet in height and was carved from a single tree trunk. Despite his imposing size, the man looks distinctly non-heroic, his stance suggesting boredom or that he is waiting for something to happen. Balkenhol uses a chainsaw roughly to carve his large figures; he then defines the details with a chisel before painting. Although Balkenhol works in the tradition of Expressionist wood carving, his work can also be associated with the work of the contemporary artist Georg Baselitz. Parallels have also been drawn between Balkenhol's neutral, post-heroic figures and the giant, rhetorical statues beloved by totalitarian regimes.© DACS 2004 http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/10640/artist_name/Stephan Balkenhol National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/10640/artist_name/Stephan Balkenhol Stephan Balkenhol - 1995. The woman on this carved wooden relief is both ordinary and anonymous. The figures Balkenhol depicts in his work are everyday, non-heroic types. He is influenced by Egyptian art: in particular the way it is able to convey universality and tranquillity, qualities he seeks in his own work. The marks of the sculptor's tools are clearly visible on the surface of the relief, reinforcing the presence of the sculptor and the rawness of the piece. Fashioned with admirable skill and simplicity, his sculptures are pieces of wood masquerading as people.© DACS 2004 http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/10640/artist_name/Stephan Balkenhol National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/19855/artist_name/John Ballantyne John Ballantyne, John Phillip - about 1864. The artist John Phillip went to Spain in 1851 for the sake of his health. There he not only recovered, but found a new source of inspiration in Spanish life and art. This view of his London studio - one of a series Ballantyne made depicting his contemporaries at work - makes clear why the artist became known as 'Spanish Phillip'. Studio props of onions, pots and a melon are piled on a table and Phillip is preparing his palette in readiness for returning to the canvas on his easel - 'Spanish Contrabandistas' - a painting of 1858. On the back wall is his copy of part of Las Meninas by Velásquez http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/19855/artist_name/John Ballantyne National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/19855/artist_name/John Ballantyne John Ballantyne, Professor Sir William Hamilton - 1850. The philosopher Sir William Hamilton was briefly Professor of Civil History at the University of Edinburgh before concentrating on researching and writing. Hamilton was heavily influenced by German philosophy, especially the work of Immanuel Kant. He wrote influential articles for the pro-Whig Edinburgh Review magazine, which were later published as ‘Discussions in Philosophy, Literature and Education’. His famous book, ‘Lectures on Philosophy and Logic’, confirmed his position as a leading intellectual. John Ballantyne’s portrait shows a pensive-looking Hamilton holding his place in a book with one of his fingers, a standard pose for depicting a learned sitter. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/19855/artist_name/John Ballantyne National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/19855/artist_name/John Ballantyne John Ballantyne, Sir George Harvey - 1865. This is one of a series of portraits by John Ballantyne showing his fellow artists at work. The painter depicted here is Sir George Harvey, President of the Royal Scottish Academy from 1864 until his death. Harvey was best known for his historical scenes, particularly those depicting events from the religious struggles of the Covenanters in seventeenth-century Scotland. Here, the tartan, sword and bible on the floor suggest Harvey is working on just such a picture whilst in the background his famous painting 'The Covenanters' Communion' (National Gallery of Scotland) rests on the floor behind him. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/19855/artist_name/John Ballantyne National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/19855/artist_name/John Ballantyne John Ballantyne, Thomas Faed - about 1865. This painting is one of three by Ballantyne of the artist Thomas Faed at work. It is part of a larger series of works that show artists in their studios, most of which were completed by 1864 with some later additions. In this painting, Faed’s easel is facing outwards so that the spectator can see the unfinished canvas of ‘The Mitherless Bairn’ – the orphan. This work was Faed's first great success, but it was exhibited at the Royal Scottish Academy in 1855, about a decade before Ballantyne painted his view of Faed’s studio. Thomas Faed was the youngest of three artist brothers. His narrative genre paintings were very popular in his lifetime and many were published as prints and were sold to a larger Victorian audience. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/19855/artist_name/John Ballantyne National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/3923/artist_name/Barbara Balmer Barbara Balmer, Richard Demarco - Dated 1991. Demarco is credited with being a major force in the introduction of avant-garde art to Scotland and has inspired and promoted generations of Scottish artists. Balmer portrays the artist in typically smart dress with his drawing pen poised and ready. Demarco is bannered by the flags of the nations which are of personal significance: Scotland, Italy, Poland and Hungary. In his pocket is displayed the symbol of the Demarco Gallery. Balmer and Demarco were contemporaries at Edinburgh College of Art in the 1940s. Balmer recalls the day she had to complete the drawing: “Of course it took the larger board to contain this ebullient man who, although he managed to sit in one position for the short periods I required him to do so, his ideas and songs were irrepressible and continual accompaniment”.© Barbara Balmer http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/3923/artist_name/Barbara Balmer National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2712/artist_name/Balthus (Balthasar Klossowski de Rola) Balthus (Balthasar Klossowski de Rola) - 1955. The model in this painting is Balthus's niece by marriage, Frédérique Tison. Seventeen years old at the time this work was painted, Frédérique became the artist's favourite model and muse. Her pose is both vulnerable and confrontational, suggesting sexual awakening. It derives from paintings by Caravaggio and Corregio. The work was painted in the artist's château near Nevers, in central France, where Balthus moved in 1953.© ADAGP, Paris and DACS, London 2004 http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2712/artist_name/Balthus (Balthasar Klossowski de Rola) National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/6433/artist_name/George Barker George Barker, Samuel John Dixon - 1895. Samuel John Dixon (1852-1891) was a studio photographer in Toronto in the 1880s. In 1890, on his way to a meeting of the Photographers' Association of America in Washington, his train passed over the bridge beside the wire put there by the acrobat, Blondin, who first crossed Niagara Falls on a tightrope in 1859. Dixon 'suddenly concluded that he could also walk it, and so stated to several at the convention, but no one believed he meant what he said'. He did so successfully twice, in 1890 and 1891, but tragically drowned in Wood Lake, Muskoka, later that year. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/6433/artist_name/George Barker National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2715/artist_name/Thomas Jones Barker Thomas Jones Barker, Colin Campbell, 1st Baron Clyde - 1860. The son of a Glasgow carpenter, Campbell was one of the most successful professional soldiers of the nineteenth century. He joined the army at sixteen and fought bravely as a young man in the Napoleonic Wars. Britain then enjoyed a long period of peace and it was not until the Crimean War that Campbell was again to distinguish himself. Campbell held the famous 'thin red line', keeping communication open during the defence of Balaclava in 1854. Three years later he was given supreme command in India, charged with quelling the Mutiny. This seems a small, understated, portrait for such a national hero, but it may be a study for Barker's large painting of 'The Relief of Lucknow'. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2715/artist_name/Thomas Jones Barker National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2717/artist_name/Ernst Barlach Ernst Barlach - 1936. This sculpture is the only wood carving by Barlach in a public collection in Britain. Although carved in 1936, it was given its allegorical title the following year in response to Hitler's notorious Degenerate 'Art' exhibition, in which Barlach was included. By the summer of 1937, nearly 400 of his works had been confiscated, through government action, from German museums. This work is typical of the figures Barlach sculpted: large, heavily robed figures alone or in pairs, symbolising an aspect of the human condition.© Ernst Barlach Lizenzverwaltung Ratzeburg http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2717/artist_name/Ernst Barlach National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2718/artist_name/Wilhelmina Barns-Graham Wilhelmina Barns-Graham - 1957. This work was painted while Barns-Graham was living in Leeds and teaching at the School of Art there. The colours are influenced by the colours she saw in the city: glimpses of brightly-coloured clothing which contrasted with the dark, wintery skies. 'Starbotton' is the name of a pot-hole she visited in Yorkshire. Like most of Barns-Graham's abstract paintings, the origins of this work are from nature and the artist's own experience. Barns-Graham had a long working life, and continued to paint until her death in 2004.© Barns-Graham Charitable Trust http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2718/artist_name/Wilhelmina Barns-Graham National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2718/artist_name/Wilhelmina Barns-Graham Wilhelmina Barns-Graham - 1953. Wilhelmina Barns-Graham’s paintings respond to geological formations and the natural environment, from seaside rocks to glaciers. This painting belongs to a group of studies inspired by the rock formations at Zennor, near St. Ives. The artist had a studio there and worked among the active artistic community in the area. In this painting, the paint has been scraped to produce a textured surface. This reveals the pencil lines underneath, which show that the work has been structured using geometrical proportions. The flattening of the picture space underlines the abstract nature of the painting, yet although abstract, Barns-Graham’s work takes the rhythms and forms of nature as its primary inspiration.© Barns-Graham Charitable Trust http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2718/artist_name/Wilhelmina Barns-Graham National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/18706/artist_name/James Barret James Barret - 1798. This is one of the earliest known representations of the landscape of the Western Isles of Scotland. The painting shows the newly built port of Stornoway on the island of Lewis, with a view of the inner harbour looking across the bay. A fleet of herring ships, a clipper, and the grazing cattle and sheep, together convey the growing prosperity of a town rapidly becoming the most important port in the north west of Scotland. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/18706/artist_name/James Barret National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/6351/artist_name/Francesco Bartolozzi Francesco Bartolozzi, Samuel Johnson - 1785. This posthumous engraving shows the author and lexicographer, Samuel Johnson. Johnson had an important and far reaching affect on the English language. He is perhaps best known for his role in compiling a new English dictionary. Published in two volumes in 1755, it quickly became regarded as standard authority and has since been described as the pre-eminent British dictionary. At the same time as working on this project, Johnson established himself in other branches of writing and excelled in many, such as criticism, biography and fiction. In 1763 he met the Scottish lawyer, James Boswell, with whom he travelled to Scotland and recorded their adventures. Boswell went on to write Johnson’s biography, the ‘Life of Samuel Johnson’, which was published in 1791. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/6351/artist_name/Francesco Bartolozzi National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/6278/artist_name/Glenys Barton Glenys Barton, Baroness Kennedy of The Shaws - 1997. This low-relief ceramic sculpture represents Helena Kennedy QC, one of Britain’s leading lawyers and, since 1997, a Labour member of the House of Lords as Baroness Kennedy of the Shaws. Kennedy currently chairs the Human Genetics Commission, which advises the government on ethical and legal issues with regard to genetic science. She has held a variety of other important positions, including that of Chancellor of Oxford Brookes University (1994-2001), Chair of the British Council (1998-2004) and President of the National Children’s Bureau (1998-2005). Passionate about social justice, she has spent her professional life campaigning for civil liberties and promoting human rights. She has written and broadcast on a wide range of issues, from medical negligence to the rights of women and children.© Glenys Barton, Courtesy of Flowers East, London http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/6278/artist_name/Glenys Barton National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/6278/artist_name/Glenys Barton Glenys Barton, Jean Muir - 1991. This unusual ceramic bust possesses the simple chic of the clothes which Jean Muir designed and is also a reference to her habit of always wearing navy blue. Muir began her working life in the shops of Liberty and Jaeger in London and successfully taught herself design. She set up her own business in 1966 and put 'craft and quality' before innovation. Her skills in cutting and draping material were exceptional but she preferred to be called a 'dressmaker' rather than 'designer'. The label is still a byword for sensual, immaculately structured garments.© Glenys Barton, Courtesy of Flowers East, London http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/6278/artist_name/Glenys Barton National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2722/artist_name/Georg Baselitz Georg Baselitz - 1966. This is one of Baselitz's earliest woodcuts. It was made after a trip to Florence, where he became interested in Italian Mannerist painting. The fractured face, overlaid with worm-like forms, is characteristic of his paintings of the same time, in which parts of the figures are cut up and rearranged or are missing altogether. The imagery may be influenced by the death and destruction of the Second World War; the shapes in the background look like smoke, which would support this reading.© Georg Baselitz http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2722/artist_name/Georg Baselitz National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2722/artist_name/Georg Baselitz Georg Baselitz - 1987. This painting shows the expressive brushstrokes for which Baselitz became famous. He is an exponent of Neo-Expressionism, a movement that revived the spirit of German Expressionism. Baselitz felt strongly about the political problems in Germany and was deeply distrustful of political ideologies. In his use of grotesque and dismembered images of the body, Baselitz is setting himself firmly apart from the images of heroic workers, endorsed under the 'Socialist Realism' of East Germany. The style and lurid red in this painting suggest violence. Also, the head appears to be dislocated from the rest of the body.© Georg Baselitz http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2722/artist_name/Georg Baselitz National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2722/artist_name/Georg Baselitz Georg Baselitz - 1982 - 1984. This is one of Baselitz's largest and earliest wood carvings. He began making sculptures in 1979 and used chainsaws and axes to make them. The rough finish of the sculpture is reminiscent of tribal art, which Baselitz collects. The raised arm derives from African carvings of figures who raise their arms to signal surrender in battle. A drawing of the same figure has him holding a flag. The sculpture also has associations with the long tradition of German wood carving, which, in the early twentieth century, was revived by expressionist artists such as Kirchner.© Georg Baselitz http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2722/artist_name/Georg Baselitz National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2722/artist_name/Georg Baselitz Georg Baselitz - 1989. This is one of a series of paintings that Baselitz painted in the first half of 1989, with the generic title of ‘Streubilder’ (or ‘Scatter Paintings’) or ‘Ciao America’. ‘Scatter Paintings’ describes the lack of a compositional focus in works like ‘Volkstanz - Marode’. Its ‘pattern’ of tiles and heads is reminiscent of the all-over quality of American Abstract Expressionism, but the primitivist style and reference to folkdance are unapologetically European. Baselitz was at the forefront of European Neo-Expressionist painting from the 1960s onwards, which enjoyed massive popularity in the 1980s, and caused some to see European art eclipsing American art at the time. Ciao America!© Georg Baselitz http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2722/artist_name/Georg Baselitz National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2722/artist_name/Georg Baselitz Georg Baselitz - 1989. Like ‘Volkstanz Marode’, this painting belongs to the series of works called ‘Streubilder’ (‘Scatter Paintings’) or ‘Ciao America’, that Baselitz painted in the first half of 1989. The work has the same all-over distribution of form (birds, in this case) and unifying background colour as ‘Volkstanz’. There is also a similar primitivist, expressionist brushwork and folkloric subject matter, that marks them both out as unapologetically European, as opposed to the (on the whole) cooler, conceptual approach of American artists at the time. Hence the title of some of Baselitz’s contemporary paintings, ‘Ciao America’.© Georg Baselitz http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2722/artist_name/Georg Baselitz National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/7818/artist_name/Jacopo Bassano (Jacopo dal Ponte) Jacopo Bassano (Jacopo dal Ponte) - about 1560 - 1590. On entering the Temple in Jerusalem and finding it being used as a market place, Christ took up a whip and furiously drove out the traders and money-changers. Here Christ appears in the centre background, while the entire foreground of the painting is occupied by the traders and their wares Jacopo Bassano ran a very productive family workshop in his home town of Bassano del Grappa on the Venetian mainland, and it is often difficult, as here, to distinguish the hands of the various members of the studio. Several versions of this composition are known, the best of which, largely by Jacopo himself, is in the National Gallery, London. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/7818/artist_name/Jacopo Bassano (Jacopo dal Ponte) National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/7818/artist_name/Jacopo Bassano (Jacopo dal Ponte) Jacopo Bassano (Jacopo dal Ponte) - 1560s. In this portrait sketch, the artist chose to focus on the pose of the figure’s body rather than his facial features. The man is seated informally with his arms resting on the arms of a chair and with his hands clasped. There is no surviving portrait by Bassano that matches this pose, but he may have been experimenting with different seated positions with the intention of producing a painted portrait. This would explain why the features have been given less attention than the torso and arms. The free handling of the drawing is consistent with Bassano’s later work, and probably dates from the 1560s or 1570s. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/7818/artist_name/Jacopo Bassano (Jacopo dal Ponte) National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/7818/artist_name/Jacopo Bassano (Jacopo dal Ponte) Jacopo Bassano (Jacopo dal Ponte) - probably 17th century. The design of the Virgin and Child is based directly on Jacopo Bassano's 'Podesta Moro before the Madonna' in the Museo Civico, Bassano del Grappa. This picture was acquired as by Leandro Bassano, and was catalogued under this name until 1957 when it was recognised as a later imitation of Jacopo Bassano's style. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/7818/artist_name/Jacopo Bassano (Jacopo dal Ponte) National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/7818/artist_name/Jacopo Bassano (Jacopo dal Ponte) Jacopo Bassano (Jacopo dal Ponte), Jesus Christ, The Virgin Mary, St Joseph - early 1540s. The Holy Family, at the left of Bassano's richly coloured work, acknowledges the visiting kings and their gifts. The central figure in the painting, however, is the king in the striped doublet. He may be identified as a portrait of the painting's patron, Jacopo Gisi. The two page-boys behind him may also be portraits of his sons. Bassano's interest in complex foreshortened poses is evident in the densely packed group, especially in the figures and animals seen from behind. Many details were based on his previous compositions and on his studies from nature, although the ruined architecture is adapted from a woodcut by Dürer. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/7818/artist_name/Jacopo Bassano (Jacopo dal Ponte) National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/7818/artist_name/Jacopo Bassano (Jacopo dal Ponte) Jacopo Bassano (Jacopo dal Ponte) - perhaps 1580s. Bought from the Mattei family in Rome in 1802, this is a good quality picture from Jacopo Bassano’s workshop. The studio included his three painter sons, Francesco, Leandro and Gerolamo and this work has, at various stages, been attributed to each of them, although the style seems closest to Francesco. A pendant painting from the same source depicting the parable of ‘Lazarus at the Feast of Dives’ is in a Scottish private collection. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/7818/artist_name/Jacopo Bassano (Jacopo dal Ponte) National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/7818/artist_name/Jacopo Bassano (Jacopo dal Ponte) Jacopo Bassano (Jacopo dal Ponte) - Based on the design of a painting of about 1565 - 1570. This work was acquired as by Jacopo Bassano but has long been recognised as being of no more than workshop quality. The design is based on an original composition known in two versions, both signed by Jacopo Bassano in the Art Institute of Chicago and the Contini Bonacossi Collection, Florence, although the figure of the donor has been added here. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/7818/artist_name/Jacopo Bassano (Jacopo dal Ponte) National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/8855/artist_name/Leandro Bassano (Leandro dal Ponte) Leandro Bassano (Leandro dal Ponte), Jesus Christ, The Virgin Mary - . This drawing is loose copy of the bottom portion of an altarpiece by Leandro’s father Jacopo Bassano. Jacopo had painted The Adoration of the Shepherds in 1568 for the church of San Giuseppe in his native town of Bassano del Grappa (it is now in the Museo Civico there). The picture quickly became one of Jacopo’s most celebrated works and was widely copied. This drawing would have been used in Jacopo’s workshop by assistants who were frequently set the task of making painted reproductions of celebrated original works by the master. Compositions were often recorded in drawings as a memory aid, and there are other existing examples of Leandro and his brothers making copies after finished paintings. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/8855/artist_name/Leandro Bassano (Leandro dal Ponte) National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/8701/artist_name/Jules Bastien-Lepage Jules Bastien-Lepage - 1882. A young boy looks directly out of the painting clad in raggedy clothes and large unlaced boots. His relaxed air fits the title which is an abbreviation of the French slang: 'Il n'y a pas meche' meaning 'There's nothing doing'. The whip he holds and the horn slung on his back suggest that he was a barge boy who would have controlled the horses pulling the barge and alerted the lockmasters of its imminent arrival. The painting was made for the London art dealers Arthur Tooth and Sons and was included in the artist's memorial exhibition held in Paris in 1885. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/8701/artist_name/Jules Bastien-Lepage National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2732/artist_name/Henry Mayo Bateman Henry Mayo Bateman, Sir Harry Lauder - 1915. The music-hall star Harry Lauder was sometimes blamed for creating a commercial image of the kilted Scot, but he was a much-loved man and a hugely successful perfomer. Typically dressed in fantastic tartans and holding a crooked stick, he interspersed his songs, such as ' I Love a Lassie' and 'Roamin' in the Gloamin', with comic patter. This caricature captures not only the distinctive costume, but also the vibrant energy of this tiny figure.© The Artist’s Estate http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2732/artist_name/Henry Mayo Bateman National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2733/artist_name/Pompeo Batoni Pompeo Batoni, Alexander Gordon, 4th Duke of Gordon - 1764. Alexander Gordon, who became the 4th Duke of Gordon at the age of nine, went on a Grand Tour of Europe to complete his education. This portrait of him was painted in Rome by Batoni, the fashionable portrait painter popular with the British aristocracy in Italy. Usually Batoni's Grand Tour portraits make references to the antiquities of Rome, but here he has emphasised Gordon's passion for hunting. The young duke was not particularly interested in the ancient sites or classical learning. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2733/artist_name/Pompeo Batoni National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2733/artist_name/Pompeo Batoni Pompeo Batoni, James Bruce of Kinnaird - 1762. James Bruce was, at six feet four inches tall, an impressive figure. He was an explorer, archeologist and a brilliant linguist. In 1762 he spent six months in Italy where Batoni painted this glowing portrait. Bruce's travels subsequently took him to North Africa, Crete, Syria, Egypt and Abyssinia. He is best known for his exploration of the sources of the Nile, reaching the headstream of the Blue Nile in 1770. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2733/artist_name/Pompeo Batoni National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2733/artist_name/Pompeo Batoni Pompeo Batoni, John Ker, 3rd Duke of Roxburghe - 1761. The Duke of Roxburghe’s fame stems from his collection of books, which, when sold over forty-five days in 1812, reached more than £23,000. The Roxburghe Club of fine book collectors was formed at this time and named in his memory. Roxburghe shared an interest in books with King George III and was favoured with impressive titles such as a knighthood of the Thistle and the Order of the Garter. Like many aristocrats and gentry figures, Roxburghe travelled to Italy in 1760 to partake in the Grand Tour. In line with fashion, he was painted by the Italian painter Pompeo Batoni whilst in Rome in 1762 (despite the painting being dated 1761). Batoni’s ability to depict his sitter’s status through their dress is highlighted in Roxburghe’s lavish peer’s robes. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2733/artist_name/Pompeo Batoni National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/3946/artist_name/Edward Bawden Edward Bawden - 1960. This linocut design was made to be reproduced as wrapping paper. From the late 1950s, Bawden increasingly used linocuts instead of drawings in his graphic work. As a straightforward and cost-effective method of printing, Bawden found linocuts to be the most suitable way to make repeating patterns for wallpaper or wrapping paper as one printing block could produce many shapes. In this bold and distinctly Scottish design, the green checked lines reflect the tartan pattern on the piper’s kilt. Despite the simplification of the piper, he retains individuality and character.© The Estate of Edward Bawden http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/3946/artist_name/Edward Bawden National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/3946/artist_name/Edward Bawden Edward Bawden - 1960. This linocut design was made to be reproduced as wrapping paper. From the late 1950s, Bawden increasingly used linocuts instead of drawings in his graphic work. As a straightforward and cost-effective method of printing, Bawden found linocuts to be the most suitable way to make repeating patterns for wallpaper or wrapping paper, as one printing block could produce many shapes. This design shows Bawden’s skill in condensing and conveying the essential qualities of his subject, here using short strokes to suggest both the shape of the deer and the texture of its fur.© The Estate of Edward Bawden http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/3946/artist_name/Edward Bawden National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/4522/artist_name/Felice Beato Felice Beato, Sir James Hope Grant - 1860. James Hope Grant was a professional soldier who served in most of the major campaigns in China and India of his day. Between 1839 and 1842 he fought in the Opium War when the British took possession of Hong Kong. This photograph was taken during the 1860 campaign when he led a combined French and British force to 'encourage' the Emperor of China to recognise his European trading treaties. Felice Beato arrived in China for the taking of Peking (Beijing) and photographed the general with the mud of the battlefield still on his boots in a makeshift studio. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/4522/artist_name/Felice Beato National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/3953/artist_name/Max Beckmann Max Beckmann - 1919. Beckmann was influenced by Christian iconography in this scene. It is similar to depictions of the Crucifixion and also of the Deposition from the Cross. The soldiers who poke the woman with their rifles are reminiscent of the soldiers who mocked Christ. The central female figure is widely agreed to be the revolutionary leader Rosa Luxemburg, who was murdered by government troops in January 1919 for her leading role in the Revolution.© DACS 2004 http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/3953/artist_name/Max Beckmann National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/3953/artist_name/Max Beckmann Max Beckmann - 1919. The inspiration for this print came from an incident Beckmann witnessed in a railway station waiting room, when his fellow travellers began singing the National anthem 'Deutschland über alles.' The appearance of the figures in this scene make their rousing patriotic song about Germany's greatness look bitterly ironic. In the foreground a drunken soldier shouts raucously, while in the background a poor family beg for money. Another man simply rests his head on the table in despair. Even the Imperial Eagle (Germany's heraldic emblem) on the teacups looks like a pathetic scrawl or an insect.© DACS 2004 http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/3953/artist_name/Max Beckmann National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/3953/artist_name/Max Beckmann Max Beckmann - 1919. In this print, Beckmann has depicted an interior scene. In comparison to the rest of the prints in the portfolio, this one is distinct by virtue of it being framed in black and quiet in mood. This helps to make it stand out from the chaotic scenes shown in the other prints. The scene was apparently inspired by a meagre meal of sardines that the artist shared with his son and relatives in Berlin. The shadowy figure in the background may refer to Christ, with the Lamb of God at his feet.© DACS 2004 http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/3953/artist_name/Max Beckmann National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/3953/artist_name/Max Beckmann Max Beckmann - 1919. This print depicts Beckmann himself greeting a disfigured soldier who has returned from the war. He beckons towards the left in order to guide him, like the viewer, through the next nine scenes of the portfolio. These show the reality of life in postwar Germany. In the background are war veterans on crutches and a female figure who may be a prostitute or a war widow wearing a veil. The dog in the foreground refers to Cerberus, the mythical creature who guards the gates of Hell.© DACS 2004 http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/3953/artist_name/Max Beckmann National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/3953/artist_name/Max Beckmann Max Beckmann - 1919. This is the final scene from the 'Hell' print portfolio. After previous prints showing chaos and destruction, we end on a more subdued, if sombre, note. Beckmann depicts himself with his mother-in-law and son Peter. Peter wears a soldier's helmet and waves toy grenades. However, his youthful joy contrasts with the solemn face and firm, calming gesture of his grandmother. Beckmann points upwards, either to draw attention to the hellish reality outside, or in a reproach to God. The window frame in the background forms the shape of a cross behind his head.© DACS 2004 http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/3953/artist_name/Max Beckmann National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/3953/artist_name/Max Beckmann Max Beckmann - 1919. In this depiction of a political meeting, Beckmann has included caricatures of some historical figures. Around the central figure of the speaker at the lectern, we have angry hecklers and a selection of figures who seem engrossed in their own thoughts. The man shown in profile under the lectern is Beckmann himself, but it is hard to read his expression to tell if he is bored or disgusted with the proceedings. This meeting of the supposed spiritual and intellectual leaders of the new post-war society looks completely shambolic.© DACS 2004 http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/3953/artist_name/Max Beckmann National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/3953/artist_name/Max Beckmann Max Beckmann - 1919. Beckmann based this print on press photographs of the Revolution. The revolutionaries are making a last stand against the government. The viewer's eye is drawn across the scene to the top left-hand side, towards an unseen enemy. The man seen in profile at the centre of the scene wielding a machine-gun appears to be Beckmann himself. If that is the case, it may be that the artist is supporting the cause of the revolutionaries; however, despite their noble cause, damage is still incurred, and injured and dying men lie on the ground.© DACS 2004 http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/3953/artist_name/Max Beckmann National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/3953/artist_name/Max Beckmann Max Beckmann - 1919. This print is probably the best known from the 'Hell' portfolio. The same scene was also painted by Beckmann shortly before starting work on these prints. It is certainly the most violent and horrific scene in the portfolio, showing the terror of a family attacked in their home. There is a sense of confusion, as it is difficult to determine exactly why the event is happening. In the bottom left corner we can see a howling dog, a reappearance from 'Der Nachhauseweg', one of the earlier prints in the series.© DACS 2004 http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/3953/artist_name/Max Beckmann National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/3953/artist_name/Max Beckmann Max Beckmann - 1919. In this busy scene a number of different types of people are seen mixing on the street. Injured war veterans try and earn a living, while prostitutes and the poor mix with the bourgeois and 'respectable' citizens. A man with outstretched arms is carried through the crowd, while passers-by seem not to notice. He appears to be injured, but we do not know if he is being saved or taken away for another reason. This figure may refer to the anarchist writer Gustav Landauer who was murdered as part of the uprising in May 1919.© DACS 2004 http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/3953/artist_name/Max Beckmann National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/3953/artist_name/Max Beckmann Max Beckmann - 1919. The name of this print is taken from a nightclub in Frankfurt-am-Main. However it does not seem as if any of the figures in this scene are particularly enjoying themselves. The rigid arms of the dancers make them look as if they are doing a military drill. This desperate seeking after pleasurable activities was one of the symptoms of the postwar collapse of the economy and government in Germany. The use of jagged diagonals make the scene look quite frenzied, while the dance floor seems to be collapsing into the centre, as if set on a sinking ship.© DACS 2004 http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/3953/artist_name/Max Beckmann National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/3953/artist_name/Max Beckmann Max Beckmann - 1919. This is the title page of Beckmann’s set of lithographs entitled ‘Hell.’ These lithographs chronicle the period of lawlessness, social decay and misery in Germany following the November Revolution of 1918. Dressed in the ruff of a clown and breaking out of the picture frame towards the viewer, Beckmann himself invites us to follow him on a tour of war-ravaged Germany. A text below the self-portrait states, ‘We ask our esteemed public to step forward. You will not be bored for ten minutes. Anyone who is not delighted gets his money back.’© DACS 2004 http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/3953/artist_name/Max Beckmann National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/15602/artist_name/Francis Bedford Francis Bedford - 1860s. Bedford was a skilled landscape photographer and this is one of his most spectacular views. The Mer de Glace is a glacier in the French Alps, just North of Mont Blanc. Its name derives from the wave-like appearance of the snow and ice. Bedford faced enormous difficulties working at such high altitudes and he may well have used dry collodion plates prepared in advance in order to reduce the amount of equipment he had to carry. His work reflects intense contemporary interest in mountaineering and exploration. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/15602/artist_name/Francis Bedford National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/10333/artist_name/Stanley Bell Stanley Bell, Harry McShane - 1981. Harry McShane is sometimes referred to as ‘The Last of the Red Clydesiders’ and is known for his active role in Glasgow’s working class movement. Whilst working as an engineer, McShane helped organise the unemployed in the 1920s and 30s, arranging demonstrations, hunger marches and protests throughout Scotland. His efforts led to the creation of a permanent organisation, the National Unemployed Workers Movement. In 1922, McShane joined the Communist Party, but later resigned because of ideological differences, although he remained a Marxist. This portrait draws attention to McShane’s commitment to socialism through his defiant expression, his vibrant red tie and the shipyards in the background.© Stan Bell http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/10333/artist_name/Stanley Bell National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/4527/artist_name/John Bellany John Bellany - 1964. This triptych was exhibited at Bellany's postgraduate exhibition in 1965, when the artist was twenty-three years old. The layout of 'Allegory' derives from Grünewald's 'Isenheim' Altarpiece, but the subject matter is autobiographical. As a student, Bellany had a Saturday job gutting fish in Port Seton, a small fishing village south of Edinburgh. The setting of 'Allegory' is a mixture of Port Seton and Eyemouth (another fishing port), where Bellany's grandparents lived. The gutted haddock, displayed in the manner of the Crucifixion, become metaphors for suffering humanity; the passive fishermen replace Christ's family and the Roman soldiers. Bellany has given religious monumentality to a real-life scene. © the Artist / Bridgeman Art Library. All rights reserved. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/4527/artist_name/John Bellany National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/4527/artist_name/John Bellany John Bellany, Billy Connolly - . This large portrait depicts – though not necessarily resembles – Scottish comedian and actor Billy Connolly. Born in Glasgow, Connolly served an apprenticeship as a welder in the Clyde shipyards before embarking on a career in show business. He initially focussed on being a folk singer but gradually made the transition to stand-up comedy. His break-through came when he told his famous bike joke on BBC’s Parkinson talk show in 1975. He has since performed for sell-out audiences the world over, produced three ‘World Tour’ series for the BBC and has acted in films including ‘Mrs Brown’ (1995), opposite Dame Judi Dench as Queen Victoria. His Scottish nickname ‘The Big Yin’ (The Big One) is a reference to his 1.83m (6 foot) height. © the Artist / Bridgeman Art Library. All rights reserved. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/4527/artist_name/John Bellany National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/4527/artist_name/John Bellany John Bellany - Dated 1986. Symbolism plays an important role in Bellany’s work. This etching belongs to a series of portraits Bellany made that return to the imagery of Port Seton and the sea. Many of them are linked to his second wife, Juliet, and her death in 1985. Here, a nude woman, possibly Juliet, is depicted wearing a cat-mask. However, her human eyes engage with the beady eyes of the eagle, claws-bared.© the Artist / Bridgeman Art Library. All rights reserved. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/4527/artist_name/John Bellany National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/4527/artist_name/John Bellany John Bellany - 1985. This etching was for Bellany’s second wife, Juliet. However, the same year it was made Juliet died. The following year, Bellany created another etching, this time titled ‘Capercaillie Sings its Lament’ a melancholic lament over Juliet’s death. The contrast between the two is striking. This work is jovial with the artist depicting himself as a capercaillie playing the piano, with a glass of wine and cigarette perched on top. The panel down the right hand side, a device Bellany was employing in his paintings, shows a portrait of Juliet. This etching belongs to a series of prints that principally belong to the period from 1982-6. It demonstrates a bolder, more definitive line than his earlier etchings.© the Artist / Bridgeman Art Library. All rights reserved. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/4527/artist_name/John Bellany National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/4527/artist_name/John Bellany John Bellany - Dated 1972. The title of this etching comes from James Hogg’s classic novel, ‘The Memoirs and Confessions of a Justified Sinner’, published in 1824. Bellany read it when he went to London to study at the Royal College of Art. The book examines the potential for evil within humanity, a theme that links directly to Bellany’s Calvinist upbringing. This etching is filled with ambiguities, creating an unsettling scene. In the foreground a figure carries a skate in a basket whilst behind, another apparently hermaphrodite figure with a cat-like face, clutches an egg timer. The skate has human features and external sexual organs - an alter ego of some description that appears frequently in his work. Bellany only began to experiment with etching when he started teaching at Winchester College of Art. This is one of the first of a series of etchings he made in 1970.© the Artist / Bridgeman Art Library. All rights reserved. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/4527/artist_name/John Bellany National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/4527/artist_name/John Bellany John Bellany - Dated 1971. Bellany only began to experiment with printmaking when he started teaching at Winchester College of Art, in 1969. Norman Ackroyd, who taught printmaking at the college and shared a studio with Bellany, noted: “He was an obvious etcher because there was so much drawing in his painting... he is a very spontaneous painter and etching is a spontaneous medium”. This is one of a series of prints Bellany made in 1970, when he was beginning to explore the potential of etching. Here Bellany reflects on his Calvinist demonology. John Knox, the leader of the Protestant Reformation, lies on his death bed as skeletal figures of death emerge from the darkness behind. The intense shadow cast by Knox implies a strong light, as if he is about to pass to the other side.© the Artist / Bridgeman Art Library. All rights reserved. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/4527/artist_name/John Bellany National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/4527/artist_name/John Bellany John Bellany - Dated 1986. This etching belongs to a series of portraits Bellany made that return to the imagery of Port Seton, the small fishing community where he grew up, and the sea. Many of them are linked to his second wife, Juliet, and her death in 1985. Here we see a portrait of Juliet with what appears to be a crustacean of some form, possibly a lobster, on her head. Sea creatures feature heavily in Bellany’s oeuvre as he exploits their symbolic attributes. ‘Étoile’, is French for star, perhaps a reference to Juliet’s untimely death.© the Artist / Bridgeman Art Library. All rights reserved. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/4527/artist_name/John Bellany National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/4527/artist_name/John Bellany John Bellany, John Bellany, Alan Davie - Dated 1983. During the mid-1980s, John Bellany increasingly focused on portraiture as a creative outlet. Rather than achieving as close a likeness as possible, Bellany’s portraits are vibrant visual statements that often say something about himself as well as the sitter. Not surprisingly, the self-portrait is central to the artist’s oeuvre. In this image, the artist – on the right – and fellow artist Alan Davie seem compressed by magical symbols, which play a large role in both men’s work. This double portrait is the homage of one artist to another; just as Bellany's paintings have inspired the younger generation of Scottish artists, so did Alan Davie's before that inspire Bellany's generation. Yet it is also a painting where the two artists, side by side, watch us, the public, inspect their work.© the Artist / Bridgeman Art Library. All rights reserved. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/4527/artist_name/John Bellany National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/4527/artist_name/John Bellany John Bellany - 1966. Kinlochbervie is a small fishing village in the north-west of Scotland. As in many of Bellany’s early paintings, this work combines sea and religious imagery. The fish gutters in the foreground are in a ‘Last Supper’ arrangement and a figure at the top right carries a yoke which gives him the appearance of being crucified. It is one of the first paintings in which Bellany shows a single boat with fishermen outlined against a clear sky. The boat is used symbolically to represent a conveyor of human fate like the mythical boat used to ferry the dead across the river Styx to Hades.© the Artist / Bridgeman Art Library. All rights reserved. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/4527/artist_name/John Bellany National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/4527/artist_name/John Bellany John Bellany - about 1973. This painting explores themes of carnal desire, death and religion, using animals in a symbolic manner. The central female figure is blinded by the sheep mask she wears - the sheep representing self-sacrifice in the Christian tradition. Normally a symbol of marital fidelity, a dog sits in a provocative and phallic position on her lap. Displaying herself openly, the woman is watched by a male figure on the left, who is a thinly-veiled portrait of the artist. The ghostly figure is dressed in deathly black and white and is accompanied by a phallic-looking monkey, the symbol of both lust and art. The relationship between the male and female figures is set against the religious imagery of the ladder and fish-head in the top right of the picture.© the Artist / Bridgeman Art Library. All rights reserved. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/4527/artist_name/John Bellany National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/4527/artist_name/John Bellany John Bellany - Dated 1986. Edinburgh’s Milne’s Bar on Rose Street was an important place for Bellany during his art college days. It was where Hugh MacDiarmid spent a great deal of time and it was where Bellany and his friends, Alexander Moffat and Alan Bold, joined in with MacDiarmid’s discussions on a range of subjects relevant to their artwork and ambitions. This etching belongs to a series of prints that principally belong to the period from 1982-6. It demonstrates a bolder, more definitive line than his earlier etchings.© the Artist / Bridgeman Art Library. All rights reserved. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/4527/artist_name/John Bellany National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/4527/artist_name/John Bellany John Bellany - Dated 1978. The title, ‘Mizpah’, comes from the name of an Eyemouth fishing boat, in turn taken from Genesis (chapter 31, verse 49): “Mizpah; for he said, The Lord watch between me and thee, when we are absent from another”. Bellany painted the work shortly before his marriage to his second wife, Juliet. This new relationship gave rise to a group of light and airy paintings that reflected the artist’s own joy and optimism at the time. The figure wearing the puffin-mask playing the accordion (inscribed with ‘lune de miel’, or ‘honeymoon’) is likely to be Bellany himself. The female figure of the seagull represents Juliet.© the Artist / Bridgeman Art Library. All rights reserved. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/4527/artist_name/John Bellany National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/4527/artist_name/John Bellany John Bellany - 1966. In this portrait,Bellany has paid close attention to the weather-beaten quality of his father's head and hands. These tell most about the character of the sitter and his life. The tattoo on his left arm says 'True love Nancy'. His wife Nancy (the artist's mother) was extremely important to him, to the extent that he gave up being a fisherman in 1951, to alleviate her anxiety, when he was at sea. The sitter rests against what appears to be one of the artist's own paintings, showing fishermen, a reference to the sitter's profession. © the Artist / Bridgeman Art Library. All rights reserved. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/4527/artist_name/John Bellany National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/4527/artist_name/John Bellany John Bellany - Dated 15 May 1988. Bellany has always used his immediate surroundings and his own experiences as raw material for his art. In 1988 the artist underwent liver transplant surgery. As soon as he came out of the intensive care unit at Addenbrookes Hospital, Cambridge, Bellany set to work producing self-portraits, charting the course of his hospitalisation and convalescence, covering the walls of his hospital room with drawings and watercolours. They reflect the inevitable ups and downs of the patient: the intense physical pain, the discomfort and fears that he might not pull through, and then the optimism about a new lease of life.© the Artist / Bridgeman Art Library. All rights reserved. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/4527/artist_name/John Bellany National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/4527/artist_name/John Bellany John Bellany - Dated 1970. This print relates to a series Bellany made in 1970 that deal with a theme of sexual angst. It shows a naked, shrunken woman whose arms disappear behind her back as though tied together. It evokes the naked figures that feature in Bellany’s paintings inspired by his visit to Buchenwald concentration camp. Behind her is what appears to be a gutted skate, displayed in the manner of the Crucifixion, a metaphor for suffering humanity. Bellany only began to experiment with printmaking when he started teaching at Winchester College of Art, in 1969. His prints utilise the same imagery and symbols as his paintings, and here the Crucifixion recalls his painting from 1964 titled ‘Allegory’.© the Artist / Bridgeman Art Library. All rights reserved. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/4527/artist_name/John Bellany National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/4527/artist_name/John Bellany John Bellany - Dated 1988. In 1988 it became clear that Bellany’s liver was deteriorating so fast that he did not have much longer to live, unless he had a liver transplant. Against all the odds he was able to undergo a transplant operation at Addenbrooke’s hospital in Cambridge performed by the pioneering surgeon, Professor Sir Roy Calne. It was completely successful. As soon as Bellany came round from the anaesthetic he could not believe he was still alive. He asked for pencil and paper and only after he was able to draw was he certain that he was alive. Over the next few weeks as he grew stronger he drew the doctors and nurses looking after him, but above all he drew himself, a new Lazarus. This tender drawing shows Calne who, in 1968, was the first person to perform a liver transplant operation in Europe.© the Artist / Bridgeman Art Library. All rights reserved. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/4527/artist_name/John Bellany National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/4527/artist_name/John Bellany John Bellany, John Bellany - 12 May 1988. John Bellany has always used his immediate surroundings and his own experiences as raw material for his art. In 1988 the artist underwent liver transplant surgery. As soon as he came out of the intensive care unit at Addenbrookes Hospital, Cambridge, Bellany set to work producing self-portraits, and charting the course of his hospitalisation and convalescence and covering the walls of his hospital room with drawings and watercolours. They reflect the inevitable ups and downs of the patient: the intense physical pain, the discomfort and fears that he might not pull through, and then the optimism about a new lease of life.© the Artist / Bridgeman Art Library. All rights reserved. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/4527/artist_name/John Bellany National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/4527/artist_name/John Bellany John Bellany - Dated 14 May 1988. Bellany has always used his immediate surroundings and his own experiences as raw material for his art. In 1988 he underwent liver transplant surgery. As soon as he came out of the intensive care unit at Addenbrookes Hospital, Cambridge, Bellany set to work producing self-portraits, charting the course of his hospitalisation and convalescence, covering the walls of his hospital room with drawings and watercolours. They reflect the inevitable ups and downs of the patient: the intense physical pain, the discomfort and fears that he might not pull through, and then the optimism about a new lease of life.© the Artist / Bridgeman Art Library. All rights reserved. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/4527/artist_name/John Bellany National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/4527/artist_name/John Bellany John Bellany - Dated 14 April 1988. In 1988 it became clear that Bellany’s liver was deteriorating so fast that he did not have much longer to live, unless he had a liver transplant. Against all the odds he was able to undergo a transplant operation at Addenbrooke’s hospital in Cambridge, performed by the pioneering surgeon, Professor Sir Roy Calne. It was completely successful. As soon as Bellany came round from the anaesthetic he could not believe he was still alive. He asked for pencil and paper and only after he was able to draw was he certain that he was alive. Over the next few weeks as he grew stronger he drew the doctors and nurses looking after him, but above all he drew himself, a new Lazarus. These drawings and watercolours, such as this one, are some of the most poignant works from this period.© the Artist / Bridgeman Art Library. All rights reserved. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/4527/artist_name/John Bellany National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/4527/artist_name/John Bellany John Bellany - Dated 19 May 1988. Bellany has always used his immediate surroundings and his own experiences as raw material for his art. In 1988 the artist underwent liver transplant surgery. As soon as he came out of the intensive care unit at Addenbrookes Hospital, Cambridge, Bellany set to work producing self-portraits, charting the course of his hospitalisation and convalescence, covering the walls of his hospital room with drawings and watercolours. They reflect the inevitable ups and downs of the patient: the intense physical pain, the discomfort and fears that he might not pull through, and then the optimism about a new lease of life, emphasised by the vivid colours in this work.© the Artist / Bridgeman Art Library. All rights reserved. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/4527/artist_name/John Bellany National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/4527/artist_name/John Bellany John Bellany, Sir Peter Maxwell Davies - 1991. The composer Sir Peter Maxwell Davies has lived on a croft on the island of Hoy in Orkney since 1970. The island has been the inspiration for much of his work and he is also closely associated with the annual St Magnus Festival. The Gallery commissioned John Bellany to paint this portrait. When Bellany first met Maxwell Davies he was struck by his piercing black eyes ('like Picasso's') and powerful charisma. Bellany knew he could 'do something extraordinary'. During the sittings, artist and composer discussed the creative act and found much common ground: 'The painting blossomed, a friendship was born and the whole experience was a joy'. © the Artist / Bridgeman Art Library. All rights reserved. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/4527/artist_name/John Bellany National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/4527/artist_name/John Bellany John Bellany - Dated 1986. This etching belongs to a series of portraits Bellany made that return to the imagery of Port Seton and the sea. Many of them are linked to his second wife, Juliet, and her death in 1985. Here a woman, possibly Juliet, is depicted wearing a cat-mask. Masks, and the use of use of symbolic attributes, are common features in Bellany’s work and are a characteristic he learned from Max Beckmann. The figure appears to be holding up a skate, exposing its underside, as if a sacrifice. Like many of Bellany’s compositions, along the bottom of the paper is text, in this case it appears to be a ship’s name ‘Sweet Promise’, perhaps a reference to the premature death of Juliet.© the Artist / Bridgeman Art Library. All rights reserved. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/4527/artist_name/John Bellany National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/4527/artist_name/John Bellany John Bellany - 1968. The theme of death recurs in Bellany’s paintings of the 1960s-70s, and it forms the background to this painting of his maternal grandmother, Mrs Maltman, who had been recently widowed. Depicted sitting up in bed with the Bible open before her and confronting the viewer with an intense gaze, she is dignified and serene - in every sense the matriarch of the family. Bellany is very close to his family and has represented various members of it in paintings and drawings since childhood. He used variations of this image in a series of paintings in the period 1969-72.© the Artist / Bridgeman Art Library. All rights reserved. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/4527/artist_name/John Bellany National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/4527/artist_name/John Bellany John Bellany - Dated 1972. Relating to several other etchings made at this time, ‘The Skate God’ shows a skate with a human face which appears to be sitting cross-legged at the centre of the composition. Behind, two naked figures, with skeletal heads rise from the ground. They recall Bellany’s figure paintings of the late 1960s following his visit to Buchenwald concentration camp and can therefore be viewed as figures of death. In titling the work ‘The Skate God’ Bellany is perhaps questioning the role of God as part of his Calvinist upbringing. There is also a distinct sexual content, with the skate’s tail appearing, as in other etchings, as a phallus.© the Artist / Bridgeman Art Library. All rights reserved. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/4527/artist_name/John Bellany National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/4527/artist_name/John Bellany John Bellany - 1983. Paintings of the sea and fishing boats are central to Bellany’s oeuvre. This picture is a development from earlier paintings of fishermen holding up skate, with the features of the fish giving voice to the men’s emotions. However, this image is more sinister due to the presence of the skeletal figure, transforming the skate into mouthpieces of the dead in general, and of those who have died at sea. Bellany’s paintings are intimately connected with the human figure, and particularly with his own life. However, he often uses animals to reflect different aspects of human nature. Bellany underwent several personal crises during the 1980s, which are reflected in the choice of harrowing subject matter and the agitated, expressive brushwork found in his paintings at this time.© the Artist / Bridgeman Art Library. All rights reserved. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/4527/artist_name/John Bellany National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/4527/artist_name/John Bellany John Bellany - Dated 1972. Bellany made a series of prints on the theme of the kiss. Here, the sexual content is explicit with the two figures apparently in bed, mouths wide open with their tongues merging into one. The spotted headscarf of the figure on the right suggests that the man is Bellany (as he appears in two self-portraits wearing the scarf). The image directly relates to Bellany’s Calvinist upbringing and notions of sex and guilt. Bellany only began to experiment with etching when he started teaching at Winchester College of Art. This is one of the first of a series of etchings he made in 1970. The spontaneous and lively line of the etching highlights how accomplished a draughtsman Bellany was.© the Artist / Bridgeman Art Library. All rights reserved. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/4527/artist_name/John Bellany National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/261/artist_name/Alexis Simon Belle Alexis Simon Belle, Prince James Francis Edward Stuart - 1700. Prince James Francis Edward Stuart was the son of King James VII and II, who was overthrown in 1688. James was only an infant when his parent fled into exile and he was brought up at the French royal palace of St Germain, near Paris. He was proclaimed King when his father died in 1701, however after unsuccessful attempts to regain the throne he finally settled in Rome with his Polish wife Maria Clementina Sobieska. They had two sons, the elder of whom was Prince Charles Edward Stuart, who came to be known as ‘The Young Pretender’. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/261/artist_name/Alexis Simon Belle National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/261/artist_name/Alexis Simon Belle Alexis Simon Belle, Princess Louisa Maria Teresa Stuart - 1704. In 1688 King James VII and II fled into exile with his family, eventually settling in the French royal palace of St Germain, near Paris. There, in 1692, his last child, Louisa Maria Teresa, was born. James declared that God had sent her to be his consolation in adversity. Named after the French king Louis XIV, Louisa had a sweet, gentle nature. She was only sibling of Prince James Francis Edward, the Old Pretender, to survive infancy. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/261/artist_name/Alexis Simon Belle National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/6896/artist_name/Giovanni Bellini Giovanni Bellini - Painted about 1625 - 1650. This is a full-size, accurate copy of one of the great achievements of Bellini’s last years, 'The Feast of the Gods’ of 1514 (Washington, National Gallery of Art). The original was commissioned by Alfonso d’Este, Duke of Ferrara, for his private study (‘camerino’) in the palace complex at Ferrara. The picture shows a feast organised by Cybele, goddess of nature and fertility, for her fellow Olympian gods, at which the randy Priapus’s attempt to rape the sleeping Lotis (at the right) was thwarted by the braying of Silenus’s ass. The paintings from Alfonso’s ‘camerino’ were removed to Rome in 1598, and the present copy was probably made there in the mid-1620s, very possibly by the celebrated French artist Nicolas Poussin (1594-1665). http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/6896/artist_name/Giovanni Bellini National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/6016/artist_name/Hans Bellmer Hans Bellmer - 1933 - 1935. This photograph previously belonged to André Breton, the leader of the surrealist group, who was a great admirer of Bellmer's work. It shows Bellmer's second doll, made in 1935. Bellmer made several dolls, the first one in 1933, all of which had moveable parts that could be put together in many strange and disquieting combinations. Bellmer's photographs of his doll are carefully staged in both interior and exterior settings. They show how photography could further explore the eroticism of the doll and the obsessive desire that led to its creation.© ADAGP, Paris and DACS, London 2004 http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/6016/artist_name/Hans Bellmer National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/6016/artist_name/Hans Bellmer Hans Bellmer, Georges Hugnet - 1939. Hugnet and Bellmer became close friends after Bellmer’s move to Paris in the late 1930s and 'Œillades ciselés en branche' is evidence of the sympathy and understanding between them. This pocket-sized book is a perfect example of the artist’s book, surrealist-style. Text and image are designed to reinforce each other, creating a fantasy-world of extraordinary intensity. The book contains Hugnet’s prose poem in praise of adolescent girls, inspired by Bellmer's famous articulated Poupée (doll). The text is complemented by twenty-four exquisite Bellmer drawings. ‘Oeillades’ was dedicated to the women both men loved. This de-luxe copy was Hugnet’s own. He had a special leather box made lined inside with dried violet petals arranged under a white silk mesh.© ADAGP, Paris and DACS, London 2010 (and) © ADAGP, Paris and DACS, London 2010 http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/6016/artist_name/Hans Bellmer National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/6016/artist_name/Hans Bellmer Hans Bellmer - about 1935 - 1936. This drawing is dedicated to the young French poetess and Surrealist muse Gisèle Prassinos. The Gallery also owns a photograph of Prassinos reading her poetry to an enraptured group of Surrealists. In 1935 Bellmer made the frontispiece for a book by Prassinos and the following year the fifteen-year-old dedicated several of her writings to Bellmer. This drawing is believed to have been made by Bellmer around this time. White ink on black paper was a favourite medium of the artist. The subject of Bellmer’s drawing is a typically perverse twist on the fairytale idea of a princess being menaced by a dragon. A fearsome dragon emerges from a fireplace like a grasping hand while two female victims are suspended from the ceiling.© ADAGP, Paris and DACS, London 2006 http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/6016/artist_name/Hans Bellmer National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2755/artist_name/Ambrosius Benson Ambrosius Benson, Jesus Christ, The Virgin Mary, St Anne - . In this painting the Virgin and her mother, St. Anne, sit side by side. They offer the Christ Child an apple, a reference to the forbidden fruit Eve offered Adam in the Garden of Eden. It is also a symbol of the burden of the sins of mankind that Christ will bear. Benson’s elegant figures are painted with rich colours using his typically delicate touch, and both the Virgin and her mother are given equal compositional importance. This results in a superbly balanced image. In the left background, an angel draws water from the Fountain of Life. Benson was renowned for such small scale devotional pieces, teeming with incident and detail. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2755/artist_name/Ambrosius Benson National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/21362/artist_name/Harry Benson Harry Benson - 1971 (print 2007). This photograph by Benson captures ecstatic Celtic football supporters cheering as their team scored a goal in 1971. The composition is crammed with figures smiling, cheering and clapping, with many making eye contact with Benson’s lens. This highlights Benson’s ability to secure the most intriguing, and often surprising, shot. Whilst the spectators are watching the players on the pitch, Benson is facing the crowd, ready to capture the instant emotion and celebration that explodes when a team scores a goal.© Harry Benson http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/21362/artist_name/Harry Benson National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/21362/artist_name/Harry Benson Harry Benson, Ethel Kennedy - 1968 (print 2007). This dramatic photograph of Ethel Kennedy stirred controversy and debate over the ethics of photojournalism following its publication hours after the assassination of Senator Robert F. Kennedy in Los Angeles, 1968. Led to where her husband lay Mrs Kennedy bent down by his side and whispered “I’m with you my baby”. She then stood, turned to the crown and shouted “give him air”. Benson has captured this moment of raw emotion and trauma perfectly. Her outreached hand is blurred and slightly obscures her face, yet her eyes engage the viewer and reveal her anguish. Just after securing this shot, Benson was knocked to the floor by a Kennedy aide. Instinctively he changed films and hid the valuable spool, which featured many of his iconic pictures of the scene, down his sock.© Harry Benson http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/21362/artist_name/Harry Benson National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/21362/artist_name/Harry Benson Harry Benson, Jim Clarke - 1965 (print 2007). James Clark is one of the greatest ever Formula One drivers. Born in Fife, he grew up in the Borders and began racing in the local road rally and hill climb events. His career was launched in 1959 when he was given the chance to race Formula Junior cars. He then broke into Formula One in 1960 at the Dutch Grand Prix. Three years later he won his first Drivers’ World Championship. Clark juggled his Formula One career with racing in the Indianapolis 500, where this photograph was taken. Clark died in 1968, aged thirty-two, in a racing accident during a Formula Two race in Germany.© Harry Benson http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/21362/artist_name/Harry Benson National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/21362/artist_name/Harry Benson Harry Benson, Robert Kennedy - 1968 (print 2007). In 1968 a press conference was held in Los Angeles for Senator Bobby Kennedy after his victory in the Californian primary. Following his speech, Benson trailed the entourage through the kitchen of the hotel. Although he did not hear the gun shots, Harry recalls thinking: “This is it”. He climbed on to a cooker hob and began taking pictures of the slain Senator - “I kept thinking, he’d understand how important this is, recording history, doing my job”. This photograph appears calm and composed even though it captures a moment of mayhem. Looking down from above, Benson evokes the sense of something spiritual watching over Kennedy’s lifeless body. The white shirts of the two figures, together with Kennedy’s, create a triangle that focuses attention on the Senator’s unresponsive face.© Harry Benson http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/21362/artist_name/Harry Benson National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/9477/artist_name/Nicolaes Berchem Nicolaes Berchem - about 1645 - 1646. This picture is typical of Berchem’s early work, when he was still producing scenes that resemble the area around his native town, Haarlem. The hunters here are preparing to catch small birds, almost certainly finches. The nets in the foreground and slung behind the horseman’s saddle are typical for this type of hunting and the dunes along the North Sea, such as those outside Haarlem, were optimal places for catching finches. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/9477/artist_name/Nicolaes Berchem National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/18273/artist_name/Bruce Bernard Bruce Bernard - 1984. Bruce Bernard first met Francis Bacon around 1948, when Bacon was already established as a controversial artist, following the exhibition of his painting ‘Three Studies for Figures at the Base of a Crucifixion’. This photograph shows the artist at the age of seventy-five, in his studio in Reece Mews, Kensington, London. Bacon worked in this studio from 1961 until his death in 1992. The chaotic studio was vital to the artist’s working process, as piles of photographs, newspapers, catalogues and magazines provided visual inspiration. Instead of using a palette, Bacon mixed paint on any surface he could find, including the walls and door of his studio, as can be seen here. After Bacon’s death his studio was reconstructed at the Hugh Lane Gallery in Dublin, the city of Bacon’s birth.© The Estate of Bruce Bernard http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/18273/artist_name/Bruce Bernard National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/18273/artist_name/Bruce Bernard Frank Auerbach, Bruce Bernard - 2000. Bernard took this portrait of German-born British painter Frank Auerbach just a week before his own death. Auerbach left Nazi Germany and moved to England in 1939. He met Bernard in the 1950s and this portrait is one of several Bernard took of artists in their studios. It shows Auerbach looking directly into the camera with a somewhat grave, yet compassionate expression – perhaps he was aware that Bernard did not have long left to live. The background features several sketches by Auerbach pinned to a wall and a large mirror with a length of cord looped over the edge. There is a sinister undertone to this composition as the cord reaches down Auerbach’s reflection like a noose about to be placed around his neck.© Estate of Bruce Bernard http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/18273/artist_name/Bruce Bernard National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/18273/artist_name/Bruce Bernard Bruce Bernard - 1994. The flamboyant performance artist Leigh Bowery (1961-1994) was a favourite model of Freud. He first saw Bowery perform at the Anthony d’Offay Gallery in London, when he appeared in a variety of colourful and dramatic outfits. The artist became fascinated by this strange figure - the shape of his body, tone of his skin and his monumental presence. Freud preferred to know his models well in order to portray them most effectively. He made several paintings of Bowery over a period of four years, during which time they became friends. It was a relationship of mutual inspiration, as Freud considered his model to be ‘perfectly beautiful’ and Bowery loved to pose for Freud. He explained that, ‘because he is an artist who always works in the figurative idiom he has given me lots of ideas’.© The Estate of Bruce Bernard http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/18273/artist_name/Bruce Bernard National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/18273/artist_name/Bruce Bernard Bruce Bernard - 1990. Bernard met Andrews in the early 1950s and he was one of several important post-war British artists whom Bernard knew and photographed in their studios. This portrait features Andrews standing in front of an unfinished painting. A notoriously slow and careful painter, this image reveals something of his working process in the large canvas tilted at an angle behind him. Yet, like Bernard’s other photos, it is more than a simple photo-documentation. The commanding stance of the artist against the unusually rotated canvas can perhaps be seen as revealing more of Andrews’ personality - described by Bernard as: “thoughtful, dedicated and in his way very ambitious…[but] also socially quite manic”. Andrews painted Bernard’s portrait in the same year.© Estate of Bruce Bernard. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/18273/artist_name/Bruce Bernard National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/18273/artist_name/Bruce Bernard Bruce Bernard - 1984. Bernard took several photographs of the artist Francis Bacon in his studio in 1984. The pair met around 1948, and at that point Bacon had established himself as one of the most controversial figures in post-war British art – a status he retained throughout his remaining career. However, this portrait varies from the others Bernard took of Bacon. It is a close-up of just his face (in comparison to those where an importance was also placed on his studio). Cropped across his forehead and chin, the framing accentuates his frank expression and look of knowing intelligence. This recalls what Bernard wrote about him in 1995: “He seemed quite unique to me at twenty – magical – his extraordinary energy and intelligence.”© Estate of Bruce Bernard http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/18273/artist_name/Bruce Bernard National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2757/artist_name/Gian Lorenzo Bernini Gian Lorenzo Bernini, Monsignor Carlo Antonio dal Pozzo - 1620. The arresting power and vitality of this portrait are typical of Bernini's achievement with such works. His chiselling is so fine that the marble seems to take on the properties of skin, hair and silk. The slight twist to the head and shoulders and the rippling folds and buttons enhance its lifelike appearance, although it was carved fifteen years after the sitter's death. Bernini made the bust for the archbishop's nephew, Cassiano dal Pozzo, around 1622-4. He was one of the most distinguished and learned figures in the cultural life of Rome. The bust was displayed in a prominent position in his palace. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2757/artist_name/Gian Lorenzo Bernini National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2760/artist_name/Jean-Victor Bertin Jean-Victor Bertin - 1800. This highly finished painting features details such as trees, plants, rocky outcrops and ruins which were based on drawings made from nature. The composition, however, represents Bertin's imaginative interpretation of a classical pastoral scene, representing an idealised vision. In the foreground by a broken tree stump, two young women hold up garlands of flowers, while in the shade of trees at the centre right, shepherds make an offering to a statue of Pan, the ancient Greek god of the woods and protector of shepherds and their flocks. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2760/artist_name/Jean-Victor Bertin National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/4529/artist_name/Bertoldo di Giovanni Bertoldo di Giovanni, Sultan Mohammed II - about 1480. Sultan Mohammed was a leading patron of technology and culture, in both the East and West. In March 1480, Mohammed sent a special envoy to Lorenzo de' Medici in Florence requesting the services of several artists, including bronze sculptors. Bertoldo's medal was probably a gift for Mohammed from Lorenzo - intended as a pendant to the Sultan's gift for Lorenzo, which was a similar medal by Gentile Bellini, who was working in Istanbul at that time. This is the only known signed example of a medal by Bertoldo. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/4529/artist_name/Bertoldo di Giovanni National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/4530/artist_name/John Beugo John Beugo, Robert Burns, Archibald Skirving - 1801. This portrait of Scottish poet Robert Burns is a line engraving, based on a drawing by Archibald Skirving. In its turn, Skirving’s drawing was inspired by Alexander Nasmyth’s famous half-length portrait of Burns – one of the very few portraits created from the life. Beugo’s engraving combines the fashionable dress and rural background of Nasmyth’s painting with the idealised, dreamy features of Skirving’s portrait drawing of Burns. All three works are in the collection of the National Galleries of Scotland. This engraving was part of a large bequest made to the Galleries in 1886 by William Findlay Watson, who was a keen collector of prints and drawings. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/4530/artist_name/John Beugo National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2762/artist_name/Joseph Beuys Joseph Beuys - 1962. Beuys's distinctive cross symbol appears in this work. Unusually however, it is painted in grey oil paint instead of brown and is balanced by a negative symbol on the accompanying part of the work. These symbols connect this painting with electricity and energy, recalling the positive and negative terminals of a battery and energy created through chemical reaction. The presence of both symbols here suggests a state of balance. The image to the left appears to be a leaping female figure and although the right side is more difficult to decipher it may be intended to be masculine in tone, to balance the femininity.© DACS 2008 http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2762/artist_name/Joseph Beuys National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2762/artist_name/Joseph Beuys Joseph Beuys - 1954. This painting echoes the artist's sculptural work of the same period. It was made while Beuys was creating a series of reliefs of animals, including different fish and sea creatures, from slate. The use of colour in Beuys's work is always significant as he used it like a substance or material, meaning that colour became particularly important and representative. The bright red suggests blood, and, in turn, life. The symbol of the fish has also been used to represent life by several different religious groups. Beuys once expressed the opinion that fish represent continuity, as, unlike man, they cannot escape their fixed point in evolution.© DACS 2008 http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2762/artist_name/Joseph Beuys National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2762/artist_name/Joseph Beuys Joseph Beuys - 1961-1975. The title of this drawing translates as '2 Sheep's heads', which are represented by shapes torn in the dark-painted paper. It is a two-part work, with one part painted in oil paint and the other in oil paint and fat. Beuys often used fat as a substance in his 'actions' and sculptures, however he used it less frequently in his drawings due to the nature of the material. He viewed fat as an alchemical material, with multiple uses. Fat could be a source of nourishment and fuel, as well as representing warmth and the creative principle. Beuys made a multiple based on this work.© DACS 2008 http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2762/artist_name/Joseph Beuys National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2762/artist_name/Joseph Beuys Joseph Beuys - 1969. This work bears the circular stamp of the German Student Party, in red ink. Formed by Beuys in 1967, the artist commented 'The German Student Party is the world's largest party, but most of its members are animals'. The names handwritten beside the typed list of words is presumably a list of party members, including the name of the artist. Beuys was greatly involved with student politics in the 1960s and 1970s whilst he was a professor at the Kunstakademie Düsseldorf. He later went on to co-found the Green Party in Germany.© DACS 2008 http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2762/artist_name/Joseph Beuys National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2762/artist_name/Joseph Beuys Joseph Beuys - 1945. The natural sciences were one of Beuys's great interests from an early age. As a child he collected and catalogued biological specimens and made a small laboratory in his house. His study was aided by a copy of Carl Linnaeus's book of classification for the natural world, 'Systema Naturae', which Beuys was able to save from a Nazi book burning at his school library. This is the earliest work by Beuys in the ARTIST ROOMS collection, made when the artist was twenty-four years old. The leaf is from a Norway maple tree, a species native to central and eastern Europe.© DACS 2008 http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2762/artist_name/Joseph Beuys National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2762/artist_name/Joseph Beuys Joseph Beuys - 1956. Joseph Beuys's drawings often show women as actresses or witches. This is not intended to be derogatory, but rather refers to women taking on a role and performing, much like the artist's own adoption of the guise of a shaman. The torn paper of this drawing suggests that it has been damaged, but Beuys would draw on anything that came to hand when he had an idea, which gives this work a sense of immediacy. The exclusion of the woman's head would also have been done deliberately. In concentrating on the body, Beuys has depicted a curvy figure, with touches of pink to suggest the warmth of the flesh.© DACS 2008 http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2762/artist_name/Joseph Beuys National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2762/artist_name/Joseph Beuys Joseph Beuys - 1964. The subject of this drawing, the actress, recalls Beuys's drawings of the 1950s where women appeared frequently in the guise of actresses or sometimes witches. At that time, the women were shown as intangible, almost mythical figures. Here, however, the figure has been drawn in more detail, with the face individualised to a greater extent than previously seen. Her bracelets and the tool in her hand suggest a tribal association but also stress the active side of the female principle. Yet Beuys still keeps her within the confines of a narrow triangle, showing her without context and unable to interact with the rest of the world.© DACS 2008 http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2762/artist_name/Joseph Beuys National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2762/artist_name/Joseph Beuys Joseph Beuys - 1958. Beuys's use of the term 'actresses' in his drawings of women makes reference to the idea of performance, in the same way as the artist created the persona of a shaman for himself. Indeed, in some of his performances ('actions') Beuys assumed the role of the female principle. This drawing is dominated by three upright female figures who stride confidently across the image, with the body of a naked woman, drawn in pencil, forming a backdrop. Although there are four figures on the page, each one is isolated from the others and not individualised in any way – a typical feature of Beuys's depictions of women in the 1950s.© DACS 2008 http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2762/artist_name/Joseph Beuys National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2762/artist_name/Joseph Beuys Joseph Beuys - 1953. Beuys's depictions of fish and sea creatures are an extension of his lifelong interest in animals. In combining angel and whale, he brings together the heavens and the depth of the sea: an intangible spirit crossed with an enormous mammal. Beuys often turned animals into gods. He wrote: "Animals are in reality also angelic beings. They speak of a realm above human beings, of a spiritual dimension, contained within people themselves". Although the hook shape suggests physical danger for the whale, it may also refer to the ancient tribal custom of attaching fish hooks to the mouth and nostrils of a dead person in order to catch the soul as it escapes from the body.© DACS 2008 http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2762/artist_name/Joseph Beuys National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2762/artist_name/Joseph Beuys Joseph Beuys - 1974. At the centre of this drawing is a figure, who we can assume is the Goddess. To her left and right, a pair of hares extend their paws tentatively towards the woman, as if to keep her anchored to the ground. For Beuys, the hare was connected with fertility and the earth; in the same way he felt women were also. He depicted both women and hares as means of connection between earthly and unearthly worlds. Here, 'Astral' suggests a heavenly link and making the figure as a Goddess highlights the artist's interest in primitive rituals and tribal magic.© DACS 2008 http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2762/artist_name/Joseph Beuys National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2762/artist_name/Joseph Beuys Joseph Beuys - 1978-1983. Beuys loved using simple and everyday materials in his work. He made many works in which newspapers were painted with Braunkreuz paint, obscuring most of the surface, but leaving small areas uncovered, often to make a particular point by highlighting words or images. Here, only the edge of a column of text remains visible. The ink stamp at the top of the work contains the image of a bull's head inside a diamond shape. The words around the image are smudged, but the word 'Kassel' can be seen at the bottom left. This German city is the location for the international modern art fair which is held every five years.© DACS 2008 http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2762/artist_name/Joseph Beuys National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2762/artist_name/Joseph Beuys Joseph Beuys - 1954. Bees were among the animals in which Beuys was most interested and they appear in his work through his life. While at art school he produced a series of drawings called 'Queen Bees', but his interest may have begun after reading the philosopher Rudolf Steiner's 1923 lecture on bees in which Steiner compared the functioning of a beehive to human society. Beuys viewed bees as a symbol of socialism due to the way in which they live and work together; he was also fascinated by the production of honey. The scientific apparatus featured in this drawing reappears in other works by Beuys of the mid-to late 1950s.© DACS 2008 http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2762/artist_name/Joseph Beuys National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2762/artist_name/Joseph Beuys Joseph Beuys - 1954 - 1958. Circe is a figure from Greek mythology, sometimes depicted as a witch or sorceress. She transformed her enemies into animals by giving them magic potions, a fact which reflects Beuys's interest in shamanism. This work, which is a collage of paper on board, also shows the artist's interest in the Irish writer James Joyce. Joyce's epic novel 'Ulysses', contains an episode in the second part called 'Circe', and from 1958 to 1961 Beuys wrote two new chapters for 'Ulysses'. Joyce is believed by some critics to be the addressee of the group of drawings Beuys assembled called 'The secret block for a secret person in Ireland'.© DACS 2008 http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2762/artist_name/Joseph Beuys National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2762/artist_name/Joseph Beuys Joseph Beuys - 1959. This collage refers to the artist's interest in sources of energy and power. A battery can be either a portable source of energy, or an instrument that converts chemical to electrical energy. Used as a motif, the battery would have appealed to the artist for its capacity to store or transform energy and in its ability to convert one type of energy to another. Beuys later used the concept of the battery in his series of sculptural works called 'Fonds'.© DACS 2008 http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2762/artist_name/Joseph Beuys National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2762/artist_name/Joseph Beuys Joseph Beuys - 1956. Amongst the flurry of pencil lines in this drawing, we can make out parts of a cat – claws, head, ears, teeth and limbs appear, with a long striped body at the bottom corner. Beuys's approach to drawing has been compared to Leonardo da Vinci in its investigative manner. Like Leonardo, Beuys had the enquiring mind of a scientist and the same interest in understanding the natural world. This work shows the artist's exploration of the shape of his subject, building form by assembling shapes. It shows how Beuys used drawing as a way of exploring the world, as well as capturing his ideas.© DACS 2008 http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2762/artist_name/Joseph Beuys National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2762/artist_name/Joseph Beuys Joseph Beuys - 1964-1986. This collection documents some of Beuys's most important works – from exhibitions of drawings and sculpture, to performances of his 'actions', many of the posters are signed by the artist, and some feature his circular ink stamp reading 'Hauptstrom' (Mainstream). The distinctive figure of Beuys is seen on many, while others show iconic images of his sculpture. Relating to exhibitions and events from all over the world, they chart an active and varied career. Of the 421 posters, 288 were published during the artist's lifetime, while the rest were published after his death.© DACS 2008 http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2762/artist_name/Joseph Beuys National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2762/artist_name/Joseph Beuys Joseph Beuys - 1984. Although Beuys did not create art in a deliberately abstract style, this work is reminiscent of German artist Josef Albers's series of works 'Homage to the Square', as well as of the colourful abstracts of Beuys's favourite pupil, Blinky Palermo. The use of the square here focuses attention on the simplicity of the shape and the colour, made all the more striking by the neutral cardboard background. Beuys viewed colour as a 'material', using it deliberately and sparingly. As a primary colour, blue can be used to make other colours, and is often associated with spirituality. Palermo made extensive use of blue, with spiritual connotations, in his work.© DACS 2008 http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2762/artist_name/Joseph Beuys National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2762/artist_name/Joseph Beuys Joseph Beuys - 1962. Beuys lets the medium take centre stage in this work. Made of five pieces of paper, it is titled after the distinctive brown oil paint the artist used, whose name translates as 'Brown cross'. Compared to his more delicate watercolour drawings of the 1950s, Beuys's Braunkreuz works are bold and have a sculptural aspect. The medium was named by the artist himself, whose love of language and word play is demonstrated in the name's composition, where two words compound to make a new word. This echoes the composition of the cross shape, where two elements intersect to form a third.© DACS 2008 http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2762/artist_name/Joseph Beuys National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2762/artist_name/Joseph Beuys Joseph Beuys - 1985. The principle behind this object is the use of nature as an ecologically-sound fuel source. The instructions that accompany the work read ‘Change battery every thousand hours,’ yet the light bulb will never run out because it can never be switched on. It was made on the island of Capri in 1985, while Beuys was recovering from an illness. The bright colours suggest the Mediterranean climate. Although it is one of the most light-hearted objects Beuys made, it connects with the artist’s interests in energy, warmth and the environment. Beuys was deeply involved in the environmental movement in his native Germany and his work sought to challenge the boundaries between nature and culture.© DACS 2006 http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2762/artist_name/Joseph Beuys National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2762/artist_name/Joseph Beuys Joseph Beuys - 1980. Many of Beuys's 'actions' and sculptures used sound in some way. Sound is included in this relief through the use of a record. On top of the record is a hare's jawbone, the hare being an animal which recurs frequently in the artist's work. It is associated with the earth and with birth, but the inclusion of its bones here is also reminiscent of a relic of a saint. The title of this relief hints at the artist's interest in Celtic countries – he visited Scotland and Ireland several times during his life. It is stamped with the circular 'Hauptstrom' stamp Beuys used for works he felt summed up his beliefs particularly well.© DACS 2008 http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2762/artist_name/Joseph Beuys National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2762/artist_name/Joseph Beuys Joseph Beuys - 1958. This drawing shows a group (or clan) of figures with the distinctive long ears of a hare. The hare is an animal which reappears frequently in Beuys's work, along with the stag. While the stag was connected to the upper (and male) part of the body, the hare was connected to the female / lower part of the body. It was also linked with the earth - Beuys compared the animal's shaping of the earth when burrowing underground to the process of human thought. Beuys's famous 1961 'action' 'How to explain pictures to a dead hare' featured the artist with his face covered in honey and gold leaf, explaining paintings to the dead animal.© DACS 2008 http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2762/artist_name/Joseph Beuys National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2762/artist_name/Joseph Beuys Joseph Beuys - 1980. This is one of a pair of images showing Beuys's 1974 'action' 'I Like America and America Likes Me'. The 'action' began as soon as the artist landed in America. He was wrapped in felt at the airport, and driven in an ambulance to René Block's Manhattan gallery. He spent three days in the gallery space with a coyote before being driven straight back to the airport and flown home. The coyote is sacred to Native Americans, and represented an aspect of the country's past that Beuys liked. Each day of the 'action', he made two piles of the current 'Wall Street Journal'. These would be duly torn or urinated on by the coyote – his statement on contemporary America.© DACS 2008 http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2762/artist_name/Joseph Beuys National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2762/artist_name/Joseph Beuys Joseph Beuys - 1980. This is one of a pair of images showing Beuys's 1974 'action' 'I Like America and America Likes Me'. The 'action' began as soon as the artist landed in America. He was wrapped in felt at the airport, and driven in an ambulance to René Block's Manhattan gallery. He spent three days in the gallery space with a coyote before being driven straight back to the airport and flown home. The coyote is sacred to Native Americans, and represented an aspect of the country's past that Beuys liked. This image shows items the artist used in the 'action'. The felt blanket and torch represent survival, he used the triangle to make music and lent on the shepherd's crook.© DACS 2008 http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2762/artist_name/Joseph Beuys National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2762/artist_name/Joseph Beuys Joseph Beuys - 1954. This work is particularly striking for its bold use of colour. Beuys often worked with natural or neutral-coloured materials and tended to use colour sparingly and deliberately. Early in his life, Beuys's parents had hoped that he would pursue a career in the natural sciences and although he chose art instead, science remained a lifelong interest. In 1949 he made a wooden model of a crystal, fascinated by its 'mathematical and platonic orders'. He continued to use the 'crystalline principle' as a symbol of reason, which, if not tempered by the warmth of intuition and emotion, would remain cold and lifeless.© DACS 2008 http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2762/artist_name/Joseph Beuys National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2762/artist_name/Joseph Beuys Joseph Beuys - 1964 - 1974. Although this is a sculptural work, it has a graphic element, with the page of notes and sketches in the frame. The piece has an unfinished look about it, with the page stuck in one corner of the frame, but as the frame has been hand painted and glazed it shows that the work is finished. This gives the notes a more official appearance and echoes the importance of Beuys's drawings to his work as a whole. He built up an enormous number of sketches and notes, often scribbled on scraps of paper, which he used as 'reservoirs' of ideas for his art.© DACS 2008 http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2762/artist_name/Joseph Beuys National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2762/artist_name/Joseph Beuys Joseph Beuys - 1961. Beuys often included the human figure in his drawings of the 1950s and early 1960s. However, this painting focuses solely on the hand, the most important tool of the artist. The title is ambiguous as it appears to present the hand as a symbol of defiance but it could also refer to the most basic way for humans to make their mark - the handprint. The hand on the left may be based around the dimensions of the artist's own, but the hand to the right has a more animalistic feel, with the long fingers like claws.© DACS 2008 http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2762/artist_name/Joseph Beuys National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2762/artist_name/Joseph Beuys Joseph Beuys - 1966. Organic curves dominate this work. In the lower part, Beuys has used liquid fat to create shapes which have been echoed in the curved lines of the pencil drawing above. The materials Beuys used were always selected for their particular significance to the artist. Fat represented fuel and nurturing, but also was associated with producing warm, chaotic energy. To complement this, copper, as an excellent conductor of electricity and heat, can transmit this energy. The title of this work translates as 'Breath'.© DACS 2008 http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2762/artist_name/Joseph Beuys National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2762/artist_name/Joseph Beuys Joseph Beuys - 1967. Beuys formed the Deutsche Studentenpartei (German Student Party) on June 22 1967, in reaction to the shooting of the student Benno Ohnesorg during a demonstration against the visit of the Shah of Persia. It was the artist's first move into politics, but set a precedent for his politically-involved art. In December 1967, Beuys renamed the party 'Fluxus Zone West' to indicate the need for structural change at universities across Europe. This draft manifesto for the party has been stamped with the artist's distinctive circular stamp featuring a cross. He added the stamp to works which he felt embodied his beliefs.© DACS 2008 http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2762/artist_name/Joseph Beuys National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2762/artist_name/Joseph Beuys Joseph Beuys - 1959. The lower section of this three-part work appears to be a schematic drawing of a turbine. It may be the item which is intended to be fitted inside the box at the centre of the work, to power the propeller on the right. Beuys used the principle of electricity and machines in some of his sculpture, so this work may anticipate a later sculpture. Electricity was, for Beuys, part of the much larger issue of energy and, in particular, of ways in which the key issue of human energy (creativity) could be harnessed.© DACS 2008 http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2762/artist_name/Joseph Beuys National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2762/artist_name/Joseph Beuys Joseph Beuys - 1949. This painting was made while Beuys was a student at the Staatliche Kunstakademie (State Academy of Art) in Düsseldorf, where he studied from 1947 to 1951. In this period immediately after the Second World War, in which Beuys had participated as a fighter pilot, nature was a central source of inspiration. Much of the artist's work included plant and animal forms. Here, he has emphasised the simple outlines of the three elements of the picture, which are arranged harmoniously to form a circle. Beuys had shown a talent for painting in watercolour from a young age, with some of his paintings displayed in his school.© DACS 2008 http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2762/artist_name/Joseph Beuys National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2762/artist_name/Joseph Beuys Joseph Beuys - 1981-1985. This drawing relates to a sculpture which is also in the ARTIST ROOMS Collection. It shows the shape of the glass-topped vitrine, which contains palm leaves and blossom lying on a bed of powdered sulphur. Although the sculpture is dated 1981, this drawing is marked '81-85', suggesting it was made after the sculpture rather than being drawn to plan it. The title of the work hints at Beuys's love of Italy, and includes the name of a Christian feast. The year 1985 saw his work included in the exhibition 'Cross + Symbol, Religious Foundations in the work of Joseph Beuys', as well as being the last time an 'environment' was created by Beuys, for an exhibition in Naples.© DACS 2008 http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2762/artist_name/Joseph Beuys National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2762/artist_name/Joseph Beuys Joseph Beuys - 1982. The simplicity of this box is reminiscent of the work of Minimalist artists, like Donald Judd or Carl Andre. However, Beuys felt that Minimalist art was too far away from the disorder of real life. Yet, in the same way that Judd and Andre made industrial materials look beautiful, Beuys's work was also directed by his love of materials and desire to explore their properties. Here, the neatly cut felt acts as a soft, organic buffer between the sheets of copper. It may be the material's insulating properties which provide the sculpture with its name.© DACS 2008 http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2762/artist_name/Joseph Beuys National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2762/artist_name/Joseph Beuys Joseph Beuys - 1965. Early in his life Beuys had been deeply influenced by the work of Richard Wagner, although he distanced himself from his antisemiticism and ultra-nationalism. The dwarf, Alberich, who steals the gold from the Rhine Maidens, fashions a ring from it but loses it to the Gods, appears in several of Beuys's works, including a play written in 1963. In this drawing the distinctive hat confirms the figure's identity, in what is an unpretentious and humorous self-portrait. In one hand the man holds a twig or root, referring to his interest in nature. The action of digging suggests the artist's scientific, enquiring mind and his desire to explore the world around him. Like the figure shown here, Beuys loved to use humble and natural materials and was not afraid to work hard or get his hands dirty.© DACS 2008 http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2762/artist_name/Joseph Beuys National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2762/artist_name/Joseph Beuys Joseph Beuys - 1977. Traditionally, a sphinx is a recumbent lion with a human head. Beuys's version is a strange combination of animal and human, yet despite the prominent ears, sharp teeth and trace of a muzzle, it still retains a human look. The lines which surround the figure are similar to magnetic field lines, and this magnetism would 'electrify' the sphinx. Although Beuys's work of the 1960s and 1970s is dominated by 'actions' and installations, drawing remained an important way for the artist to capture and develop his ideas. He regarded drawing as being at the basis of all his art.© DACS 2008 http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2762/artist_name/Joseph Beuys National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2762/artist_name/Joseph Beuys Joseph Beuys - 1964. The neat rolls of grey felt on painted wood inside this vitrine are intended as a model for an 'environment'. Felt insulates and absorbs, representing protection but also a sense of constriction, like being suffocated. The same type of felt rolls are seen in the 'environment' 'Plight' (1958/1985), now in the Pompidou Centre, in which the walls and ceiling are covered with felt to create a stifling atmosphere. Beuys used felt in an infamous 'action' performed the same year this model was made. 'The Chief' saw the artist being wrapped in a felt blanket, fighting claustrophobia to lie practically still, as if in a coffin, for a nine-hour period.© DACS 2008 http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2762/artist_name/Joseph Beuys National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2762/artist_name/Joseph Beuys Joseph Beuys - 1968. These two glass bottles containing soda water are housed in a wooden box with text printed in German on the lid. The translation of the instructions reads: ‘Sender begins with the information, when “II” is drunk and the cap is thrown as far away as possible.’ Beuys explained that although he did not expect many people would follow the instructions, ‘I believe the object is only right if it’s done: before that it hasn’t been in an Action.’ The label of one bottle has been substituted with felt, an important material for Beuys which is used in many of his works. Here, the warmth of the felt contrasts with the cold, snow-capped mountain scene printed on the label. Beuys made hundreds of multiple objects, often including everyday and found objects - this piece is from an edition of forty.© DACS 2006 http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2762/artist_name/Joseph Beuys National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2762/artist_name/Joseph Beuys Joseph Beuys - 1965. In the dark grey oil paint of this work a small face can be seen, with the legs a short distance away shown extended towards the right edge of the page. Beuys has returned to the persona of the actress here, the role in which women are often depicted in his drawings. The woman is engulfed in oil paint, which represents the grey felt the artist used in his sculptures and 'actions'. Although it is a material which can insulate and absorb, felt also has a feminine aspect through its ability to mould to shapes and to provide protection.© DACS 2008 http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2762/artist_name/Joseph Beuys National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2762/artist_name/Joseph Beuys Joseph Beuys - 1964. The triangular shapes in this drawing recall the wedges of fat and felt the artist was using in his sculptures during the same period. The drawing may be a sketch for a particular sculpture or a way of experimenting with ideas for the composition of a piece. The upright triangular elements are balanced by the curved section at the top of the page. Two of the triangles have a line between them – this may represent a metal rod as Beuys used metal (particularly copper) in his sculptures because its conductivity counteracted the insulating powers of felt or fat.© DACS 2008 http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2762/artist_name/Joseph Beuys National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2762/artist_name/Joseph Beuys Joseph Beuys - 1970. The suit was made to the measurements of one of Beuys's own suits, except that the sleeves and the legs were lengthened. Felt is one of the materials the artist frequently used. The original suit was worn by Beuys for the 'Action of the Dead / Isolation Unit' on 24 November 1970 in Düsseldorf. Beuys stated that the suit represented a way of protecting an individual from the world. It also acts as a symbol of the isolation of human beings. There are connotations of the suits worn by prisoners, in particular those in Nazi concentration camps.© DACS 2004 http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2762/artist_name/Joseph Beuys National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2762/artist_name/Joseph Beuys Joseph Beuys - 1970. Beuys began producing works in multiples in the 1960s, partly as a way to combat the elitism of the art world. This is probably his most famous multiple. It has its origins in the performance 'Action the Dead Mouse / Isolation Unit' of 1970, where Beuys wore a felt suit with lengthened arms and legs, like the one seen here. He described the suit as an extension of the sculptures he made with felt, where the material's insulating properties were integral to the meaning of the work. Beuys intended this concept of warmth to extend beyond the material to encompass what he described as "spiritual warmth or the beginning of an evolution".© DACS 2008 http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2762/artist_name/Joseph Beuys National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2762/artist_name/Joseph Beuys Joseph Beuys - 1968. Looking inside the two boxes in this vitrine, we can see that in one, the fat has been neatly shaped into the corner to make a wedge. In the other, the shape of the fat has a disturbing biological look to it, like inner organs which have been unceremoniously dumped in a heap. Beuys used triangles of fat in both his sculptures and 'actions'. From around 1963, he would use wedges of fat or felt to mark the boundaries of a space when performing an 'action'.© DACS 2008 http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2762/artist_name/Joseph Beuys National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2762/artist_name/Joseph Beuys Joseph Beuys - 1964 - 1985. Fat was a material Beuys loved – when solid it could be shaped and moulded, and when liquid it could flow and soak into other materials. In a similar version of this work, which uses the chair without the addition of vitrine and thermometer, the fat is neatly shaped into a triangular wedge. Here, it is roughly smeared on to the seat, contrasting with the neat lines of the white chair. The simplicity of the chair recalls Van Gogh's famous image of his own chair, painted in 1888. With his keen interest in language, Beuys would have enjoyed the double meaning of the word 'stuhl' as chair and excrement (stool).© DACS 2008 http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2762/artist_name/Joseph Beuys National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2762/artist_name/Joseph Beuys Joseph Beuys - 1952. A filter suggests the process of refinement and purification. This is connected to a change in material of the kind Beuys explored throughout his work. This drawing was made in the late 1950s when Beuys was living on the farm of the van der Grinten brothers near his home town of Cleves in West Germany. During this time he made hundreds of drawings which he referred to as 'reservoirs' of ideas. Many of the themes from his later work can be found in these pieces. Beuys used gauze filters alongside fat in his sculptures and 'actions' of the 1960s onwards.© DACS 2008 http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2762/artist_name/Joseph Beuys National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2762/artist_name/Joseph Beuys Joseph Beuys - 1963. Beuys began to perform his 'actions' in public in 1963 in connection with the Fluxus group. This painting does not appear to relate to a particular 'action' but includes a piece of felt, one of the artist's 'signature' materials which he used in both sculptures and 'actions'. His 'action' of 1964, 'The Chief', involved the artist being wrapped in a blanket of felt. The figure shown here is depicted with sweeping brushstrokes and drips of Braunkreuz oil paint, suggesting that the intended 'action' involved movement.© DACS 2008 http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2762/artist_name/Joseph Beuys National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2762/artist_name/Joseph Beuys Joseph Beuys - 1985. Beuys often utilised the fabric felt in his work. For him it represents protection and preserving energy by preventing it from being dissipated and lost. Beuys explained the character of his felt pieces, such as ‘Felt Angle’, as follows: “These felt objects… share common meanings and intentions, both physical and symbolic: felt as an insulator, as a protective covering against other influences, or conversely as a material that permits infiltration from outside influences. Then there is the warmth character, the greyness which serves to emphasise the colours that exist in the world by a psychological after-image effect, and the silence as every sound is absorbed and muffled.”© DACS 2009 http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2762/artist_name/Joseph Beuys National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2762/artist_name/Joseph Beuys Joseph Beuys - 1963. Fluxus was an international group of artists and musicians. Taken from the Latin word 'to flow', the group's name reflected the belief that there should be no boundaries between art movements, or art and everyday life, letting creativity be unrestricted. Beuys was connected with the group for a time in the early 1960s, when Fluxus activities were at their height. The lower part of this work is a list of names of Fluxus collaborators, most of whom had musical links. It includes the German music critic Heinz-Klaus Metzger, German composer Dieter Schnebel, Canadian composer Pierre Mercure, American composer Terry Jennings, Dutch composer Konrad Boehmer and Japanese composer Yuji Takahashi.© DACS 2008 http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2762/artist_name/Joseph Beuys National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2762/artist_name/Joseph Beuys Joseph Beuys - 1964. Beuys's environments developed from the artist's performed 'actions' and his glass cases (vitrines) containing objects. They were large-scale installations which allowed the artist to extend the boundaries of three-dimensional objects by 'staging' space, like a theatre set. Environments allowed Beuys to 'freeze' a moment from an 'action', and like the 'actions' and vitrines, a central concept of the environments was Beuys's' use of everyday materials. In distinctive matt brown Braunkreuz oil paint, this work sets the tone for a monochromatic environment in the artist's signature colour.© DACS 2008 http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2762/artist_name/Joseph Beuys National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2762/artist_name/Joseph Beuys Joseph Beuys - 1964. Beuys's environments developed from the artist's performed 'actions' and his glass cases (vitrines) containing objects. They were large-scale installations which allowed the artist to extend the boundaries of three-dimensional objects by 'staging' an environment, like a theatre set. Environments allowed Beuys to 'freeze' a moment from an 'action', and like the 'actions' and vitrines, a central concept of the environments was Beuys's use of everyday materials. In distinctive matt brown Braunkreuz oil paint, this work sets the tone for a monochromatic environment in the artist's signature colour. Dominated by a phallic shape, the painting may reflect an intention to use organic curves or rolls of felt in the environment.© DACS 2008 http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2762/artist_name/Joseph Beuys National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2762/artist_name/Joseph Beuys Joseph Beuys - 1964. Beuys's environments developed from the artist's performed 'actions' and his glass cases (vitrines) containing objects. They were large-scale installations which allowed the artist to extend the boundaries of three-dimensional objects by 'staging' an environment, like a theatre set. Environments allowed Beuys to 'freeze' a moment from an 'action', and like the 'actions' and vitrines, a central concept of the environments was Beuys's use of everyday materials. In distinctive matt brown Braunkreuz oil paint, this work sets the tone for a monochromatic environment in the artist's signature colour. The cylindrical shapes with curved ends suggest that organic shapes or rolls of felt may be included in the environment.© DACS 2008 http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2762/artist_name/Joseph Beuys National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2762/artist_name/Joseph Beuys Joseph Beuys - 1964. This distinctive image of a rectangle with an angled shape at the bottom is seen in several of Beuys's drawings. Rather than simply being just an abstract shape, the image is intended to create a sense of warmth, as the viewer imagines the chunky pieces of felt. Fat has also been used to make this drawing, the other element Beuys liked to work with. Like felt, fat conjures up a sensation of insulation and warmth. Both materials also refer to the body, as felt is made by compressing fibres or hair.© DACS 2008 http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2762/artist_name/Joseph Beuys National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2762/artist_name/Joseph Beuys Joseph Beuys - 1968. 'Fond' is used by Beuys as a term for a battery. Although diverse in realisation, his FOND series of works all present a means for storage and/or transmission of energy from a power source. They also epitomise the artist's combination of art with science. FOND I (1957), was a jar which had been filled with pears by the artist's mother to preserve them. FOND II (to which this drawing refers) was a sculpture of 1968, which included two copper tables charged with 20,000 volts, plus batteries and chemical apparatus. In FOND III (also 1968) the artist combined felt sheets with copper plates to represent the creation and storage of energy.© DACS 2008 http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2762/artist_name/Joseph Beuys National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2762/artist_name/Joseph Beuys Joseph Beuys - 1962. This drawing relates to an 'action' of February 1963 called 'Siberian Symphony, Section I'. As part of the performance, the artist tore the heart from a dead hare and hung the animal on a blackboard. Lumps of clay were connected with wires, as can be seen to the right of this image. The shape at the bottom of the drawing is a grand piano with its lid up, an item also used in the performance. Beuys had been introduced to performance art by the Fluxus group and this was one of his first public performances, or 'actions'. It was performed for the 'Festum Fluxorum Fluxus' at Düsseldorf Academy, where Beuys taught as professor of sculpture.© DACS 2008 http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2762/artist_name/Joseph Beuys National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2762/artist_name/Joseph Beuys Joseph Beuys - 1970. This object was made as part of the action ‘Friday Object “First Class Fried Fish Bones”’, performed with Daniel Spoerri at the Eat Art Galerie in Düsseldorf on Friday 30 October, 1970. As the title suggests, the object makes reference to the crucifixion of Christ (whose symbol was the fish), to the act of penance and to the elevation of overlooked and usually discarded objects (fish bones). Food was an important medium for Beuys - he made works using butter, chocolate, bread and sausage, with the inevitable decaying process an integral part of the objects he created. The works also reflect the idea of art as providing intellectual nourishment. This is one of the artist’s multiple objects, from a relatively small edition of twenty-five.© DACS 2006 http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2762/artist_name/Joseph Beuys National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2762/artist_name/Joseph Beuys Joseph Beuys - 1978. Beuys was interested in the history and culture of the Celtic countries, and made several visits to Scotland and Ireland. The paper bags used in this relief may have been picked up by the artist during his 1974 trip to Ireland, in connection with the exhibition of his group of drawings, 'The Secret Block for a Secret Person in Ireland'. Critics believe James Joyce to be the 'Secret Person' to whom the work is addressed, as Beuys was a lifelong fan of the Irish writer. The iron frame used for this work may have been chosen by the artist due to the metal's strong connection with the earth as well as the bloodstream.© DACS 2008 http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2762/artist_name/Joseph Beuys National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2762/artist_name/Joseph Beuys Joseph Beuys - 1953. This work is in two parts, with the part on the right being an impression of the part on the left. It was likely made by placing two pieces of paper on top of each other so that the lower piece absorbed some of the watercolour which was painted on the top piece of paper, making a partial copy. With his interest in the natural sciences, Beuys would undoubtedly have been aware of the geyser (an erupting hot spring) as a geological phenomenon. This work may refer to the 'Great Geysir' in Iceland, from which the word 'geyser' originates.© DACS 2008 http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2762/artist_name/Joseph Beuys National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2762/artist_name/Joseph Beuys Joseph Beuys - 1965. Two opposing elements are brought together in this painting, as Beuys combines hot and cold by depicting granite and chalk. Granite is an igneous rock, formed when molten rock cools and solidifies, and chalk is a sedimentary rock, formed by layers of mineral and organic material. Although the bright red granite looks like fire, it is in fact the cooler of the two elements when touched. Likewise, while the chalk is drier and 'arid', it is much warmer to the touch. Beuys has chosen two vastly different elements which also operate in reverse and at odds with their appearance.© DACS 2008 http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2762/artist_name/Joseph Beuys National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2762/artist_name/Joseph Beuys Joseph Beuys - 1974. This is an action-object - a replica of a violin played by the Fluxus artist Henning Christiansen during a concert called ‘…Or should we change it’. The concert was staged by Beuys and Christiansen at the Städtisches Museum, Mönchengladbach on 27 March 1969. Many of Beuys’ early ‘actions’ were of a concert nature, and he participated with Fluxus events during the 1960s. These events were originally organised by people interested in experimenting with sound, such as the avant-garde composer John Cage. Beuys explores sound and silence throughout his work. This is seen in objects like ‘Noiseless Blackboard Eraser’ (1974), in his use of recorded sound and also of pianos, which are frequently muffled by his trademark rolls of felt.© DACS 2006 http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2762/artist_name/Joseph Beuys National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2762/artist_name/Joseph Beuys Joseph Beuys - 1974-1977. By the time of Beuys's first trip to America, on the 1974 lecture tour 'Energy Plan for the Western Man', the artist was well known for his public talks. During his lectures, Beuys would make notes on a blackboard, many of which became works of art in their own right. In his Minneapolis lecture, he drew on lithographic printing plates instead of a blackboard, which were later used to make the series of six prints, 'Minneapolis Fragments' (1977). This is one of those plates. Although it has been cancelled by incising it with an 'X' so no further prints can be made, Beuys has transformed it into a new work by adding hare's blood, an ink stamp and his signature. Beuys associated hare's blood with female creativity.© DACS 2008 http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2762/artist_name/Joseph Beuys National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2762/artist_name/Joseph Beuys Joseph Beuys - 1959. Witches are often seen in German art of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. The interest in witches at that time was linked to the larger issue of society's attempt to understand women's bodies and their fertility, a subject which still concerns the artist in this 1959 drawing. Although these images from traditional German art would have been known to Beuys, his presentation of women as witches also refers to his own particular fascination with ancient and mysterious characters. Shown against a background suggestive of flames, Beuys's depiction of these two figures as fearsome and powerful shows his respect for a world where primitive, spiritual powers take precedent.© DACS 2008 http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2762/artist_name/Joseph Beuys National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2762/artist_name/Joseph Beuys Joseph Beuys - 1959. Although the imagery of this drawing is difficult to decipher, the stag is an animal which held a particular mystical power for Beuys. The artist would refer to himself as the 'stag leader'. With his work steeped in Germanic tradition and legend, Beuys's use of the stag references the animal as the traditional emblem of the Northern forest, as well as its role as a spirit guide in Celtic mythology and the crucified Christ in Christianity. The stag is a symbol of masculine power, but also has a feminine aspect in the annual shedding of its antlers, symbolising fertility.© DACS 2008 http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2762/artist_name/Joseph Beuys National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2762/artist_name/Joseph Beuys Joseph Beuys - 1958-1985. This collection of metal objects has the appearance of mysterious pieces of scientific apparatus, much like the items which appear in the artist's drawings of the 1950s and 1960s. The metals used here are iron and copper. Beuys saw iron as a masculine metal, connected with the planet Mars, while copper was associated with Venus and femininity. Part of the work was shown in the 'Zeitgeist' exhibition in Berlin in 1982, where Beuys had referred to it as a 'workshop' in which ideas for setting the world to rights could be fashioned.© DACS 2008 http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2762/artist_name/Joseph Beuys National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2762/artist_name/Joseph Beuys Joseph Beuys - 1976. This work relates to the artist's installation 'Honeypump at the Workplace', which was shown at the contemporary art exhibition Documenta VI in Kassel in 1977. The work was installed around the staircase of the Fridericianum Museum, and consisted of a series of tubes running into rooms adjacent to the staircase, through which two tons of liquid honey was pumped by a motor. For Beuys, the production of honey and the organisational system of bees in the hive were on a par with human social systems. This drawing also features the ink stamp of the Free International University, co-founded by the artist in 1972 to promote the potential for creativity within each individual.© DACS 2008 http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2762/artist_name/Joseph Beuys National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2762/artist_name/Joseph Beuys Joseph Beuys - 1965. Shamanism is a recurring theme for Beuys. Although the shaman himself does not feature here, his presence is invoked by the depiction of his houses. It is fitting that Braunkreuz oil paint has been used to paint the houses, as one of the reasons Beuys began to use this specific type of paint was its similarity to the paint used for painting houses in rural areas of Germany. The matt, almost dusty texture of the paint reminds the viewer of the earth and our origins. The shaman, too, is a representative of man's primitive past and natural, uncultured personality.© DACS 2008 http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2762/artist_name/Joseph Beuys National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2762/artist_name/Joseph Beuys Joseph Beuys - 1951. In this work, Beuys has drawn several repeated shapes which appear to represent the outline of a woolly mammoth. Although animals of all kinds appear in Beuys's drawings, the mammoth represents not only nature but also pre-history. He was fascinated by anything which served as a reminder of the earth's great age, from rock formations to fossil fuels. In connection with his artistic exploration of sources of energy and heat, Beuys's scientific mind may also have been interested in the warm coat of the animal and its process of secreting a greasy fat into its hair in order to stay warm.© DACS 2008 http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2762/artist_name/Joseph Beuys National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2762/artist_name/Joseph Beuys Joseph Beuys - 1965. This drawing is a study of several different creatures. On the left are the long legs of a bird, paired with strange rectangular wings which have a mechanistic look. The shape at the top is a schematic drawing of a bird's body with a horizontal line to represent outstretched wings. Extending below the body is a long shape which looks like the segmented body of a bee. To the bottom right is a pair of swans. Beuys's interest in the swan can be traced back to his childhood, when he was told medieval legends involving swans and could see the sculpture of a golden swan on the roof of a castle from his bedroom window.© DACS 2008 http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2762/artist_name/Joseph Beuys National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2762/artist_name/Joseph Beuys Joseph Beuys - 1985. This photograph shows the action ‘Iphigenia / Titus Andronicus’ that Beuys performed at ‘experimenta 3’ in Frankfurt-am-Main on 29 and 30 May 1969. During the action, Beuys recited the text of Goethe’s play ‘Iphigenia,’ while a loudspeaker on stage relayed the pre-recorded sound of two actors reading ‘Iphigenia’ and Shakespeare’s play ‘Titus Andronicus.’ The upper part of the image shows a white horse, which stood behind the artist on the stage. It stood on a sheet of metal attached to microphones, and every time the horse scraped or stamped its hooves the sound was magnified. The artist walked around the stage, creating noises and striking a pair of cymbals, as can be seen in the bottom part of the photograph. The action was intended to unite the worlds of nature and culture.© DACS 2006 http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2762/artist_name/Joseph Beuys National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2762/artist_name/Joseph Beuys Joseph Beuys - 1952. This drawing relates to a sculpture of 1961 called 'Virgin'. Made of teak wood carved in simple geometric shapes, the sculpture is three metres long and lies on the ground with legs splayed, as shown in this work. Beuys's depictions of women often connected them to the natural world and seasonal cycles. The use of dark brown oil paint for the drawing suggests a connection with the earth, and the figure blends easily into its earthy surroundings. The circular stamp to the left of the drawing is likely a later addition.© DACS 2008 http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2762/artist_name/Joseph Beuys National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2762/artist_name/Joseph Beuys Joseph Beuys - 1980. Beuys's political involvement had a great influence on his art from the 1960s onwards. The title of this work translates as 'struggle' or 'fight' and is based around an image painted in Braunkreuz oil paint, which looks like two opposing masses in combat. Around this, the artist has written words in capital letters including 'state' 'denationalisation', 'job', with other notes made on the pieces of paper which are attached to the central section, like the tentacles of a jellyfish. Beuys was one of the founding members of the Green Party in 1980, and stood as the official candidate for the party in Düsseldorf in the same year.© DACS 2008 http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2762/artist_name/Joseph Beuys National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2762/artist_name/Joseph Beuys Joseph Beuys - 1952. Crosses often appear in Beuys's work, typically daubed in brown paint or printed as part of a distinctive circular stamp. At one time, it was part of the artist's strategy to create new works by adding small brown crosses to pre-existing images. In this collage, the cross is the central focus rather than an addition. Its shape recalls the logo of the international relief agency The Red Cross, which links with the artist's interest in medicine and healing. More traditionally, it also recalls Christian iconography.© DACS 2008 http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2762/artist_name/Joseph Beuys National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2762/artist_name/Joseph Beuys Joseph Beuys - 1984. Nature played an important role in Beuys's art. While his early drawings and paintings depicted nature or used natural elements and pigments, his later work combined his interests in politics and nature. The title of this drawing translates as 'The Plantation' in Italian. It relates to a project the artist began in 1984, on his sixty-third birthday, to plant four hundred trees and bushes in Bolognano. He was made an honorary citizen of the town in the same year. Beuys particularly loved Italy, and his work was exhibited there during his lifetime more than in any other country.© DACS 2008 http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2762/artist_name/Joseph Beuys National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2762/artist_name/Joseph Beuys Joseph Beuys - 1972. By the 1970s, Beuys was deeply involved with politics. In 1972, he founded the Committee for a Free University and was working with the Organisation for Direct Democracy through Referendum, which had been formed the previous year. The title of this print translates as 'We are the Revolution'. Beuys presents a strong image of himself striding towards the viewer in a confrontational way, as if ready for action himself and encouraging us to join him. This work is even more striking when seen in real life, as it is nearly two metres tall so the artist appears life-size and as if poised to step out of the image.© DACS 2008 http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2762/artist_name/Joseph Beuys National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2762/artist_name/Joseph Beuys Joseph Beuys - 1972. This famous image of Beuys was originally used on a poster for a Beuys exhibition held in Naples in 1971 – hence the Italian title of the work. In the late 1960s and early 1970s revolution was in the air, particularly among students. There were demands to change society and the means of production. Beuys does not deny that society needs to change, but stresses first and foremost that people must change before true revolution can take place. In this work Beuys sets himself up as a Christ-like figure striding confidently into the future, encouraging us to do the same.© DACS 2010 http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2762/artist_name/Joseph Beuys National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2762/artist_name/Joseph Beuys Joseph Beuys - 1953 / 1962. 'Langhaus' can be variously translated as 'nave' such as one finds in a church, or 'longhouse', such as the dwelling house for one or several families found in early north European regions or, still today, in tribal communities in the Amazon region or the South Seas. The block of wood has a small piece of felt attached to the top, suggesting, according to Beuys's usual iconography, the idea of protection, a connotation strengthened by the length of felt also lying in the vitrine. The walking stick lying alongside the felt is a traditional Beuysian symbol for leadership and protection, much as a shepherd looks after his flock.© DACS 2008 http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2762/artist_name/Joseph Beuys National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2762/artist_name/Joseph Beuys Joseph Beuys - 1961. The 'elastic sculpture' could refer to a felt sculpture which takes on the curves of the female figure. However, the woman who pushes against the large mass seems to almost be absorbed into it and overwhelmed by it, as it edges her out of the picture. The collaged element of this work is a diary page, which has been covered with the same Braunkreuz oil paint used for the painting. The inclusion of the page brings an aspect of the everyday to the image.© DACS 2008 http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2762/artist_name/Joseph Beuys National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2762/artist_name/Joseph Beuys Joseph Beuys - 1981. This collage is typical of many of Beuys's works on paper. Pieced together from diverse scraps of paper, are small sketches, notes and calculations. The drawings and symbols were part of the personal language the artist used in his drawings. At the top of the collage is a plan or diagram, which may relate to the symbols of the elements aluminium and silicon (Al and Si) which appear on several pieces of paper. The sum of money 90,000 DM (Deutschmarks) also appears. Although his work from the 1960s onwards was primarily associated with sculpture and ‘actions’, drawing remained an important part of Beuys's working process, enabling him to capture his thoughts and feelings quickly and easily.© DACS 2008 http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2762/artist_name/Joseph Beuys National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2762/artist_name/Joseph Beuys Joseph Beuys - 1964-1980. This collage returns to the theme of energy which Beuys explored many times. He has used a variety of everyday materials for this work, including acid and aluminium foil. Although these are traditionally unusual to include in an artwork, they are among many humble materials the artist favoured. In particular, the acid causes and represents decay, and Beuys would have used it to make this chemical process become part of the work. The three drawings on the pieces of paper which have been attached to the cardboard are presumably of components which are part of the 'motor' of the work's title.© DACS 2008 http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2762/artist_name/Joseph Beuys National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2762/artist_name/Joseph Beuys Joseph Beuys - 1964-1982. The title given to this object relates it to Max Ernst's 'Histoire Naturelle' (Natural History) portfolio, published in 1926. Ernst used the technique of frottage to create fantastical drawings based on rubbings taken from woodgrain. Beuys has gone directly to the source of Ernst's images by presenting a piece of wood which is beautifully textured and neatly cut into a square. This work shows that Ernst's interest in the potential of the natural world was shared by Beuys. The two German artists also share a 'rebirth' myth, as Ernst claimed to have 'died' at the start of the First World War and been resuscitated in 1918.© DACS 2008 http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2762/artist_name/Joseph Beuys National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2762/artist_name/Joseph Beuys Joseph Beuys - 1974. The horizontal lines of this painting give the impression of looking up at rafters in the roof of a building. The medium of Braunkreuz paint was a favourite of Beuys, and one the artist had used since the 1950s. He used it not so much for its colour as for the sculptural quality it brought to his works on paper. The matt, almost dusty effect it created is also reminiscent of the earth. Animals often appear in Beuys's drawings and paintings, and three rat-like animals can be seen here, two of which appear to be fighting.© DACS 2008 http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2762/artist_name/Joseph Beuys National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2762/artist_name/Joseph Beuys Joseph Beuys - 1966. In 1966, Beuys and his friend Per Kirkeby made an 'imaginary' journey with their wives to the village of Manresa in the Pyrenees. Kirkeby subsequently wrote about the journey and Beuys performed the 'action' 'Manresa' later that year. The village is significant for its connection with Ignatius Loyola who spent several months there in meditation, prior to writing his volume of prayers 'Spiritual Exercises'. The book is based around the idea that 'Intuition is a higher form of reason' – a belief the artist shared. The village is a place of pilgrimage for Catholics and is generally associated with spiritual enlightenment. Beuys used this circular object in his 'Manresa' 'action'.© DACS 2008 http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2762/artist_name/Joseph Beuys National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2762/artist_name/Joseph Beuys Joseph Beuys - 1970. Wearing his unmistakeable felt trilby hat, with his fishing vest poking through a luxuriant fur-lined jacket, this large image (over two metres square) shows Beuys at his most iconic. The clothes he wears here were part of his artist's 'uniform', chosen for comfort and practicality (the multi-pocketed vest was particularly useful) but also as a way to create his image. Fittingly, he is depicted with one of his most distinctive sculptures. In the foreground is 'The Pack' (1969), a group of twenty-four sledges. Each one has its own survival kit including fat for sustenance, felt for warmth and a torch for navigation, making the artist's signature materials part of this image too.© DACS 2008 http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2762/artist_name/Joseph Beuys National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2762/artist_name/Joseph Beuys Joseph Beuys - 1967. The title of 'Partitur' indicates that this collage is a score, which sets it in a musical context. The idea of a work of art as a 'score' reflects the artist's concept of drawing as a source or 'reservoir' of ideas for future artistic projects. However, unlike most musical scores, which are designed to be read by anyone wishing to perform the piece, this work remains personal to the artist. Beuys's first 'action' was performed in 1963, in connection with the Fluxus group. Although the group included artists experimenting in all forms of artistic activity, it was their use of music which was particularly influential on Beuys.© DACS 2008 http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2762/artist_name/Joseph Beuys National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2762/artist_name/Joseph Beuys Joseph Beuys - 1966. This drawing is a plan for the 'action' 'Manresa', performed in 1966. Manresa is a village in the Pyrenees which is associated with Ignatius Loyola, the author of the book 'Spiritual Exercises'. In the 'action', Beuys used the motif of a divided cross to refer to the geographical and spiritual divide between East and West, and the need for unification and healing. Here, we can see the halved cross, as well as triangular shapes. In Christianity, this shape refers to the Holy Trinity but Beuys's use of the shape also refers to his belief in the triad of 'thinking, feeling, wanting' which he described as influencing his triangular, wedged 'Fat Corners'.© DACS 2008 http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2762/artist_name/Joseph Beuys National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2762/artist_name/Joseph Beuys Joseph Beuys - 1966. The title of this work translates as 'Score for Siberian Symphony'. This refers to the artist's first performance or 'action' in February 1963, called 'Siberian Symphony'. The central part of the performance was a piano composition by Beuys, as the word 'score' indicates. This was blended into a piece of music by the early twentieth-century, avant-garde composer Erik Satie. The music was supported by props, including lumps of clay connected by wire and a blackboard with a dead hare hung on it. The simple style of this collage is reminiscent of the artist's early list-style drawings, which use words for visual effect and structure.© DACS 2008 http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2762/artist_name/Joseph Beuys National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2762/artist_name/Joseph Beuys Joseph Beuys - 1955. The choice of red for this painting would seem like an obvious one, reflecting both the heart and the virtues of honour and courage of the revolutionary in the title of the piece. Red also represents socialism, a belief of Beuys which became central to his later work. However, the colour red is used sparingly and symbolically in the artist's work, and here it makes a bold statement on life, vitality and the future. The inclusion of the round shape to represent a planet brings an astronomical element into the work.© DACS 2008 http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2762/artist_name/Joseph Beuys National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2762/artist_name/Joseph Beuys Joseph Beuys - 1962. Allusions to different branches of science are brought together in this two-part drawing, which refers to physics, chemistry and astronomy. In the top part, selected words have been covered with paint, as if to 'absorb' them into the medium. In the bottom part, the covering of words seems more artful, with longer sweeps of paint used, as if charting the movements of stars. The work includes a sense of passing time over a twelve-hour period, with the top part marked 23:00 hours and the bottom 11:00 hours. It may have been made to record a particular event.© DACS 2008 http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2762/artist_name/Joseph Beuys National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2762/artist_name/Joseph Beuys Joseph Beuys - 1963. Play 17 is one of several short plays Beuys wrote in the early 1960s. As seen here, most consist of a list of characters with a few lines of instruction. The first line shows that the play is set 'In a room with 4 fat corners acting together'. This is followed by a list of animals and insects and concludes with the stage directions; 'The animals vanish as soon as the Western man enters. Simultaneously projected on the room's north wall the 'Eastern man''. This reflects the artist's belief that Western culture had separated itself from nature, unlike Eastern culture. The play's importance to Beuys is shown by the fact it exists in several handwritten versions and four multiple editions. It was written as a scenario for an 'action'.© DACS 2008 http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2762/artist_name/Joseph Beuys National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2762/artist_name/Joseph Beuys Joseph Beuys - 1979. This work is based around the shape of the triangle. The triangle or triad is used in Christianity, but also in theosophy and the writings of the philosopher Rudolf Steiner, who believed that the development of humanity could be tracked by the movement of state, economy and intellectual life. Beuys was greatly interested in Steiner's theories on society and he also used the shape as a symbol for his own theory of sculpture, to suggest unity and harmony but also movement. Newspapers are used as a basis for many of the artist's works, and here are artfully revealed and concealed.© DACS 2008 http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2762/artist_name/Joseph Beuys National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2762/artist_name/Joseph Beuys Joseph Beuys - 1984. Although Beuys did not create art in a deliberately abstract style, this work is reminiscent of German artist Josef Albers's series of works 'Homage to the Square', as well as of the colourful abstracts of Beuys's favourite pupil, Blinky Palermo. The use of the square here focuses attention on the simplicity of the shape and the colour, made all the more striking by the neutral cardboard background. Beuys viewed colour as a 'material', using it deliberately and sparingly. As red is a primary colour, it can be used as the basis for many more colours. It also has associations with life, vitality and blood.© DACS 2008 http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2762/artist_name/Joseph Beuys National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2762/artist_name/Joseph Beuys Joseph Beuys - 1952. The overall theme of this work seems particularly female, from the title to the two representations of a female figure. On the right is an upright, curvy figure, while a female torso and legs can be seen diagonally across the image. Beuys's inclusion of colour in his work is both deliberate and meaningful, as he used colour as a 'substance' in the same way as he incorporated unusual materials into his paintings. As much of his work used neutral colours like greys and browns, colour becomes all the more obvious. Here, he has included pink dots at the feet of the female figure, presumably the 'Roses' of the title.© DACS 2008 http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2762/artist_name/Joseph Beuys National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2762/artist_name/Joseph Beuys Joseph Beuys - 1962-1972. 'Runrig' was an 'action' performed by Beuys in 1973 which related to the rotation of crops. The dating of this work suggests it was first started a decade before the 'action' was carried out and finally finished the year before it. The squares of colour on this work are taken from a paint colour chart, and they contrast greatly with the matt brown of the Braunkreuz oil paint. The artist has made the readymade element distinctly his own by the addition of his signature type of paint.© DACS 2008 http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2762/artist_name/Joseph Beuys National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2762/artist_name/Joseph Beuys Joseph Beuys - 1985. Much of the work Beuys made in his last few years includes objects or themes which suggest death. This sculpture was originally inspired by a ladder the artist found while recovering from illness on the island of Capri in Autumn 1985, which he hung with two stones. When he visited Amalfi at Christmas in the same year, he purchased a ladder (‘Scala Libera’) from a landlord which he used to make this sculpture. Held in suspension, it appears as if the pair of lead weights are preventing this heavy wooden ladder from soaring into the air. This is one of the last sculptures Beuys made. He died in January 1986.© DACS 2008 http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2762/artist_name/Joseph Beuys National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2762/artist_name/Joseph Beuys Joseph Beuys - 1966. The title of the work refers to Alfred Schmela, the German artist and owner of Galerie Schmela in Düsseldorf. Schmela was a promoter of avant garde art and an early supporter of Beuys. Beuys first met Schmela in 1958, and was introduced to Yves Klein by the gallerist. He performed some of his 'actions' at Galerie Schmela, including the infamous 1965 performance 'How to Explain Pictures to a Dead Hare'. This painting in Braunkreuz oil looks to be of a figure at the edge of a cliff, perhaps suggesting Schmela's risky role as pioneer of new and cutting-edge art.© DACS 2008 http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2762/artist_name/Joseph Beuys National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2762/artist_name/Joseph Beuys Joseph Beuys - 1958. In this pencil drawing, we see a statuesque male figure walking purposefully and holding a hammer, the tool of his trade. Beuys had a cousin who was a blacksmith and the artist showed an early interest in the trade, learning how to cast and forge iron when he was young. However, in later years, he would undoubtedly have been interested in the science behind the process and the changes that takes place in the metal to allow it to be shaped and formed. Blacksmiths appear in the legends of many cultures. Widely knowledgeable on legend and folklore, Beuys would have been aware of the Roman God Vulcan and the blacksmith Wayland Smith from Germanic legend.© DACS 2008 http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2762/artist_name/Joseph Beuys National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2762/artist_name/Joseph Beuys Joseph Beuys - 1959. The tiny swan in this painting looks as if it is swimming serenely inside the woman, replacing the foetus inside her pregnant body. The drawing combines male and female elements, with the phallic nature of the swan's neck. Beuys had been fascinated with swans since childhood. A sculpture of a large golden swan sat on top of the tower of Schwanenburg castle (Swan Castle) in his home town of Cleves, and was visible from his bedroom window while he was growing up. With his interest in language, the artist would also have delighted in the similarity between the German words for pregnant woman (Schwangere) and swan (Schwan).© DACS 2008 http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2762/artist_name/Joseph Beuys National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2762/artist_name/Joseph Beuys Joseph Beuys - 1973. Although many of Beuys's works on paper were used to capture early ideas for sculptural works, his 'scores' often relate specifically to his 'actions'. While not all were eventually realised in performance, the scores outline the essential components of the 'action'. Unlike musical scores which use universally understood forms of notation, Beuys's scores tend to be a combination of notes and sketches which could only be fully understood by the artist. In this drawing, we see jagged mountain tops as well as lines of Morse code, ready to be transmitted or received. The title also mentions felt, one of the artist's favourite materials.© DACS 2008 http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2762/artist_name/Joseph Beuys National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2762/artist_name/Joseph Beuys Joseph Beuys - 1954. This is a two-part work on paper, whose title suggests it is either a depiction of sculptures or a plan for sculptures to be made. Beuys used his drawings as a way of setting out ideas before making sculptures, referring to them as a 'reservoir that I can get important impulses from'. The long shapes recall the solid, static symbols the artist used to represent masculinity. They are painted in iron chloride, a chemical the artist often combined with watercolour in his paintings, which has a distinctive orange-brown colour.© DACS 2008 http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2762/artist_name/Joseph Beuys National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2762/artist_name/Joseph Beuys Joseph Beuys - 1976. Inside this envelope is a handwritten manuscript titled 'The Energie (sic) Plan for the Western Man'. This relates to a 1974 lecture tour of the same name that Beuys made in America. It was his first trip to the United States and he used it to lecture on the theme of social sculpture, addressing students and women's groups. The ten-day tour stopped at colleges in New York, Chicago and Minneapolis and during each lecture the artist would make notes on a blackboard, which was an essential tool for his talks. Beuys believed that Western culture was on the verge of an 'energy crisis', which each person must develop their own source of creativity to help combat.© DACS 2008 http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2762/artist_name/Joseph Beuys National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2762/artist_name/Joseph Beuys Joseph Beuys - 1977. 'Show Your Wound' was an installation created by Beuys in 1974-75 in a bleak pedestrian underpass in Munich. Elements used there can be seen in these negatives; a pair of dissecting tables and the heads of two iron agricultural tools, mounted on wooden sticks. The wound was a recurring theme for the artist. On a personal level it referred to injuries he received in the Second World War, his breakdown in the 1950s and his heart attack in 1975. More generally, he used the idea to reference events in Germany's past and the divide between Eastern and Western cultures.© DACS 2008 http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2762/artist_name/Joseph Beuys National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2762/artist_name/Joseph Beuys Joseph Beuys - 1969. The materials used in the making of this work relate to Beuys's experience of being rescued by nomadic Tartars when his plane was shot down during the Second World War. Fat was rubbed into his body and he was wrapped in felt to keep him warm. The sled looks as if it has been prepared for an expedition or in response to an emergency, with a survival kit strapped to it. The flashlight represents the sense of orientation, the felt is protective, and the fat is for food.© DACS 2004 http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2762/artist_name/Joseph Beuys National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2762/artist_name/Joseph Beuys Joseph Beuys - 1971. Beuys once stated; “I have nothing to do with politics – I know only art”, a sentiment which seems odd considering his political involvement. However, he viewed politics as part of an overall strategy for social change through the power of the individual. The early 1970s were a busy time for the artist. One of his campaigns was against party voting, arguing that political parties exploited the hard-working majority to the benefit of the minority who controlled the economy. With this in mind, the Braunkreuz cross at the centre of these felt sheets takes on the appearance of a cross on a voting paper , suggesting that the only way to overthrow the system is through voting.© DACS 2008 http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2762/artist_name/Joseph Beuys National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2762/artist_name/Joseph Beuys Joseph Beuys - 1958. The area of blood-red paint at the centre of this collage is reminiscent of the heart, man's power source, anticipating the artist's later work with sources of energy. Although the red is tempera paint, Beuys did paint with hare's blood in some drawings. On the reverse of the paper, faintly seen from this side, is an architectural drawing of the Catholic Church in Lübeck, a northern German city. The elk or stag appears in many of Beuys's drawings and, according to myth, represented a spirit guide.© DACS 2008 http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2762/artist_name/Joseph Beuys National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2762/artist_name/Joseph Beuys Joseph Beuys - 1965. The title of this work means 'Plastic Substance' in Italian. Although German by birth, Beuys's use of words from different languages (often English) in his work shows the artist's pan-european perspective, and his love of language. The familiar medium of Braunkreuz oil paint is central to this painting. Taken nearly to the edges of the page, the uneven edges and patchy areas of the paint recall the medium's origins as a cheap domestic paint used for houses in rural areas.© DACS 2008 http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2762/artist_name/Joseph Beuys National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2762/artist_name/Joseph Beuys Joseph Beuys - 1957-1971. Although Beuys began this collage in 1957, it was not finished until 1971. The chair is similar to the subject of the artist's 1972 sculpture 'Backrest for a fine-limbed person (Hare-type) of the 20th Century A.D'. This is a cast iron impression of a child's plaster corset, made as a multiple. However, the striding feet of the chair in this collage give it a human aspect, making it seem almost confident and self-possessed. The curved back of the chair is echoed in the lightbulb shape at the top of the image. The stag, in Beuys's bestiary, guided the soul in its journey to the afterlife.© DACS 2008 http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2762/artist_name/Joseph Beuys National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2762/artist_name/Joseph Beuys Joseph Beuys - 1946. At the heart of much of Beuys's artistic output lies an interest in sources of heat and energy. This is demonstrated in his sculptural work and installations through the use of fat and felt as materials. In this painting, the artist depicts the sun and a pylon, two sources of both heat and power. Beuys often incorporated unusual materials alongside watercolour in his paintings. Here he has used iron chloride, a chemical which also represents warmth as it gives off heat during the chemical process of hydrolysis, a reaction caused by water.© DACS 2008 http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2762/artist_name/Joseph Beuys National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2762/artist_name/Joseph Beuys Joseph Beuys - 1962. Over a metre and a half in length, this drawing depicts a strange figure who is part animal, part human. The circular object on which the figure's beak rests is a piece of felt – the material with which Beuys is renowned for using extensively in his sculpture and actions. Felt is part of the artist's iconic story in which his life was saved after a plane crash when he was wrapped in layers of felt and fat. Although felt represents warmth and protection, its composition of compressed fibres or hair also refers to the human body.© DACS 2008 http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2762/artist_name/Joseph Beuys National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2762/artist_name/Joseph Beuys Joseph Beuys - 1977. The presence of the shaman is felt in this drawing, not through the man himself being shown but by his belongings being featured. Beuys felt a deep connection with the figure of the shaman, who appears in tribal cultures across the world. The shape of the bag on the left looks as if a pair of antlers is growing from the top, recalling the artist's fascination with the stag. The hook shape at the side looks like the top of the staff used by a shepherd or shaman. On the bag on the right, a shape like a tuning fork or divining stick emerges from the side of the bag.© DACS 2008 http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2762/artist_name/Joseph Beuys National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2762/artist_name/Joseph Beuys Joseph Beuys - 1952. For Joseph Beuys, drawings were a way to work out ideas in their early stages. He described them as 'reservoirs' from which he could take source material and return to many times. The look of the drawing was not of central important to Beuys, as it was primarily designed to capture and represent his ideas. In this drawing, a page of calculation forms the backdrop for a male figure, drawn in iron chloride, who adds a human presence. The words on the ink stamp can be translated literally as 'Main Stream' or 'Power line', but the stamp is a later addition to the work.© DACS 2008 http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2762/artist_name/Joseph Beuys National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2762/artist_name/Joseph Beuys Joseph Beuys - 1975. Some of Beuys's drawings can be difficult to decipher. Despite the title, neither a human figure nor an animal is immediately apparent here, although the dark shapes in the top drawing are reminiscent of a dog's head. The two rows of drawings beneath appear to show a landscape, and their arrangement resembles a comic strip, as if a story is being told through the sequence. Beuys's drawings often featured the animals he loved. He felt that animals retained a natural instinct and closeness to nature that humans have lost.© DACS 2008 http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2762/artist_name/Joseph Beuys National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2762/artist_name/Joseph Beuys Joseph Beuys - 1964. The list-style structure seen in this work appears in several Beuys drawings of the 1960s. It shows Beuys using words to give structure to a drawing, and prefigures language and sound becoming an important part of the artist's later 'actions'. The list here is made up of the names of healing plants, with some names covered with oil paint and fat. These substances are intended to 'absorb' or 'insulate' the words, performing the same role as the pieces of felt and slabs of fat in Beuys's sculptures.© DACS 2008 http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2762/artist_name/Joseph Beuys National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2762/artist_name/Joseph Beuys Joseph Beuys - 1974. This work is the record or embodiment of an 'Action' performed by Joseph Beuys in the dilapidated, former Edinburgh poorhouse on 10 June 1974. Beuys used three new cooking pots, painted black, to represent the human attribute of thinking, feeling and will. He walked slowly around the edges of one of the rooms offering up the pots to each of the walls. The pots were then put on the floor and tied to a pair of blackboards on which Beuys drew diagrams and works relating to the 'Action'.© DACS 2004 http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2762/artist_name/Joseph Beuys National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2762/artist_name/Joseph Beuys Joseph Beuys - 1958-1985. Sitting on this simple wooden table is an accumulator, a device for storing energy. The wires which attach it to two lumps of clay show that it is powered by the earth. Energy was one of the central themes in Beuys's work, often represented by the motif of the battery. Pieces of scientific apparatus appear in Beuys's work from the 1950s onwards and some of his sculptures also use working machinery. Here, science, nature and art are shown working together to create and store energy.© DACS 2008 http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2762/artist_name/Joseph Beuys National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2762/artist_name/Joseph Beuys Joseph Beuys - 1961. Beuys adopted a shamanistic guise in many of his 'actions' from the 1960s onwards, a role anticipated in his earlier drawings. In this depiction of a shamanic ritual, the image of a standing male figure has been overlaid with that of a crouching female figure. Both figures are shown without their heads; however, the shape behind the man appears to be a head with an enlarged eye. This may represent the 'third eye' which allows perception on a higher, spiritual level. In shamanism, the head is regarded as sacred, being the means of communication.© DACS 2008 http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2762/artist_name/Joseph Beuys National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2762/artist_name/Joseph Beuys Joseph Beuys - 1964. As elsewhere in Beuys's drawings, here we see a sheet of notes in pencil and ink which have been obscured by thick sweeps of dark grey oil paint. This is frustrating for the viewer as we can see only the title and a few glimpses of what is written on the page, yet the covering of paint was a deliberate act by Beuys. It may have been his intention for the paint to 'absorb' the sentiments on the page. The work does not appear to relate to an 'action' which the artist performed, but may be a plan for an intended 'action'.© DACS 2008 http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2762/artist_name/Joseph Beuys National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2762/artist_name/Joseph Beuys Joseph Beuys - 1964. The title of this painting translates as 'Under Tension' or 'electrically live'. It depicts a machine or piece of scientific apparatus, with the conical and cylindrical shapes holding a long strip of metal under tension in a curved shape. Balanced on top of this, there looks to be another piece of metal with a lump of material at each end. Made in 1964, the drawing may relate to an 'action' performed by Beuys or might be a sketch for an unrealised 'action'. The artist included working machinery in his sculptures and 'actions'.© DACS 2008 http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2762/artist_name/Joseph Beuys National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2762/artist_name/Joseph Beuys Joseph Beuys - 1955. In this collage, the artist has combined a leaf with lime, putting a mineral element together with an object from the natural world. Beuys occasionally used leaves and pressed flowers in his early works of the 1940s and 1950s, and drawings of natural forms were included in his first exhibitions after the Second World War. This reflects an interest in the natural sciences which was lifelong. In later years, Beuys referred to the 1950s as a period of preparation, which he spent reading and making hundreds of drawings which influenced his later sculpture and 'actions'.© DACS 2009 http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2762/artist_name/Joseph Beuys National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2762/artist_name/Joseph Beuys Joseph Beuys - 1957. This drawing is an example of Beuys's use of unusual materials for his drawings, being made with stone dust and white clay. It was made while Beuys was living on the farm owned by the van der Grinten brothers, following a nervous breakdown brought on by the delayed after-effects of the war. His materials were most likely taken from the farm and surrounding area. Beuys lived with Hans and Franz Joseph van der Grinten from 1957 to 1960, and they became the first collectors of his work. The subject of the drawing is unclear, but may be a coal scuttle or similar household item.© DACS 2008 http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2762/artist_name/Joseph Beuys National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2762/artist_name/Joseph Beuys Joseph Beuys - 1958. Beuys was an accomplished watercolourist who had painted since childhood. Made in watercolour and tempera, the torn piece of paper used for this work suggests it was made on any material which came to hand, as impulse struck the artist. Although the subject of this work is unclear, it would have been made to capture a particular idea, which may have reappeared in the artist's later work. For Beuys, the look of the drawing was not important and does not indicate the significance of the work to the artist.© DACS 2008 http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2762/artist_name/Joseph Beuys National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2762/artist_name/Joseph Beuys Joseph Beuys - 1958. This work was made in oil paint on architectural paper. The background of horizontal and vertical lines printed on the paper contrasts sharply with the artist's brushstrokes. The coldness of the printed lines jars against the richness and warmth of the oil paint. Just as with his later sculptural works, Beuys's drawings of the late 1950s were an exploration of form and material. As an artist, he was always interested in bringing together opposing elements in his work and exploring the properties of the materials he used.© DACS 2008 http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2762/artist_name/Joseph Beuys National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2762/artist_name/Joseph Beuys Joseph Beuys - 1959. The brown used in this drawing is the 'Braunkreuz' (literally translated as 'Brown cross') oil paint Beuys used from the 1950s onwards. The effect of the paint reminded the artist of the walls and floors of houses in his native West Germany, and recalls earth and nature. Here, the matt paint looks as if it has been painted over something to hide it, with the deliberate triangular shape at the top of the page, and the way the paint clings closely to the edges of the strange shape or figure below.© DACS 2008 http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2762/artist_name/Joseph Beuys National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2762/artist_name/Joseph Beuys Joseph Beuys - 1959 - 1960. Mounted between two sheets of plexiglass and displayed in a zinc frame, this drawing has been transformed into a three-dimensional object. The conical shapes are reminiscent of stylised cooling towers from a power station, complete with smoke at the top. This reflects the artist's interest in sources of heat and power. The two crosses represent positive energy. Beuys's choice of zinc for the frame would have been a deliberate one, as he chose his materials for the qualities they represented. Zinc is a metallic element and an essential mineral for life, but equally is poisonous in high concentrations.© DACS 2008 http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2762/artist_name/Joseph Beuys National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2762/artist_name/Joseph Beuys Joseph Beuys - 1961. This pencil drawing has a mysterious and frustrating aspect. The elongated shapes look like words which have been deliberately and artfully scribbled over. Floating like clouds at the top of the page, they are out of our reach as we cannot read what they say, but the viewer's attention is therefore transferred to the shapes on the page and the quality of the medium. In some of Beuys's drawings which include text, the artist covered selected words with materials like Braunkreuz oil paint to let the medium 'absorb' them.© DACS 2008 http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2762/artist_name/Joseph Beuys National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2762/artist_name/Joseph Beuys Joseph Beuys - 1962. Beuys's famous Braunkreuz oil paint is used for this drawing. Depicting two neat identical shapes, the top shape has an extra fringe of brushstrokes around it to blur the edges. These brushstrokes recall smears of earth or dirt, recalling the fact that Braunkreuz was favoured by Beuys because it reminded the artist of the brown oil paint used to paint the walls and floors of rural houses. With its distinctive matt, dry texture, it is closely connected with nature and the earth – the very opposite of what is represented by the carefully painted geometric shapes.© DACS 2008 http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2762/artist_name/Joseph Beuys National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2762/artist_name/Joseph Beuys Joseph Beuys - 1962. Beuys's interest in sound is indicated in this assemblage, which uses a vinyl record as its base. Sound was often an important part of the artist's 'actions', as he viewed the voice as a vital and direct transmitter of energy and a way to sculpt sound. Music also became an integral part of the artist's 'actions' of the 1960s, influenced by his collaborations with the Fluxus group which contained many musicians. Here, Beuys has covered a record with the distinctive matt brown Braunkreuz oil paint often used for his paintings. The addition of seeds and vegetable matter represents nature.© DACS 2008 http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2762/artist_name/Joseph Beuys National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2762/artist_name/Joseph Beuys Joseph Beuys - 1963. The materials Beuys chose to use in his work were selected for very particular reasons. The metal the artist used most often was copper, which, as a very good conductor of heat and electricity, was sometimes combined with felt. Other metals he used were iron, zinc, steel, gold and silver, with each carrying distinct associations. This work uses silver paper. Silver is an excellent conductor and is also associated with medicine and healing, which would have interested the artist. It has been used throughout history to treat wounds and burns, and is renowned for its antibacterial properties.© DACS 2008 http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2762/artist_name/Joseph Beuys National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2762/artist_name/Joseph Beuys Joseph Beuys - 1963-1964. Beuys used newspapers in several of his works of the 1960s, and they are often seen folded up or bundled together. He regarded newspapers as a reservoir of information, commenting; "If all that remained of our century was a pile of newspapers, you would still have an incredibly rich cross section of human activities and specialisations on record, a battery of ideas". In this work, the artist has made additions to newspaper using Braunkreuz paint, in one instance nearly covering the whole page. The brown cross seen in many of his drawings appears at the centre of the piece.© DACS 2008 http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2762/artist_name/Joseph Beuys National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2762/artist_name/Joseph Beuys Joseph Beuys - 1964. Sitting among the scientific and mathematical notations and facing each other as if in conversation, we see the shapes of two hares, painted in gold. For Beuys, gold was associated with alchemy and myth. The hare is an animal which also carries mythological associations. It is sacred to the Germanic spring goddess Ase and has been connected with the resurrection by Christians since medieval times. Beuys associated the animal with birth, the earth and with women. He was so fascinated with the hare that he once owned a Bentley which had a hare as an ornament on the bonnet.© DACS 2008 http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2762/artist_name/Joseph Beuys National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2762/artist_name/Joseph Beuys Joseph Beuys - 1965. The vivid colour of this work suggests blood. Although Beuys sometimes painted with hare's blood, he used red in general to represent life and vitality. Colour was used sparingly by Beuys, as he often favoured the matt brown of Braunkreuz oil paint for his drawings and paintings. As a result, when he does use colour, it is extremely striking and significant. While this neat rectangle of colour may look like a piece of abstract art, this was not one of the artist's primary intentions, as Beuys's wider artistic goal was for the integration of art and reality.© DACS 2008 http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2762/artist_name/Joseph Beuys National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2762/artist_name/Joseph Beuys Joseph Beuys - 1965. Thick wedges of fat are a distinctive material used in Beuys's sculptures, but he also made use of fat in his works on paper. The yellowed edge of the paper here shows where it has been dipped in liquid fat, smearing some of the pencil. Fat is a material with numerous associations for the artist, and one which is not traditionally associated with art. The fact it can be used in both its solid and liquid states represents its ability for chemical and physical change. The significance of the carefully crossed out list of numbers is unknown, but suggests a methodical process or countdown.© DACS 2008 http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2762/artist_name/Joseph Beuys National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2762/artist_name/Joseph Beuys Joseph Beuys - 1972. Throughout his life, Beuys was interested in all aspects of the natural world. As a boy he collected and catalogued biological specimens and produced watercolour paintings of his local area. Among the first works Beuys exhibited after the Second World War were drawings from nature. The pressed leaves used here recall those works. Nature and the environment continued to play an important part in the artist's life throughout the 1970s and 1980s. In 1980 he was a founding member of Germany's Green Party. The following year he launched his ambitious project to plant 7000 trees with accompanying basalt columns in the city of Kassel: '7000 Eichen' (7000 Oaks).© DACS 2008 http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2762/artist_name/Joseph Beuys National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2762/artist_name/Joseph Beuys Joseph Beuys - 1974. Beuys was never seen in public without his felt trilby hat. It was one of the essential components of the image he carefully cultivated for himself. Symbolically, the hat insulated the artist's energetic brain, but more practically it helped to keep his head warm, as the head injuries he received in his wartime plane crash meant he was particularly susceptible to cold. In common with the beliefs of some tribes, Beuys saw the head as sacred. In his drawings the hat is one of the attributes of the shaman, and its presence also represents the presence of the artist.© DACS 2008 http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2762/artist_name/Joseph Beuys National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2762/artist_name/Joseph Beuys Joseph Beuys - 1983. Ink stamps were used by Beuys in his drawings from the 1960s onwards. The kind most often seen is circular in design, featuring several symbols and the word 'Hauptstrom', which translates as 'Mainstream'. This diamond-shaped stamp is found in several works from the 1980s, and its repeated printing over a selection of scraps of paper here has been used to create a dazzling effect. Beuys began using ink stamps as a parody of official stamps used by bureaucracy. His 'Hauptstrom' stamps were often added after a work was made, changing its meaning and date. With the stamp used here, the diamond shape is central to the overall pattern created.© DACS 2008 http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2762/artist_name/Joseph Beuys National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2762/artist_name/Joseph Beuys Joseph Beuys - 1959. A pencil drawing is visible beneath the thick, dark oil paint of this work. Although it looks as if the artist might have been dissatisfied with the drawing and decided to paint over it, it was most likely a deliberate action to include both the pencil and paint elements. The grey oil paint seems like an unusual choice for Beuys, who frequently used the distinctive brown Braunkreuz paint when he wished to use a neutral colour. However, as with the composition of the work, the colour choice would have been intentional.© DACS 2008 http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2762/artist_name/Joseph Beuys National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2762/artist_name/Joseph Beuys Joseph Beuys - 1958. The translation of the bracketed part of the title of this work tells us that it is a 'Representation of a Woman'. The woman is shown as a totemic figure, drawn with broad, confident brushstrokes, her curves contrasting with the geometric shapes of the background. Superimposed on the torso of the figure is a vessel shape. The equation of woman with vessel is found in many of Beuys's works of the 1950s, and is a relatively common one amongst male artists, influenced by Freudian theory. As elsewhere in Beuys's work, the female figure is not individualised.© DACS 2008 http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2762/artist_name/Joseph Beuys National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2762/artist_name/Joseph Beuys Joseph Beuys - 1953 - 1962. This painting has been made on a piece of acetate using two types of oil, including the 'Braunkreuz' oil Beuys often used. Literally translated as 'Brown cross', this was a household paint commonly used for walls and floors. It was frequently used by the artist from the late 1950s when he wished to paint with a neutral material with sculptural qualities. The female figures in Beuys's work are usually shown in active positions, while male figures are static. Here, the two figures are crouching or squatting, as if ready to spring into action. The style of both the figures and the background also reflects Beuys's association of women with fluidity and movement© DACS 2008 http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2762/artist_name/Joseph Beuys National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2762/artist_name/Joseph Beuys Joseph Beuys - 1954. In his drawings, Joseph Beuys often makes connections between humans, our environment and primitive rituals. By referring to the female figure in this drawing as a 'fairy', the artist makes reference to folklore. Beuys was greatly knowledgeable about German folk customs but he was equally interested in shamanism and the tribal magic of other cultures. His use of colour is always deliberate and significant, and in this drawing, he has suggested the woman's connection to nature by surrounding her with green grass. His use of watercolour as a medium also ties in with his depictions of women as fluid and connected with water.© DACS 2008 http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2762/artist_name/Joseph Beuys National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2762/artist_name/Joseph Beuys Joseph Beuys - 1963. The medium of this work, two paintings on board, seems almost too ordinary for Beuys and very different from his work of the same period. Yet by enclosing the paintings in a specially-designed box of glass and zinc, he makes the work refer to his fascination with heat and energy. The artist used several different metals regularly in his work, with each representing different properties - zinc signifies insulation. The box is similar to the vitrines Beuys used to display selections of objects.© DACS 2008 http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2762/artist_name/Joseph Beuys National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2762/artist_name/Joseph Beuys Joseph Beuys - 1966. Beuys's depictions of sea creatures reflect his interest in tribal magic and beliefs. The whale is associated with religion in several cultures, as well as being referred to in the Bible, most notably in the story of Jonah and the whale. Here, three whales circle around a shape which presumably represents a trap. The artist often used sound in his performed 'actions' and this painting also has an aspect of movement and sound. The whales are shown producing water from their blow holes, and have their mouths open as if communicating with whale song.© DACS 2008 http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2762/artist_name/Joseph Beuys National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2762/artist_name/Joseph Beuys Joseph Beuys - 1959. In this drawing we see a female figure, drawn between the vertical lines of lined paper, as if trapped inside an accounts book. The drawing is an example of the artist incorporating the features pre-existing on his material to enhance his work. This device of trapping the woman serves to highlight her isolation. This is a feature frequently seen in Beuys's drawings of women in the 1950s, as is the lack of definition on the figure's face. The woman is shown as statuesque but the falling stone looms ominously above her head, bringing the threat of impending violence to the image.© DACS 2008 http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2762/artist_name/Joseph Beuys National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2762/artist_name/Joseph Beuys Joseph Beuys - 1984. Although Beuys did not create art in a deliberately abstract style, this work is reminiscent of German artist Josef Albers's series of works 'Homage to the Square', as well as of the colourful abstracts of Beuys's favourite pupil, Blinky Palermo. The use of the square here focuses attention on the simplicity of the shape and the colour, made all the more striking by the neutral cardboard background. Beuys viewed colour as a 'material', using it deliberately and sparingly. Yellow is a colour which suggests warmth and sunshine. Another notable appearance of the colour in the artist's work can be found in the multiple 'Capri Battery' (1985), where the yellow suggests the sunshine of the Italian island where Beuys lived while recovering from a lung condition.© DACS 2008 http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2762/artist_name/Joseph Beuys National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2762/artist_name/Joseph Beuys Joseph Beuys - 1971. The figure in this drawing wears the same trilby hat as the artist, showing that Beuys is casting himself as the blacksmith, with the power to work metal, changing its form from solid to liquid using fire. The figure of the blacksmith had been of interest to Beuys since his childhood. At the age of eight he had played games based on the legend of Genghis Khan, and later explained that a rough translation of Genghis Khan was 'John Smith', meaning he would have been a blacksmith. In this role, working with fire to create tools and objects from metal, Beuys compared Khan to a shaman, another figure who appears in the artist's work.© DACS 2009 http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2762/artist_name/Joseph Beuys National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2762/artist_name/Joseph Beuys Joseph Beuys - 1977-1984. This negative image shows a pair of dissecting tables which were used in the 1974-75 installation 'Show Your Wound'. Beuys created the installation in a dark and dingy pedestrian underpass in Munich, where the sounds of traffic overhead and harsh glare of neon lights were an integral part of the atmosphere created. Above the tables are two rectangular metal boxes, their placement suggesting the position of 'heads' to bodies lying on the beds. Beuys used double images and objects to refer to death, and the divisions within people and society. As he had suffered a heart attack in 1975, the allusions to death and inclusion of the tables (as used in a mortuary) are particularly striking.© DACS 2008 http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2762/artist_name/Joseph Beuys National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2762/artist_name/Joseph Beuys Joseph Beuys - 1974. Beuys began to use blackboards in his early 'actions' when working with the Fluxus group in the early 1960s. They were an effective way of transmitting information in the lectures he gave, which became an increasingly important part of his later work. This is the only blackboard in the ARTIST ROOMS Collection. Taken from a lecture given in the West German city of Bochum, the artist seems to be showing how nature should be at the centre of our society. The circles and lines connecting animal, man and nature (represented by sketches of the sun and mountains) support Beuys's belief that we must listen to our natural instincts.© DACS 2008 http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2762/artist_name/Joseph Beuys National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2763/artist_name/E. Roland Bevan E. Roland Bevan, Professor Sir Alexander Fleming - Dated 1948. This bronze cast was acquired the year after Sir Alexander Fleming's death, although the original sculpture was created in 1948. By this time Fleming was an international celebrity, showered with honours and awards for his contribution to the discovery of penicillin and his pioneering research on its antibacterial properties. Twenty years earlier he had made the world-famous observation of a mould inhibiting the growth of bacteria, suspecting that the mould, Penicillum notatum, had accidentally entered his laboratory through an open window. Although Fleming was a shy man, the sculptor E Roland Bevan would have had ample opportunity to study his features, as he was his snooker partner - or opponent - at the Chelsea Arts Club for many years. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2763/artist_name/E. Roland Bevan National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/10174/artist_name/Robert Bevan Robert Bevan - 1922. Mydlow, near Opatow in the south of Poland, was the home of Bevan’s wife Stanislawa de Karlowska’s sister and brother-in-law, and the Bevan family often visited them. Robert Bevan recalled a visit to Opatow, stating “My father went off to draw, and was arrested by the Russian police for spying, though the town had no military establishments and was really little more than a huddle of tumbledown buildings round a large church”. Bevan first painted the well at Mydlow in about 1909; this version dates from 1922 but is almost identical to the earlier one. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/10174/artist_name/Robert Bevan National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2765/artist_name/William Bewick William Bewick, Francis Jeffrey, Lord Jeffrey - 1824. Jeffrey had a distinguished legal and political career. As Lord Advocate he had responsibility for the Scottish Reform Bill of 1832. He was also a brilliant literary critic; he was one of the founders of the Edinburgh Review, an influential and successful periodical which he edited for several years. The English artist Bewick made this drawing during a visit to Scotland; Sir Walter Scott gave him a letter of introduction to Lord Jeffrey who, because of his busy schedule, agreed to sit for him over breakfast. The artist was impressed by his sitter's lively expression but said that it 'required to be caught on the instant, as it vanished in the next'. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2765/artist_name/William Bewick National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2765/artist_name/William Bewick Sir William Allan, William Bewick - Dated 1824. Edinburgh-born artist William Allan was apprenticed to a coach painter before studying at the city’s Trustees’ Academy. He continued his studies in London until 1805. That year he went to Russia and traveled widely in the region until he returned to Scotland in 1814. Allan settled in Edinburgh where he painted scenes inspired by his travels as well as subjects from Scottish history. In 1826 he became Master of the Trustees’ Academy and in 1838 was elected President of the Royal Scottish Academy. This large chalk drawing of Allan is by William Bewick, who visited Scotland in 1824 on a fund-raising mission. During his visit Bewick drew a series of portraits of important Scots including surgeon Robert Liston, writer Anne MacVicar and artist Alexander Nasmyth. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2765/artist_name/William Bewick National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/4532/artist_name/Abraham van Beyeren Abraham van Beyeren - About 1660. In this 'pronkstilleven' (Dutch for ‘sumptuous still lifes’) van Beyeren depicted a large variety of luxury objects, such as the Wan-li kraak (Chinese export porcelain) bowl, the Venetian glasses, brass mortar, and the pheasant and two hares. They are expressions of wealth as well as a demonstration of the artist’s painterly virtuosity. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/4532/artist_name/Abraham van Beyeren National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2766/artist_name/Jean-Joseph-Xavier Bidauld Jean-Joseph-Xavier Bidauld - about 1798. Sannois is two miles to the north of Argenteuil, just outside Paris. Bidauld’s sketch was probably begun in the open air but finished in the studio. Such fresh, preparatory oil-sketches represented the unofficial side of the classical landscape tradition, of which Bidauld was a major exponent. Indeed, in the latter part of his life he was reviled as a reactionary figure by the younger generation of landscapists, such as Théodore Rousseau. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2766/artist_name/Jean-Joseph-Xavier Bidauld National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/10101/artist_name/Richard Billingham Raymond Billingham, Richard Billingham - 1995. This photograph shows Billingham's father Ray, whom the artist describes as 'a chronic alcoholic. He doesn't like going outside and mostly drinks home brew.' Billingham's pictures of his family are funny but also poignant and slightly alarming. He photographs his parents and younger brother sitting about at home, eating, drinking and doing nothing. In so doing, he presents a portrait of his family at their best and worst.© The Artist. Courtesy of Anthony Reynolds Gallery, London http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/10101/artist_name/Richard Billingham National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/10101/artist_name/Richard Billingham Elizabeth Billingham, Richard Billingham - 1995. This photograph shows Billingham's mother Liz and her cat. The artist says that his mother "likes pets and things that are decorative." Billingham's photographs show a no-holds-barred representation of his family, where sometimes the pets seem to be the most normal family members. He has denied that there is any political agenda behind his photographs, insisting they are merely loving portrayals of his family.© The Artist. Courtesy of Anthony Reynolds Gallery, London http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/10101/artist_name/Richard Billingham National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2767/artist_name/Sir Oswald Birley Sir Oswald Birley, John Reith, 1st Baron Reith of Stonehaven - 1933. In 1922 Reith became the first general manager of the British Broadcasting Corporation and from 1927 he was its Director-General. He had real vision about the role of the BBC in the life of the nation and was largely responsible for establishing the public service ethos of broadcasting and his standards (often imposed dictatorially) are still just evident. This painting is a copy of one commissioned by the BBC. Reith selected the artist who has successfully conveyed his sitter's determined nature. A large scar, received during the First World War, is just visible on his left cheek.© Estate of Sir Oswald Birley http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2767/artist_name/Sir Oswald Birley National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2768/artist_name/Julius Bissier Julius Bissier - 1964. This is one of Bissier's late works. It is painted in tempera on a cloth prepared by the artist, which is the reason for its uneven edge. Bissier mixed his own pigments to produce rich, transparent colours. Influenced by oriental paintings, Bissier applied paint delicately, with a similar importance placed on line. The delicate, abstract qualities of this painting are balanced by the use of strong areas of colour. Bissier's works tend not to be either fully abstract or figurative but the shapes in his paintings often suggest everyday objects.© DACS 2005 http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2768/artist_name/Julius Bissier National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/23666/artist_name/Karla Black Karla Black - 2008. This large work fills and dominates the specified space it is created in. Comprising a variety of materials typical to Black’s work, the sculpture’s fragility contrasts to its commanding nature. The subtle pink colour is created with crushed children’s chalk, which, when combined with crisp white plaster and billowing polythene sheets, creates a sense of both movement and tranquillity. With its deliberate edges the work moves away from being purely gestural to demonstrate Black’s definitive decision-making process. Black’s intentionally evocative titles, such as ‘Contact Isn’t Lost’, highlight her belief that language occupies a secondary role in comparison to the work itself and the effect it has on the viewer.© Karla Black http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/23666/artist_name/Karla Black National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2770/artist_name/Elizabeth Blackadder Elizabeth Blackadder - 1965. Blackadder has become well-known for her paintings of flowers, which began to appear in her drawings and paintings from the 1960s. After acquiring several Persian rugs in 1964, Blackadder began a series of paintings inspired by their rich colours and patterns. At that stage in her work, as with 'Flowers on an Indian Cloth', flowers were generally incorporated to form an overall decorative composition. The 1960s were an era of optimism, which is reflected in the artist's use of bright colours.© Elizabeth Blackadder http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2770/artist_name/Elizabeth Blackadder National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2770/artist_name/Elizabeth Blackadder Elizabeth Blackadder - 1996. In this painting, the artist has used watercolours to capture the delicacy of the lilies, as well as their vivid colour. A lifelong lover of flowers, Blackadder kept a collection of local flowers as a child, each pressed and labelled with their Latin names. Here, she depicts the lilies from different angles with the precision of a botanical illustrator. Yet despite her painstaking attention to detail, the flowers look graceful and full of life. Lilies are a favourite flower of the artist, and in 1979 she began keeping a sketchbook to document each variety as it appeared in her garden. Around this time, Blackadder was also a frequent visitor to Edinburgh’s Royal Botanic Gardens, where she helped to run a course in botanical illustration, which gave her access to rare and exotic plants.© Elizabeth Blackadder http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2770/artist_name/Elizabeth Blackadder National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2770/artist_name/Elizabeth Blackadder Elizabeth Blackadder, Margaret Swain - 1999. Textile historian Margaret Swain was the first person to realise that Scotland was unusual in the number of private houses which still contained historic textiles. Swain documented these textiles from old family papers and bills, and brought them to scholarly attention. She made an important contribution to the study of the fine series of tapestries at the Palace of Holyrood and has published on the needlework of Mary, Queen of Scots. In this portrait, Blackadder has used pencil to capture the lines and creases on the sitter's face. The softly smudged colours express a sense of warmth.© Elizabeth Blackadder http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2770/artist_name/Elizabeth Blackadder National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2770/artist_name/Elizabeth Blackadder Elizabeth Blackadder, Mollie Hunter - 1988. Mollie Hunter is best known as an author of fantasy and history novels for children. Born in Longniddry, East Lothian, she maintained that her country upbringing was always at the heart of her writing. Her father’s death when she was nine was a life-changing event which she described in her book ‘A Sound of Chariot’. When Hunter was forced to leave school at fourteen and to take a job in Edinburgh, she studied history and folklore in libraries during the evenings. In 1940 she married Thomas McIlwraith during a period of leave from his Navy training. They spent most of the war years apart, but later had two sons. In the 1980s McIlwraith famously helped Hunter recover from paralysis brought on by arthritis, by developing a special diet for her without animal fats.© Elizabeth Blackadder http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2770/artist_name/Elizabeth Blackadder National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2770/artist_name/Elizabeth Blackadder Elizabeth Blackadder - 1985. Paintings of flowers have been a central part of Elizabeth Blackadder’s work since the 1970s. She began painting orchids in 1980, and in 1993 made a portfolio of orchid etchings in conjunction with Glasgow Print studio, to mark the fourteenth World Orchid Conference being held in Glasgow. The intricate shapes of the orchids in this painting are intensely observed, but they retain a sense of life about them. Blackadder began to incorporate exotic fruit in her paintings in the 1980s, and here has included two Chinese pears as well as pieces of patterned material. The resulting painting is a lively and striking combination of colours, textures and shapes. Blackadder is known for her joyful still-life paintings that bring together diverse and curious objects.© Elizabeth Blackadder http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2770/artist_name/Elizabeth Blackadder National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2771/artist_name/Alexander Blaikley Alexander Blaikley, Amelia Robertson Hill - about 1863. This delicate chalk drawing depicts Amelia Robertson Paton, portrait sculptor and second wife of the painter and photographic pioneer David Octavius Hill. She was also the elder sister of prominent artists Joseph Noël and Waller Hugh Paton. Her earlier works consisted mainly of portraits of family and friends, but her professional career flourished after her marriage, aged forty-two, to D.O. Hill. The Hills were prominent members of the Edinburgh social scene and Mrs Hill sculpted portrait busts of eminent sitters such as Thomas Carlyle, Sir George Harvey and physicist David Brewster. She also completed a number of public commissions, including memorial statues of David Livingston in Princes Street Gardens, and Robert Burns in Dumfries. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2771/artist_name/Alexander Blaikley National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/4535/artist_name/William Blake William Blake, God, Moses - about 1805. Flames and trumpeting angels frame the statuesque figure of God who is seen from behind. Towering over the kneeling Moses, God raises his arms and prepares to inscribe the Ten Commandments on the stone tablets before him. The subject was inspired by an episode in the Old Testament Book of Deuteronomy. This is one of eighty watercolours of Biblical subjects Blake produced between 1800 and 1809. They were made for Thomas Butts, a military clerk, who shared his philosophies and whose son Blake taught to engrave. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/4535/artist_name/William Blake National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/196/artist_name/Abraham van Blijenberch Abraham van Blijenberch, William Drummond of Hawthornden - 1612. William Drummond's father held a position at the court of James VI, and William was brought up amongst poets and writers. He studied in Edinburgh, London, Bourges and Paris, intending to be a lawyer. However, when his father died, Drummond abandoned his legal career and devoted himself to poetry and mechanical experiments. His chief works include Tears on the Death of Meliades, a lament on the death of Prince Henry, and The Cyprus Grove. This portrait shows him in elegant court dress, with a fine lace collar. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/196/artist_name/Abraham van Blijenberch National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2774/artist_name/Pieter van Bloemen Pieter van Bloemen - . This picturesque view of Rome, with the ruins of the Baths of Diocletian in the background, was once thought to be by Jan Asselijn. The current attribution to Pieter van Bloemen is more likely, as this type of Italianate landscape with careful groupings of figures and animals is typical of his work. In the 1560s, fragments of the ruined Roman baths had been converted into the Church of Santa Maria degli Angeli by Pope Pius IV. Van Bloemen, with his masterful control over seemingly incidental detail, has included the tiny cross of the church at the apex of one of the roofs. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2774/artist_name/Pieter van Bloemen National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/178/artist_name/Abraham Blooteling Abraham Blooteling, Sir Peter Lely, Mary II - After 1677. Mary II was the eldest daughter of the future James VII and II and his first wife, Anne Hyde. This beautiful mezzotint by Abraham Blooteling was printed after her marriage to William of Orange in 1677, as it includes her title as Princess of Orange inscribed in Latin. Lely’s portrait, which this print is a reproduction of, was painted around the time of her marriage and shows her sitting in a landscape, holding a posy of flowers. The scalloped hem of her sleeve, just visible on the right-hand side, is more obvious in the painted portrait and would indicate to a contemporary audience that Mary was playing a pastoral role, such as a shepherdess or nymph. These roles were made fashionable from popular plays and masques, and deemed suitable for the depiction of young brides in portraits. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/178/artist_name/Abraham Blooteling National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2778/artist_name/Robert Henderson Blyth Robert Henderson Blyth, Robert Henderson Blyth - 1946. The artist Robert Henderson Blyth joined the Royal Army Medical Corps in 1941 and served in Europe throughout the Second World War. He carried a lamp in his pack, which, when fitted with a special bulb, allowed him to paint during the hours of darkness. This picture was painted at the end of the war and shows a soldier, who appears to be the artist himself, having a quiet smoke. Behind him, a colleague is either asleep or dead. Far from being a celebration of victory, this is an image of a world devastated by war.© Estate of Robert Henderson Blyth http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2778/artist_name/Robert Henderson Blyth National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2780/artist_name/John Bogle John Bogle, Commodore George Johnstone - about 1774. Commodore George Johnstone had a mixed career as a naval commander and politician. Governor of Western Florida from 1763, a member of Parliament from 1768, and one of the commissioners appointed to negotiate with the American Colonies in 1778, he had a reputation as a hot-tempered dualist and, although courageous, he seems to have lacked judgement. Although this is a beautifully painted miniature, with meticulously rendered textures, the artist still manages to convey something of Johnstone's rather tricky character. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2780/artist_name/John Bogle National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/11137/artist_name/Vitale da Bologna (Vitale dAimo de Cavalli) Vitale da Bologna (Vitale dAimo de Cavalli), Jesus Christ, The Virgin Mary, St Catherine of Alexandria, St Ursula - about 1353 - 1355. One of the Kings is pointing to the star which led them to the Christ Child in Bethlehem. The two female saints are identified by their attributes as St Catherine with the wheel, and St Ursula, accompanied by a few of the eleven thousand companions (with whom, according to her legend) she was martyred. This painting was originally the left panel of a diptych hinged in the middle; the related panel, painted with Christ mourned by saints, is now in the Fondazione Longhi, Florence. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/11137/artist_name/Vitale da Bologna (Vitale dAimo de Cavalli) National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2783/artist_name/David Bomberg David Bomberg, David Bomberg - 1937. This dark, brooding self-portrait was painted in Hampstead in 1937. It is one of a series of introspective works painted that year, which reflect the artist's depression following a number of setbacks. The Tate Gallery had declined to acquire any of his works for their collection; the situation in Nazi Germany was becoming increasingly black, with Jewish artists forbidden to exhibit; and the Civil War in Bomberg's beloved Spain continued. Bomberg, who was Jewish, became actively involved in anti-fascist activities.© The Artist's Family http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2783/artist_name/David Bomberg National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2783/artist_name/David Bomberg David Bomberg - Dated 1955. Although today Bomberg is seen as an important figure in post-war British art, throughout his lifetime he failed to gain much recognition. In 1954, hopeful of a new start, he returned to Spain with the dream of establishing a school of art. This work is one of a final series of figure paintings he completed whilst there. The simplified and fragmented hooded figure represented is not recognisable as the old Spanish gypsy woman Bomberg used as a model. It can be seen as an introspective depiction of the depression that repeatedly shrouded the artist. Painted in the last years of his life, it is perhaps an acknowledgement of his own mortality - showing a weakening figure with bowed head, bathed in a bright, almost religious, light.© The Artist's Family http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2783/artist_name/David Bomberg National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2785/artist_name/Sir Muirhead Bone Sir Muirhead Bone - . This work in watercolour and chalk shows an archway in the continental town of Fonte. Bone’s first prolonged trip abroad was spent in Italy between 1910 and 1912. He travelled to Holland the following year and from the 1920s to 1930s he visited Spain, France, Turkey and Sweden, producing both etchings and watercolours during his trips. There are towns called Fonte in both Italy and Spain, therefore we do not have an exact date for this work as it could have been produced at any time between 1910 and 1930 during Bone’s travels. Bone has made effective use of chiaroscuro in his depiction of the shady archways, contrasting the darkened areas of the arches with the shafts of sunlight falling in between.© Estate of Sir Muirhead Bone. All Rights Reserved, DACS 2009 http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2785/artist_name/Sir Muirhead Bone National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2785/artist_name/Sir Muirhead Bone Sir Muirhead Bone - 1910. This beautifully detailed drawing depicts the National Gallery of Scotland and Bank of Scotland in Edinburgh, as seen from Princes Street. Bone was particularly skilled at depicting detail and it has been suggested that this was a result of his being long-sighted in one eye and short-sighted in the other. The drawing was bequeathed to the National Galleries of Scotland by Sir James Caw in 1950, and is inscribed ‘In return for tea at Edinburgh Sept. 16, 1910.’ Sir James Caw was the first director of the National Gallery of Scotland, from 1907-30 and presumably Bone gave Caw this drawing of his place of work as a gift for providing him with tea.© Estate of Sir Muirhead Bone. All Rights Reserved, DACS 2009 http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2785/artist_name/Sir Muirhead Bone National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2785/artist_name/Sir Muirhead Bone Sir Muirhead Bone - 1910 - 1912. This pastel drawing depicts the Italian town of Todi in Umbria. The ‘rocca’ of the title is the town’s medieval fortress and highest point. This drawing shows the view of the town as seen from the fortress, with the Tevere valley below. Bone visited Italy from 1910-12 - it was his first prolonged visit abroad. This drawing is very different from the precise, architectural etchings with which Bone is normally associated. The expressionistic treatment of the landscape is reminiscent of the Spanish artist El Greco.© Estate of Sir Muirhead Bone. All Rights Reserved, DACS 2009 http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2785/artist_name/Sir Muirhead Bone National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2785/artist_name/Sir Muirhead Bone Sir Muirhead Bone - Dated 1917. As Britain’s first official war artist, Muirhead Bone was posted to the Western Front in July 1916. He sent sketches back for publication in monthly Government journals such as ‘The Western Front’. In 1917 he was posted with the naval fleet, and made a number of watercolours, such as this, of the naval boats on the Firth of Forth and at Scapa Flow. The following year, on 21 November 1918, the German fleet surrendered in the Firth of Forth, signalling the end of German naval power after four long years. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2785/artist_name/Sir Muirhead Bone National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2788/artist_name/William Bonnar William Bonnar, George Johnston - Dated 1849. Although he trained and worked as a physician, George Johnston was a botanist and zoologist at heart. His studies in natural history resulted in some ninety articles in scientific journals and several books on British flora and fauna. In 1831 he was one of the founders of the Berwickshire Naturalists' Club and became its first president. Most of his life he lived in and rarely left his beloved Berwick, and his first major publication was 'The Flora of Berwick-upon-Tweed', which was illustrated by his wife. Other publications include the 'History of British Zoophytes' and his 'History of British Sponges and Lithophytes', which may be the volumes on his desk in this portrait. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2788/artist_name/William Bonnar National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2788/artist_name/William Bonnar William Bonnar, George Meikle Kemp - about 1840. Kemp, who had originally trained as a carpenter, was one of the 54 entrants in the 1836 competition for a Walter Scott memorial in Edinburgh. Inspired by medieval ruins and Gothic architecture, he entered under the pseudonym of John Morvo, a name that appears as an inscription on Melrose Abbey and is thought to have been of a mason working on the building. The proposals earned him one of three prizes, and when the competition was rerun in 1838 Kemp won the commission. Initially controversial, his monument to Scott is a striking Gothic structure that dominates Princes street. Sadly, Kemp drowned in the Union Canal before the monument’s completion. His brother-in-law, William Bonnar, the artist of this portrait, supervised the building work until its conclusion. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2788/artist_name/William Bonnar National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2788/artist_name/William Bonnar Isabella Burns, Mrs John Begg, William Bonnar - 1843. Isabella Burns Begg was the youngest sister of the poet Robert Burns. After the death of their father, she was brought up by her brother. Her many anecdotes of the poet included memories of him asking her to sing his songs so that he could hear how they sounded. She was painted by several artists and photographed by Robert Adamson and David Octavius Hill. Isabella was thought to bear a strong resemblance to Burns, and as such was regarded as the gatekeeper to his memory. In her later years, she lived in Alloway, where she received visitors from all over the world who wanted to hear tales of her brother. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2788/artist_name/William Bonnar National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2790/artist_name/Pierre Bonnard Pierre Bonnard - 1923. This painting shows a view close to Bonnard's home in Vernonnet in northern France. The river Seine can be seen through the trees and bushes, while on the right there are three figures walking through the undergrowth. A fallen tree or branch is reduced to a slashed diagonal line which serves to unite the foreground and distance. As in many of Bonnard's mature landscapes, the rich colour and sensuous handling of paint create a feeling of warmth and luxuriance.© ADAGP, Paris and DACS, London 2004 http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2790/artist_name/Pierre Bonnard National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2790/artist_name/Pierre Bonnard Pierre Bonnard - about 1912 - 1914. In 1912 Bonnard bought a house in Vernonnet a village on the Seine, north west of Paris. He became good friends with fellow artist Claude Monet who lived in the nearby town of Giverny. When Bonnard moved to Vernonnet he abandoned the dark colours he had used in his early work for a palette of glowing purples, pinks, greens and yellows, as seen in this painting. Like many other artists, Bonnard found that the bright light led him to paint in more vibrant tones.© ADAGP, Paris and DACS, London 2004 http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2790/artist_name/Pierre Bonnard National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/4015/artist_name/Francois Bonvin Francois Bonvin - Dated 1881. Bonvin spent the early part of his career painting in his spare time, while working as a clerk for the Paris police. From an early date he specialised in still lifes but also painted intimate genre scenes inspired by Dutch seventeenth-century art. He was a friend of the writer and critic Champfleury and the painter Courbet, who encouraged him to join the Realist movement. His work has been compared with that of the eighteenth-century artist Chardin, whom Bonvin greatly admired, and from whose work he often borrowed particular motifs. Amongst the artists he personally encouraged were Théodule Ribot and Fantin-Latour. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/4015/artist_name/Francois Bonvin National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/5465/artist_name/Gerard ter Borch Gerard ter Borch - about 1655. A young woman with her back to us holds a song book. The relationship between her and the seated figures may be intentionally ambiguous. The man’s keen interest in the girl’s singing suggests his role might that of suitor rather than tutor. The older woman enjoying a drink may have been instrumental in arranging the ‘lesson’. The restrained composition complements the scene’s subtle intrigue and also emphasises the shimmering satins and silks of the characters’ clothes. It is one of at least three versions of the same theme. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/5465/artist_name/Gerard ter Borch National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2791/artist_name/Paris Bordon Paris Bordon - about 1530. The attribution of this drawing to Paris Bordon is based on stylistic comparison with other sheets by him in black and white chalk on blue paper. The soft contours used to outline the toes and the limited use of white highlights reoccurs in some of Bordon’s other work. Bordon produced many studies of the details of figures and draperies that he intended to incorporate into his paintings. This drawing corresponds closely, but not exactly, to the left foot of the figure of St Sebastian in his altarpiece in the Chiesa Arcipretale in Valdobbiadene. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2791/artist_name/Paris Bordon National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2791/artist_name/Paris Bordon Paris Bordon - about 1540. This picture represents the Holy Family resting on their return journey to the Holy Land after their flight into Egypt, and includes the legendary episode of the first meeting of the infants Christ and St John the Baptist. Painted around 1550, the picture was highly praised in verse by the Venetian writer on art Marco Boschini (1660), when it belonged to the patrician Venier family. The striking panoramic landscape recurs in several other mature works by the artist. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2791/artist_name/Paris Bordon National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2791/artist_name/Paris Bordon Paris Bordon - about 1545. The two younger women would have been recognised immediately by contemporaries as courtesans. Their elaborately braided hair cascades over their bare shoulders, and the central figure's unfastened bodice is sensually provocative. She admires her reflection in the mirror held by older woman with a darker complexion, who may be their procuress. The mirror also alludes, however, to the transience of physical beauty. The ornate character of the box-like interior contributes to the painting's spatial ambiguity and its decorative appearance. It was probably painted for a wealthy Venetian patron. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2791/artist_name/Paris Bordon National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2793/artist_name/Orazio Borgianni Orazio Borgianni - about 1615 - 1700. This painting was acquired in Italy by Andrew Wilson on behalf of the Royal Institution in 1830, as the work of Caravaggio. It is, in fact, a copy after an original painting by the Caravaggesque painter Orazio Borgianni, also in the Scottish National gallery’s collection (NG 48). http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2793/artist_name/Orazio Borgianni National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2793/artist_name/Orazio Borgianni Orazio Borgianni, Jesus Christ, St Christopher - about 1615. The huge figure of St Christopher looms out of the dark background, as he stoops under the weight of the diminutive Christ Child. According to legend, it was only when Christopher reached the other side of the river, having carried a child across, who had seemed to get heavier and heavier, that Christ revealed his true identity. He explained to the saint that he had been carrying 'the weight of the world' on his shoulders. The nocturnal setting emphasises Christ's divine light and adds to the drama. Borgianni painted several versions of this composition. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2793/artist_name/Orazio Borgianni National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/1055/artist_name/Christine Borland Christine Borland - 1997. This work is one of a series in which the artist was inspired by crime scenes, after seeing a display in the Police Museum in Glasgow. The display consisted of drops of blood on pieces of paper. Its label explained how it was possible to measure the drops and so calculate what had caused them. Borland was interested in how an entire scenario could be constructed from such minimal information. The photographs in this piece recall the style of police photographs that objectively record a crime scene, while the melons remind us of human flesh. Melons are also often used in the making of films for shooting practice.© Christine Borland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/1055/artist_name/Christine Borland National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/1055/artist_name/Christine Borland Christine Borland - 1999. While doing research at Yorkhill Hospital in Glasgow, Borland discovered that in the hospital grounds was a plane tree grown from a sapling of a tree, underneath which Hippocrates, the founding father of medicine, had taught in the fifth century B.C.. The artist was intrigued by this link with the past, which fitted in with her research into the importance of the family tree in determining medical conditions. Inspired by a Victorian spirit collection of botanical material preserved in alcohol, Borland preserved 100 leaves from the plane tree in individual glass containers. The leaves were bleached so only their beautiful and fragile skeleton-like structures remain.© Christine Borland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/1055/artist_name/Christine Borland National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/1055/artist_name/Christine Borland Christine Borland, William Smellie - 1997. Borland is interested in the relationship between art and anatomy, and in the history of medicine. This work was made following the artist's discovery of two hand-made models used by William Smellie (1697-1763), a pioneer of obstetrics in Scotland. Used in child-birth demonstration lessons, the leather and sawdust models contained real foetal skulls. Although they had a macabre and tragic story, the models equally had a positive role as teaching aids. Borland made this model to the exact specifications of the demonstration models, hand-stitching the leather but using a plastic skull. The work poignantly suggests the unknown foetuses used in the original models.© Christine Borland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/1055/artist_name/Christine Borland National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2797/artist_name/Derek Boshier Derek Boshier - 1965. Boshier became well-known for his Pop Art paintings in the early 1960s, but by 1965 had progressed to painting in the geometric style which is associated with Op Art. This shift in style came after the artist had spent a year in India and had become increasingly politically aware. ‘Plaza’ is one of a series of paintings which explore the mechanics of perception by using bright and repeated geometric patterns. The painting uses two shaped canvases with the smaller attached to the front of the larger one with metal struts. The sculptural element of the work prefigured the artist’s move into sculpture shortly after this piece was made.© The Artist http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2797/artist_name/Derek Boshier National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2798/artist_name/William Graham Boss Robert Rowand Anderson, William Graham Boss - 1894. This detailed drawing of Robert Rowand Anderson is the preliminary sketch for one of the roundels in the stained glass window commissioned for the east stairwell in the Scottish National Portrait Gallery. The window was presented to the Board of Manufactures by J. R. Findlay, to commemorate the opening of the Museum of Antiquities, which was also housed in the gallery building. There are twenty-four portraits in total, each surrounded by a different floral wreath. Those featured were of the Antiquaries Society’s office bearers in 1891, with Queen Victoria at the top. Anderson was the architect of the Gallery and the window was installed in 1894. Appropriately the wreath that surrounds his portrait is made out of Rowan berries. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2798/artist_name/William Graham Boss National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/6172/artist_name/Sandro Botticelli Sandro Botticelli, Jesus Christ, The Virgin Mary - about 1490. Botticelli's composition, inspired by the work of Filippo Lippi, is unusual in two respects: canvas paintings were still uncommon at this time and the Christ Child was rarely shown asleep. This variation could be interpreted as a reminder of Christ's death. His future suffering for Mankind may also be symbolised by the detailed plants and fruits. The red strawberries, for example, may refer to Christ's blood. They also complement the beautiful rose bower which forms an 'enclosed garden', a symbol of the Virgin derived from the Old Testament Song of Solomon. The painting was probably designed for a domestic setting. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/6172/artist_name/Sandro Botticelli National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2808/artist_name/François Boucher François Boucher - 1762. A young man spies on a young woman asleep in a beautiful garden; they appear like a shepherd and nymph from classical poetry, transformed into a contemporary but idealised setting. Boucher's pastoral themes often depicted charming couples in bucolic settings, accompanied by animals. Here the young man's dog echoes his master's inquisitive stance, but directs his attention to the cat on the woman's lap. The delicate colouring enhances the picture's gentle mood. The proportions of the canvas suggest that it was designed to be set into a wall as part of a decorative scheme. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2808/artist_name/François Boucher National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2808/artist_name/François Boucher François Boucher - Dated 1761. An amorous young birdcatcher makes an offering of a small bird to a barefoot young shepherd girl in an attempt to win her heart. Leaning over the birdcatcher’s shoulder is a young child who attempts to feed the remaining birds some grain, echoing the theme of offering and enticement. These parallel themes of nourishment of both the heart and the body respectively were intended to reinforce the romantic notion that love is as necessary as food. Boucher specialised in this type of decorative pastoral scene, although towards the end of his life such pictures were criticised for their seemingly ‘frivolous’ themes. This painting and its two companions which are also in the National Gallery of Scotland collection, were originally owned by the Marchal de Saincy family. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2808/artist_name/François Boucher National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2808/artist_name/François Boucher François Boucher - Dated 1762. The seemingly innocent romantic gesture of a young man leaving flowers for a sleeping woman thinly veils this painting’s true theme of lust and sexual attraction. His longing gaze signals his desire for her. The woman, like the garden in which she sleeps, is associated with fruitfulness, fertility and procreation. The giant urn above her and vegetables beneath her symbolise her capacity to carry and to nourish any potential children. This painting was exhibited at the 1765 Paris Salon where it was condemned by the French art critic Diderot. Along with the National Gallery of Scotland’s other two pastorals, this picture was in the collection of the Marchal de Saincy family. Originally, the paintings were not all the same size, but were subsequently cut to equal dimensions. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2808/artist_name/François Boucher National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2808/artist_name/François Boucher François Boucher, Madame de Pompadour (Jeanne-Antoinette Poisson) - about 1758. This half length portrait shows the sumptuously dressed mistress of Louis XV reclining elegantly on a couch. Her celebrated beauty is offset by the flowers, ribbons, lace and jewels of her costume, while her considerable intellectual interests are hinted at through the inclusion of the book and her writing desk. Boucher painted a series of portraits of Madame de Pompadour, born Jeanne-Antoinette Poisson, who became one of the most influential and powerful figures of the French court. This painting is based on a larger full-length portrait completed by Boucher in 1756, now in the Alte Pinacotech, Munich. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2808/artist_name/François Boucher National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2808/artist_name/François Boucher François Boucher - about 1747. Following the Paris Salon of 1746, several critics voiced their concern at what they perceived as a decline in the quality of painting. To encourage native artists to renew their approach to history painting, a competition was proposed with the hope that a revival of the French School would follow. This sketch was Boucher’s initial compositional idea (‘première pensée’) for a painting of the Rape of Europa, which he submitted to the 1747 competition. Examples of Boucher’s premières pensées are rare as he often discarded them once the paintings were complete. The drawing demonstrates some initial thoughts that were omitted from the final picture, such as the bull gazing longingly at Europa. Boucher did not win the competition, and was heavily criticised for his unoriginal choice of subject. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2808/artist_name/François Boucher National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2810/artist_name/Louis-Eugène Boudin Louis-Eugène Boudin - about 1892 - 1896. Boudin first visited Trouville in about 1861 or 1862 and painted there each year throughout the rest of his career. This work belongs to a series of seascapes in which he recorded the dinghies and sailing ships that regularly visited the harbour. The small scale and sketchiness of the painting indicate that it was executed quickly in the open air, although there is evidence of some deliberation in the pencil underdrawing. Boudin’s subject matter, technique and light palette are comparable only to Jongkind, who also specialised in seascapes. Both artists had a profound influence on a number of Impressionist artists, including Monet, Sisley and Pissarro. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2810/artist_name/Louis-Eugène Boudin National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2810/artist_name/Louis-Eugène Boudin Louis-Eugène Boudin - Dated 1871. The view shown is Plougastel, situated on the north bank of the river Elorn, near the Atlantic port of Brest. According to an early title for this painting the women in traditional costume were shrimpers. Boudin was an important influence on several of the young Impressionists, especially Monet whom he encouraged to paint out-of-doors. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2810/artist_name/Louis-Eugène Boudin National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2810/artist_name/Louis-Eugène Boudin Louis-Eugène Boudin - Dated 1884. Sea-bathing became fashionable in France in the second half of the nineteenth century and Boudin began painting scenes of holidaymakers on the beach at Trouville and Deauville as early as 1862. These works were so popular that he soon developed a smaller format and sketchy technique, painting rapidly in the open air. In this work holidaymakers (mostly women) sit and chat in small groups, stroll up and down the beach or observe the boats in the bay. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2810/artist_name/Louis-Eugène Boudin National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2810/artist_name/Louis-Eugène Boudin Louis-Eugène Boudin - Dated 1895. In 1884 Boudin acquired a plot of land at Deauville where he built a villa for himself and his wife. In this picture, painted towards the end of his life, he has set up his easel in an isolated spot on the right bank of the river, close to a fisherman’s house. In the central foreground, an upturned boat, inscribed with the work ‘Deauvill’, leads the eye into the distance, where the strong horizontal of the bridge contrasts with the diagonal movement of the river. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2810/artist_name/Louis-Eugène Boudin National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2810/artist_name/Louis-Eugène Boudin Louis-Eugène Boudin - Dated 1874. Although he spent most of his career working on the coast of Normandy, Boudin also paid many visits to the thriving Atlantic port of Bordeaux in the south-west of France. Between 1852 and 1893 he exhibited there frequently and was patronised by local collectors. In the autumn of 1874 he stayed there for six weeks, painting a total of forty-seven works including this one. It shows the river Garonne near the Gironde estuary, situated just below the centre of Bordeaux. The buildings of the town are just visible beyond the varied masts and sails of the boats that crowd the estuary. Boudin’s free brushwork and observation of contemporary life mark him out as an important forerunner of Impressionism. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2810/artist_name/Louis-Eugène Boudin National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2810/artist_name/Louis-Eugène Boudin Louis-Eugène Boudin - 1873. This lively scene is characteristic of Boudin's small paintings of the Normandy coast. Boudin deliberately placed the horizon low in the picture to emphasise the ever-changing sky, here filled with puffs of cloud blown by a strong wind. The wind also animates the sails of the many ships in and around the harbour. The port of Trouville was just a few miles to the west of Honfleur and was one of Boudin's favourite subjects. The building on the point has been identified as the Hotel Bellevue. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2810/artist_name/Louis-Eugène Boudin National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2810/artist_name/Louis-Eugène Boudin Louis-Eugène Boudin - Dated 1892. Although Boudin is associated mainly with the Normandy coast, during the 1890s he regularly wintered in the south of France, painting at Antibes, Beaulieu, Nice, Juan-les-Pins and Villefranche-sur-Mer. He had first travelled to the area in 1885 due to poor health. Villefranche lies on the Mediterranean coast to the east of Nice, and Boudin recorded many views of the harbour, citadel and surrounding landscape. The town has a deep-water harbour, capable of accommodating large boats. In this picture sailors in the right foreground are waiting to be transported across to their ships anchored in the harbour. The old Service de Santé, where sailors would have a medical check-up after arriving at the port, is visible on the right at the end of the pier. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2810/artist_name/Louis-Eugène Boudin National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/10400/artist_name/Samuel Bough Samuel Bough - 1863. Bough first sketched this view in 1837, choosing a vantage point already made popular by the great English landscape painter J.M.W. Turner. This painting of 1863 is based on Bough's earlier sketch, and shows many of the chief features of Berwick. The town had been fought over by England and Scotland for centuries, changing hands no less than thirteen times between 1296 and 1482. The Old Bridge, today one of three bridges spanning the River Tweed at this point, was begun in the reign of King James VI and I in the early seventeenth century. The magnificent ramparts date from the reign of Queen Elizabeth fifty years earlier. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/10400/artist_name/Samuel Bough National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/10400/artist_name/Samuel Bough Samuel Bough - Dated 1856. This dramatically lit scene shows a view just off the harbour of St Andrews, looking back towards the town. The remains of the ruined Cathedral can be seen perched on the hill. They form a backdrop to the foreground drama of the fishing boat venturing out into the turbulent waters of St Andrews Bay, notorious for its heavy swell and frequent shipwrecks. Benefitting from improvements in rail connections across Scotland, Bough made frequent excursions to the coastal towns and villages of the East Neuk of Fife from the 1850s to the 1870s. This painting was completed in 1856, the same year that Bough was elected an Associate of the Royal Scottish Academy. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/10400/artist_name/Samuel Bough National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/10400/artist_name/Samuel Bough Samuel Bough - Dated 1860. The Royal Review of the Scottish Volunteer regiments in Holyrood Park was the defining social event in Edinburgh in 1860. Among the participating regiments was the Artists’ Company whose members included John Pettie, William McTaggart and the expatriate English landscape painter Samuel Bough. Three other leading Scottish painters, D.O. Hill, Noel Paton and W.B. Johnstone, Keeper of the new National Gallery of Scotland, advised the civic authorities on the design of the ceremonial decorations. Bough’s ambitious picture was one of several commemorative paintings undertaken as a commercial venture by opportunistic local artists. In the foreground, below St Anthony’s Chapel, artillerymen are firing a salute to greet Queen Victoria and her cortège who are about to inspect the regiments. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/10400/artist_name/Samuel Bough National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/10400/artist_name/Samuel Bough Samuel Bough - Dated 1853. This charming watercolour shows students having a snowball fight outside the main entrance to Edinburgh University. Established by King James VI in 1583, Edinburgh University is the sixth oldest in Britain. In 1789 Robert Adam supplied designs for a splendid new building with a grand central courtyard, but lack of finances and the architect’s death resulted in a series of delays. The University was eventually completed in 1833 to modified designs supplied by William Henry Playfair. On the left, the entrance to the University, with its great portico framed by six large columns, was the most dominant feature of Adam’s original design. Bough has added subtle white highlights throughout to suggest the fine dusting of snow on the buildings. (VH: Images of Winter Weston Link Display Christmas 2006) http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/10400/artist_name/Samuel Bough National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2812/artist_name/Emile-Antoine Bourdelle Cléopatre Bourdelle, Emile-Antoine Bourdelle, Rhodia Bourdelle - 1919 - 1921. This sculpture is an intermediary model for a six-metre-tall stone carving, which stands on a hill near Niederbruck in Alsace, France. The style of the work reflects Bourdelle's love of French Gothic sculpture. The figure of the Virgin is based on the artist's wife Cléopatre, and the child Jesus is modelled on his daughter Rhodia. Cléopatre was also a sculptor and the head-scarf worn by the Virgin was inspired by one she used when carving, to keep the dust out of her hair. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2812/artist_name/Emile-Antoine Bourdelle National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/4031/artist_name/Samuel Bourne Samuel Bourne - about 1864. The little brick monuments in this picture commemorate the Hindu widows who committed ritual suicide (Suttee) on the funeral pyre of their husbands. Westerners unused to India's religions and customs, were horrified and fascinated by such practices. Photographs like this one were bought in huge numbers by tourists and colonial officials, collecting souvenirs of their time in India. They were also distributed in Britain by a London firm, which made its money by offering glimpses of a distant and seemingly exotic culture to a curious home audience. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/4031/artist_name/Samuel Bourne National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/4031/artist_name/Samuel Bourne Samuel Bourne - 1865 - 1866. Samuel Bourne left England for India in 1862. He remained there for seven years, travelling extensively in the western Himalayas. This beautifully composed photograph shows the Memorial Well in Cawnpore (now Kanpur) in the distance. It was erected in around 1860 as a memorial to the Bibighar massacre, which followed the Siege of Cawnpore. In it many women and children were murdered and their mutilated bodies thrown down the well in an attempt to hide the evidence. From December 1864 until June 1866 Bourne travelled extensively in the area and photographed many scenes of interest which related to the Indian Rebellion of 1857. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/4031/artist_name/Samuel Bourne National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/4031/artist_name/Samuel Bourne Samuel Bourne - about 1866. Samuel Bourne made three expeditions through the Himalayas at remarkably high altitudes. He embarked on the third of those in July 1866, aiming to eventually photograph the source of the River Ganges. Near the beginning of the journey his party had to cross the River Beas. This was done by floating on "mussucks", or inflated buffalo skins. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/4031/artist_name/Samuel Bourne National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/1546/artist_name/Edward Bower Edward Bower, Charles I - . Defeated in the Civil War, Charles I was tried for treason in Westminster Hall in January 1649. This picture shows him in the last month of his life, wearing black, the Garter Star on his cloak and an onyx and diamond jewel on the blue garter ribbon round his neck. Inside the jewel was a miniature of Queen Henrietta Maria, his wife. Charles refused to recognise the authority of the court, but he was found guilty and executed at Whitehall on 30 January. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/1546/artist_name/Edward Bower National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/15479/artist_name/Martin Boyce Martin Boyce - 2006. This dramatic and atmospheric installation incorporates various sculptural elements, which together create a disconcerting, yet somehow familiar, environment. The vocabulary that Boyce has employed is derived from his discovery of a photograph of the concrete trees designed by the Martel brothers for the Art Deco exhibition held in Paris in 1925. According to Boyce these trees “represent a perfect collapse of architecture and nature”. From them he extracted a grid template that has since become a basis for all aspects of his practice. Here, the combination of a free-standing, coloured climbing frame, space-age phone-booths, suspended lighting and his own ‘concrete’ trees, creates a modernist theatre-set that transforms the gallery environment into a sinister playground on a dark night.© Martin Boyce http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/15479/artist_name/Martin Boyce National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/15479/artist_name/Martin Boyce Martin Boyce - 1998 - 1999. The mask element in this work is made from the top of a plywood leg splint designed by Charles and Ray Eames and manufactured in 1942-3. The metal L-bar is part of the Eames-designed storage units (ESU 400s) which were manufactured in 1950-5. Boyce compares the ethos in which the objects were originally made during the post-war boom (using manufacturing techniques developed by the military for mass-production), to the cultural role they now fulfil, based on fashionable taste and monetary value. He deliberately altered the items - making the leg splint into a tribal mask and the L-bar into a spear - in order to highlight their changed role.© Martin Boyce http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/15479/artist_name/Martin Boyce National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/15479/artist_name/Martin Boyce Martin Boyce - 2000. In this work Boyce critiques modernism through his reinterpretation of the Dutch architect and furniture designer, Gerrit Thomas Rietveld’s revolutionary ‘Hanging Lamp’. Rietveld used standard Philips tubular incandescent bulbs and fittings and simply hung them from the ceiling using stock electric wiring. The vertical and horizontal bulbs were hung parallel to each other to form, in effect, an abstract light sculpture. Boyce has hung three fluorescent tubes from the ceiling, but instead of small elegant tubes and fittings, these are the sort one finds in basic office accommodation. The metal chain hanging down from the vertical tube suggests that the fitting has broken and that no-one could be bothered to fix it.© Martin Boyce http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/15479/artist_name/Martin Boyce National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/15479/artist_name/Martin Boyce Martin Boyce - 2006. Boyce’s discovery of a photograph of four concrete trees made by the French artists Joël and Jan Martel in for the famous exhibition of decorative arts held in Paris in 1925 has become the defining point for the future development of his artistic output. He has since gone on to create his own versions of these modernist sculptures, identifiable in his installation based-work. A further derivative of the Martels’ cubist-inspired interpretations of nature is a grid template from which Boyce formed his own modernist typography. These angular letters feature often in his work and allow Boyce to cultivate his interest in language and narrative. This print features the text ‘Concrete Leaves’, the letters of which are made up from this grid pattern.© Martin Boyce http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/15479/artist_name/Martin Boyce National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/15479/artist_name/Martin Boyce Martin Boyce - 2006. Boyce’s discovery of a photograph of four concrete trees made by the French artists Joël and Jan Martel in for the famous exhibition of decorative arts held in Paris in 1925 has become the defining point for the future development of his artistic output. He has since gone on to create his own versions of these modernist sculptures, identifiable in his installation based-work. A further derivative of the Martels’ cubist-inspired interpretations of nature is a grid template from which Boyce formed his own modernist typography. These angular letters feature often in his work and allow Boyce to cultivate his interest in language and narrative. This print features this repeated pattern.© Martin Boyce http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/15479/artist_name/Martin Boyce National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/15479/artist_name/Martin Boyce Martin Boyce - 2006. Boyce’s discovery of a photograph of four concrete trees made by the French artists Joël and Jan Martel in for the famous exhibition of decorative arts held in Paris in 1925 has become the defining point for the future development of his artistic output. He has since gone on to create his own versions of these modernist sculptures, identifiable in his installation based-work. A further derivative of the Martels’ cubist-inspired interpretations of nature is a grid template from which Boyce formed his own modernist typography. These angular letters feature often in his work and allow Boyce to cultivate his interest in language and narrative. The text in this print is a reference to other works by Boyce - trees constructed from fluorescent tube lighting.© Martin Boyce http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/15479/artist_name/Martin Boyce National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/4553/artist_name/The Boyle Family (Mark Boyle, Joan Hills, Sebastian Boyle, Georgina Boyle); Boyle Family The Boyle Family (Mark Boyle, Joan Hills, Sebastian Boyle, Georgina Boyle); Boyle Family - 1969. This is part of the 'London Series' group of works by Boyle Family. It is an exact, three-dimensional replica of a kerb from Addison Crescent in West London. The artists chose this area to replicate by throwing darts, at random, at a map. The work was made by spreading a plastic substance called Epikote on the ground, which lifts up all the surface debris when removed. This was then given a fibreglass support and painted. Working in this way and recording whatever is within the chosen area, removes the aspect of subjective choice and reduces the conscious, decision-making process.© Boyle Family http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/4553/artist_name/The Boyle Family (Mark Boyle, Joan Hills, Sebastian Boyle, Georgina Boyle); Boyle Family National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/4553/artist_name/The Boyle Family (Mark Boyle, Joan Hills, Sebastian Boyle, Georgina Boyle); Boyle Family The Boyle Family (Mark Boyle, Joan Hills, Sebastian Boyle, Georgina Boyle); Boyle Family - 1973. Boyle Family are perhaps best known for a series of works called ‘Journey to the Surface of the Earth’, in which they make exact replicas of randomly-selected portions of the earth’s surface. The ‘Skin Series’ is based on the same principal, mapping surfaces but on a microscopic scale. ‘Skin Series No.8’ is an image of a minute section of skin taken from the inside of Mark Boyle’s right elbow. Fourteen such works were made, each area being randomly chosen by throwing darts at a body chart. Each skin section was then frozen & removed. A negative image was taken, then enlarged and recorded on light sensitive paper. ‘Skin Series’ also relates to Boyle Family’s works of the 1960s which used bodily fluids.© Boyle Family http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/4553/artist_name/The Boyle Family (Mark Boyle, Joan Hills, Sebastian Boyle, Georgina Boyle); Boyle Family National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/4553/artist_name/The Boyle Family (Mark Boyle, Joan Hills, Sebastian Boyle, Georgina Boyle); Boyle Family The Boyle Family (Mark Boyle, Joan Hills, Sebastian Boyle, Georgina Boyle); Boyle Family - 1986. The works of Boyle Family replicate the world with the minimum of artistic intervention and as objectively as possible. They aim to make us look at reality with the same attention we would devote to a film or to the visual arts. Chance also plays an important role in determining what they will reproduce. This is one of a series of random studies of broken black and white paths, showing the process of disintegration and change. It is one of their ‘Earth Works’, in which they reproduce a section of ground, whether it be pavement, sand or soil.© Boyle Family http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/4553/artist_name/The Boyle Family (Mark Boyle, Joan Hills, Sebastian Boyle, Georgina Boyle); Boyle Family National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/8029/artist_name/Jan de Braij (de Bray) Jan de Braij (de Bray) - Dated 1662. This boy is the eldest son of the man and woman shown in NG 1500 and NG 1501. The facial similarities between him and both his father and younger brother (NG 1503) are clear; they share the same bulbous eyes, heavy brow and rounded chin. The inscription states that it was painted in 1662 when the boy was eleven years old. All four of the portraits in this family group were originally painted on rectangular panels, and were cut into ovals later. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/8029/artist_name/Jan de Braij (de Bray) National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/8029/artist_name/Jan de Braij (de Bray) Jan de Braij (de Bray) - Dated 1663. This painting shows the youngest son of a family group, whose portraits by de Braij are in the National Gallery of Scotland. A very faint inscription states that he is seven years old, and that de Braij painted him in 1663. This was the same year that the portrait of his mother (NG 1501) was made. It is not known whether or not there were any other members of this family that de Braij painted. Very few groups of individual family portraits such as this have survived. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/8029/artist_name/Jan de Braij (de Bray) National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/8029/artist_name/Jan de Braij (de Bray) Jan de Braij (de Bray) - 1662. This portrait of an unidentified man dressed in the dark-coloured clothing typical for a Dutch burgher, is enlivened by his ruddy complexion and bright white collar. His age, forty-seven, is inscribed on the painting, which is also signed and dated 1662. Jan de Braij painted the man’s eldest son, aged eleven in the same year. He also portrayed the man’s wife and their younger son, aged seven in 1663. All four works are in the National Gallery's collection and are very similar in terms of shape, size and colouring. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/8029/artist_name/Jan de Braij (de Bray) National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/8029/artist_name/Jan de Braij (de Bray) Jan de Braij (de Bray) - Dated 1663. This lady is the only female in de Braij’s group of four portraits of a Dutch family in the Scottish National Gallery. The inscription on the bottom left of the panel states that she is forty-seven years old, and that the portrait was painted in 1663. Her round features are rendered with a lively touch, and her eyes have a vitality that is testimony to de Braij’s skill as a portraitist. Her matron’s cap signals her position as a married woman. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/8029/artist_name/Jan de Braij (de Bray) National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/668/artist_name/Bill Brandt Bill Brandt - 1947. The 1940s was a period of transition for Brandt as he moved away from the interest he took in social issues in the 1930s towards a more contemplative style. Like other artists in the post-war period, Brandt turned to rural themes in a search for continuity and tradition rather than innovation and disruption. Armed with a Kodak camera with no shutter and a wide-angle lens with a pinhole aperture, he was able to look at the world 'like a mouse, a fish or a fly'. The use of steep perspective in this picture creates a dramatic sense of space.© Bill Brandt Archive Ltd. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/668/artist_name/Bill Brandt National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/668/artist_name/Bill Brandt Bill Brandt - 1947. This is one of eight photographs of Skye that Bill Brandt published in the monthly magazine Lilliput in November 1947. On his occasional visits to Scotland during the 1940s he created some magical photographs of the country, forming a contrast to his early documentary work on the city. This is not a pretty postcard view of the Highlands but a vision of the awesomeness of nature. The printing technique Brandt has used erases the detail of the landscape but increases the contrast between dark and light, and big and small, intensifying the way in which we experience this image.© Bill Brandt Archive Ltd. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/668/artist_name/Bill Brandt National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2822/artist_name/Georges Braque Georges Braque - 1911. This is a very early example of one of Braque's paintings that includes lettering. The purpose of this lettering was to question the relationship between words, pictures and the objects they represent. Here, the lettering identifies the French-Catalan newspaper L'Indépendant, while the numbers refer to its price. Towards the top of the picture is a candle, which helps identify the shape below as a candlestick. A simple clay pipe- the kind Braque smoked - lies to the centre right, and below it are a bobbin and a pair of scissors.© ADAGP, Paris and DACS, London 2004 http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2822/artist_name/Georges Braque National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2823/artist_name/Anna Maria Braunin Anna Maria Braunin, William III - About 1700. William was a prince of the House of Orange, the royal family of the Netherlands. He came to power in 1672 when he was appointed Captain-General and Stadholder and led the Dutch to victory over the French. In 1677 William married his cousin Mary, eldest daughter of the future James VII and II. In 1688 he accepted the invitation of seven Protestant peers to invade England and dislodge his Catholic father-in-law, now king. James fled to France and William was offered the throne jointly with Mary in 1689. This unsettling coloured wax image presents the king as a military hero; William spent much of his reign at war, first in Ireland and then against the French in Flanders. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2823/artist_name/Anna Maria Braunin National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/4558/artist_name/Fred Bremner Fred Bremner - About 1895. By 1889, Fred Bremner had set up his own studio in Karachi and another in Quetta, the growing capital of the province of Baluchistan. From there he travelled across the province, following the newly laid railway tracks, to the very north-western edge of British India, on the border of Afghanistan. In his memoir he wrote of his encounters there: "There is nothing the Baluchi and Afghans value more than to be armed with a gun". Much of Bremner’s portrait photography depicts men grouped together. The men were often used to represent a racial ‘type’; such images were popular as postcards during the first decades of the twentieth century. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/4558/artist_name/Fred Bremner National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/4558/artist_name/Fred Bremner Fred Bremner - about 1890. This photograph captures the industrious fishermen mending their nets and preparing to embark on another fishing trip from Karachi, India. Bremner enjoyed photographing the locals and although this image at first glance appears like a snapshot, it is, on closer inspection, carefully composed. The angle of the river bank is mirrored in the boats, masts and the figures, which are contained in the horizontal band below the horizon line, with just the leaning masts breaking free. The contours of the boats’ hulls draw the eye into the centre of the composition where Bremner has concentrated the detail of the ropes and nets. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/4558/artist_name/Fred Bremner National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/4558/artist_name/Fred Bremner Fred Bremner - about 1890. In 1889, upon returning from a trip home and after finishing working for his brother-in-law in Lucknow, Fred Bremner set up his own studio in Karachi. Over the years he based himself in studios from Karachi to Lahore during the winter moving to mountainous towns such as Simla during the stifling summers. Like many commercial photographers in India he relied on portraiture to keep his business operating on a day-to-day basis but he still found time to complete personal projects. Travelling throughout the provinces of Baluchistan and Sindh his images captured the diversity of the landscapes and local customs. Several of his photographs depict apparently everyday scenes, although on closer inspection many are artfully arranged compositions. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/4558/artist_name/Fred Bremner National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/4558/artist_name/Fred Bremner Fred Bremner - about 1896. This photograph may have been taken in Kashmir as Fred Bremner describes the beautiful carpets being made there. He wrote in his memoirs: "Srinagar has many factories and is full of interesting and fascinating wares. The carpets are known worldwide, carved walnut in beautiful and varied designs, silver and brass ware, papier-mâché work, silks, shawls, embroideries and other articles all go to show that the Kashmiri citizen has a wonderful sense of the artistic as well as being a very careful worker and particular in detail". Bremner produced several images of Indian artisans at work and this scene is typical of his compositions. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/4558/artist_name/Fred Bremner National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/4558/artist_name/Fred Bremner Fred Bremner - about 1889. This striking, desolate landscape stands out from Fred Bremner’s other work. He has managed to convey the expanse of this desert province, something that artists and photographers of India were continually struggling to achieve. Bremner described Baluchistan as "by no means naturally fertile; nothing but barren mountains and plains to be seen except in a few places, although heavy falls of snow often cover the country during winter; but summer after summer scarcely a drop of rain is to be seen… The soil is most productive, and it is surprising to see the beauty which springs into existence, due in great measure to artificial means of watering the soil". http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/4558/artist_name/Fred Bremner National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/4558/artist_name/Fred Bremner Fred Bremner - About 1896. Throughout his travels Fred Bremner was struck by the expansive landscapes of the Indian subcontinent. Here he has managed to capture the vastness of the landscape while retaining a stillness and tranquillity. This composition appears to have been influenced by Western aesthetics incorporating aspects of the Picturesque. Travelling to Kashmir in 1896, Bremner was following in the footsteps of poets, artists and early photographers. Like countless others before him he compared the scenery to that of Switzerland, writing: "Switzerland is without the charm of oriental life, the quaint manners and customs of the people...which all add to the attractions of a trip to the Valley of Kashmir". http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/4558/artist_name/Fred Bremner National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/4558/artist_name/Fred Bremner Fred Bremner - about 1896. Throughout his travels Fred Bremner was struck by the expansive landscapes of the Indian subcontinent. His photographs often incorporated the familiar European visual language of the Picturesque, nowhere more so than in Kashmir. Travelling there in 1896, he was following in the footsteps of poets, artists and early photographers. Describing the Dal Lake he wrote that it is said to be, "… one of the most beautiful spots in Kashmir. Passing through the Dal Canal on the way to the lake one sees at every bend the magnificent groups of Chenar trees which form one of the most striking features in the Valley...one cannot help but admire the works of nature which are depicted in a variety of beautiful ways in the stillness of the water combined with mirror-like reflections of the mountain ridges". http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/4558/artist_name/Fred Bremner National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/4558/artist_name/Fred Bremner Fred Bremner - about 1890. Like many commercial photographers in India Fred Bremner relied on portraiture to keep his business operating on a day-to-day basis but he still found time to complete personal projects. He produced numerous photographic series showing the diversity of the Indian landscape and local customs. Several of his photographs depict apparently everyday scenes, although on closer inspection they are actually artfully arranged compositions. This photograph might have been taken to show the improvements that irrigation brought to the province of Sindh. On travelling through the province Bremner remarked that from "nothing more than a lonely desert, since the inauguration of irrigation throughout the land it has become one of the richest [provinces], yielding harvests which compete in production with other provinces. Another example of what the British Raj has done for the good of the country". http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/4558/artist_name/Fred Bremner National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/4558/artist_name/Fred Bremner Fred Bremner - about 1890. In 1889 Bremner returned to India with the intention of establishing his own photographic business in Karachi. However, the cost of this was expensive and it was the commission of two public projects that kept him afloat. One of these was to photograph the opening of the Lansdowne Bridge over the River Indus, which was arguably one of the greatest engineering feats of the nineteenth century. In contrast to Bremner’s shots of the dominating cantilever bridge, in this photograph, which was perhaps taken on the same day, Bremner has captured the traditional fishing methods used by the locals. The composition is characterised by strong horizontals, with the figures contained below the horizon line. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/4558/artist_name/Fred Bremner National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/4558/artist_name/Fred Bremner Fred Bremner - about 1900. Frederick Bremner wrote his own account of the Quetta Bazaar. It was 'inhabited by shopmen of various races and occupation. The most interesting are the Pathan dealers, whose goods are collected from all parts of the East...The tablet written in English at the back of the bazaar stall, and the paraffin lamp which hangs above he Pathan fruit-dealer's head, serve as tokens of the fact that the British are in possession, and he evidently wishes his customers to know that he is as enterprising as he is industrious'. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/4558/artist_name/Fred Bremner National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/4558/artist_name/Fred Bremner Fred Bremner - about 1893. A commercial photographer, Aberchirder-born Bremner worked in India for forty years, returning to Scotland in 1922. This group shows the Khan of Kalat seated on the right. The Khan ruled over the Baluchistan province (in the south-west of modern day Pakistan) from 1857 to 1893 until he was deposed by the British for his barbarous and cruel acts, including having his Prime Minister and family beheaded. The province would later come under British imperial administration. The photograph’s blank background accentuates the luxurious detail of the costumes. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/4558/artist_name/Fred Bremner National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/4558/artist_name/Fred Bremner Fred Bremner - About 1896. Bremner's memoir recalled his trip to Kashmir. He wrote: "Pundits, known as learned men of Kashmir, may be seen at prayer on the banks of the Jhelum, and on the way up the river are numerous pretty little villages. Sopor and Sumbal struck me as being the most picturesque... The capital of Kashmir... is a wonderful picture. Srinagar, known as the 'City of the Sun,' is also spoken of as the 'Venice of the East'". The arrangement of this composition looks to have been inspired by Western aesthetics. A spectacular effect is produced by the tree which dwarfs the small boat and frames the picture. Furthermore, by cleverly cropping the lower edge of the image the viewer cannot trace the rational journey from the foreground to the middle distance. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/4558/artist_name/Fred Bremner National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/4558/artist_name/Fred Bremner Fred Bremner - About 1889. This is one of Fred Bremner’s best known images, showing the bridge named after the Duchess of Connaught who opened it in 1887. An impressive feat of engineering, Bremner described it as: "the most interesting view on the Sind-Pishin Railway … the whole scene being rugged in the extreme, and conveying to passengers an impression of great danger". By including figures in the foreground of the image Bremner gives a sense of the immense scale. The nineteenth century saw British Imperial expansion and photographers were perfectly placed to document this process. Bremner produced several photographs, often as commissions, which captured the Indian subcontinent as it was changing. Today, the bridge no longer exists, the railway line having been closed in 1942. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/4558/artist_name/Fred Bremner National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/4558/artist_name/Fred Bremner Fred Bremner - About 1902. Scots-born photographer Fred Bremner produced several images of Indian artisans at work. These photographs hint at the abundance of material wealth that placed India at the heart of Britain's colonial economy. Such images satisfied the huge interest in the subcontinent that had been fuelled by the International Exhibitions of London (1886) and Glasgow (1888). Bremner has a very distinctive compositional format which he incorporates in several of his portraits of tradesmen. His use of strong lines and circles create a striking image. These scenes are often staged to show the various tasks involved in the production process. Here, one man writes in the ledger while the other demonstrates the practical skills involved. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/4558/artist_name/Fred Bremner National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/4558/artist_name/Fred Bremner Fred Bremner - about 1900. In 1900, Fred Bremner produced 'Baluchistan Illustrated', an album documenting his travels within the province. This personal project was a welcome break from the daily life of a commercial photographer. With portraiture at the core of his business, Bremner travelled incessantly photographing not only colonial officers and their families but also members of the native aristocracy. This carefully crafted scene depicting workers quarrying in Baluchistan is typical of Fred Bremner’s compositional style. He has staged the scene so that the viewer has an impression of the various stages in the quarrying process. This image is reminiscent of his other images of tradesmen. Always meticulously composed they show all the different procedures required for a particular trade. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/4558/artist_name/Fred Bremner National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/4558/artist_name/Fred Bremner Fred Bremner - About 1902. Fred Bremner has arranged this composition in such a way as to foreground the distinctive hand-painted blue pottery which is still being made in Multan today. The pottery is shown at various stages of production allowing the viewer to get a sense of the processes involved. Bremner produced several images of Indian artisans at work. Such images satisfied the huge interest in the subcontinent that had been fuelled by the International Exhibitions of London (1886) and Glasgow (1888). Often sold as postcards the pictures were popular with Victorian Britains as they brought them closer to 'that far off land known as the Indian Empire'. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/4558/artist_name/Fred Bremner National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/4558/artist_name/Fred Bremner Fred Bremner - about 1920. From 1901 to 1926, the Begum ruled the Indian Princely State of Bhopal, now part of Madhya Pradesh in India. She is seen here in full state dress in her palace in Bhopal. Described as intensely pro-British, the Begum proudly displays the medals awarded to her for services to the British Empire. The chair, next to which she is standing, is decorated with the state’s coat of arms. Bhopal was unique among the princely states as it was ruled by a succession of widows. A reformer, the Begum did much to advance the position of women and education in Bhopal. However, her main legacy was public health, adopting widespread inoculation and vaccination, improving sanitation, hygiene and the water supply. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/4558/artist_name/Fred Bremner National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/4558/artist_name/Fred Bremner Fred Bremner - about 1900. This photograph is typical of Bremner’s work in its well-balanced composition and keen sense of detail. The old man is framed against a white wall which acts as a blank canvas, heightening the detail of his beard and the cushion he is leaning on. The horizontal pipe then leads the focus towards the young boy perched at the end of the bed. Unlike the old man, who makes eye contact with the camera, the boy appears disinterested, looking out of the frame. Sitting in the background are three men, but Bremner, in making them out-of-focus, ensures that attention is centred on the two figures in the foreground, encouraging the viewer to question the relationship between the old man and the boy. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/4558/artist_name/Fred Bremner National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/4558/artist_name/Fred Bremner Fred Bremner - about 1900. Scots-born photographer Fred Bremner wrote about this image in his memoir: "Taken in the Hanna Valley, this pastoral view depicts the most important of the livestock indigenous to the country... the barren hills of Baluchistan do not convey the impression that they can produce such splendid fleeces, or mutton ... but unseen to the casual observer, the hills are enriched with a scented herb known as 'semgi' which possesses most nourishing properties. The Baluch shepherd greatly values his flock, as is evinced by the 'douche' he gives them, one by one, under the falling stream". http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/4558/artist_name/Fred Bremner National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/4558/artist_name/Fred Bremner Fred Bremner - about 1890. Like many commercial photographers in India Fred Bremner relied on portraiture to keep his business operating on a day-to-day basis but he still found time to complete personal projects. He produced numerous photographic series showing the diversity of the Indian landscape and local customs. Several of his photographs depict apparently everyday scenes, although on closer inspection they are actually artfully arranged compositions. What is striking is that Bremner shows the locals as part of their environment with the thatched farmhouses, cows and plough. This photograph might have been taken to show the improvements that irrigation brought to the province of Sindh. On travelling through the province Bremner remarked that from "nothing more than a lonely desert, since the inauguration of irrigation throughout the land it has become one of the richest [provinces], yielding harvests which compete in production with other provinces. Another example of what the British Raj has done for the good of the country". http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/4558/artist_name/Fred Bremner National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/4558/artist_name/Fred Bremner Fred Bremner - about 1890. This view of peasant life in Sindh shows the province’s largely agriculture-based economy that was dependent on the Indus River and the canal-based irrigation system introduced by the British. In his memoir Bremner described Sindh as "nothing more than a lonely desert... [however] since the inauguration of irrigation throughout the land it has become one of the richest, yielding harvests which compete in production with other provinces... another example of what the British Raj has done for the good of the country". http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/4558/artist_name/Fred Bremner National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/4558/artist_name/Fred Bremner Fred Bremner - About 1900. In the mid to late-nineteenth century, the British oversaw the development of infrastructure throughout the Indian subcontinent with the intention of exerting greater economic and political control. Photographers were perfectly placed to document this process. Bremner produced several photographs, often as commissions, capturing the changing landscape. He wrote: "Since my arrival in India in the year 1882 the great Empire has passed through many changes – changes in the spirit of the people as well as changes in the industrial development of the country... I have seen railways extending from hundreds to thousands of miles to carry the millions of people as well as great produce of the country... By whom has this been done? Obviously there can only be one answer – the Political Services of Great Britain and Ireland and British Engineers". However, Bremner’s comments do not acknowledge the thousands of Indian workers without whom this work could not have been achieved and the exclusion of Indian investors to this profitable enterprise. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/4558/artist_name/Fred Bremner National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/4558/artist_name/Fred Bremner Fred Bremner - About 1902. Fred Bremner spent forty years in India, during which time he witnessed a huge transformation in the landscape. The nineteenth century saw vast British Imperial expansion and photographers were perfectly placed to document this process. Bremner produced several photographs, often as commissions, which captured the subcontinent as it was changing. He wrote: "Since my arrival in India in the year 1882 the great Empire has passed through many changes ... I have seen railways extending from hundreds to thousands of miles to carry the millions of people as well as great produce of the country... By whom has this been done? Obviously there can only be one answer – the Political Services of Great Britain and Ireland and British Engineers". However, Bremner’s comments do not acknowledge the thousands of Indian workers without whom the work could not have been achieved and the exclusion of Indian investors to the profitable enterprise. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/4558/artist_name/Fred Bremner National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/4558/artist_name/Fred Bremner Fred Bremner - About 1896. When he travelled into Kashmir around 1900, Bremner was deeply impressed by the beauty of the country. He looked down the Jhelum Valley and wrote: 'In the depths of the valley below, some 3,000 feet, the river winds its tortuous way and the eye may sometimes rest on a figure slowly gliding through mid-air with no apparent support whatever. Coming to close quarters one sees a crossing by rope bridges... The Kashmiris walk across these fragile structures, carrying heavy loads and fearless of danger, but sometimes a bridge snaps with its living freight who gets carried away in the torrent below'. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/4558/artist_name/Fred Bremner National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/4558/artist_name/Fred Bremner Fred Bremner - about 1899. In 1900, Fred Bremner produced 'Baluchistan Illustrated', an album documenting his travels within the province. This personal project was a welcome break from the daily life of a commercial photographer. With portraiture at the core of his business, Bremner travelled incessantly photographing not only colonial officers and their families but also members of the native aristocracy. This is one of Bremner’s most remarkable compositions. The alignment of the near and distant sloping rocks creates one sweeping diagonal that virtually bisects the composition. This gives a dynamic to an otherwise perfectly still and tranquil scene. By scattering figures around the landscape, Bremner conveys the sense of scale, adding to the dramatic impact of the photograph. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/4558/artist_name/Fred Bremner National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/4558/artist_name/Fred Bremner Fred Bremner - about 1896. A skilled craftsman himself, Bremner produced a series of large glass plate negatives showing Indian artisans at work. These photographs, like the one here, hint at the material wealth of India, which placed it at the heart of Britain's colonial economy. The ornamental appearance of the objects in this picture hides their practical uses from the viewer. Grouped on the left we see several bookstands, mirror frames and vases whereas the beautifully carved screen defines the woodcarver's 'studio' space. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/4558/artist_name/Fred Bremner National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/6018/artist_name/André Breton André Breton, Jacqueline Lamba, Yves Tanguy - 9 February 1938. The Cadavre Exquis (Exquisite Corpse) was a favourite surrealist game from the mid-1920s onwards. It usually involved three or four participants who added to a drawing, collage or sentence, without seeing what the others had already done. This work is one of several made by Breton, his second wife Jacqueline Lamba, and Yves Tanguy, while on a weekend holiday together in February 1938. However, this piece might have been made collaboratively rather than by folding the paper to hide the previous contribution, since there are no fold lines on the paper.© ARS, NY and DACS, London 2004 http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/6018/artist_name/André Breton National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/6018/artist_name/André Breton André Breton - about 1935 - 1940. Best known as a writer and leader of the Surrealist movement, André Breton was, by his own admission, not a gifted artist. However he did experiment with techniques which required a minimum of skill, such as collages and boxed constructions including poems. In this collage he has combined printed material in a humorous and anarchic manner. The Surrealists were committed to the overthrow of bourgeois values and systems, so the phrase pasted onto the picture turns this rare collage into a Bretonian prophecy. It is similar in spirit to the collages of Max Ernst, suggesting a date of the mid to late 1930s for the piece.© ADAGP, Paris and DACS, London 2006 http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/6018/artist_name/André Breton National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/6018/artist_name/André Breton André Breton - 1935. Breton's personal contribution to surrealist art was his fusion of poetry and object in his 'Poème-Objet' constructions. Although not an artist himself, he was eager to explore any technique that required minimum artistic skill, such as the collages and assemblages. In 1924, Breton called for the creation of objects seen in dreams. He made about a dozen of his own assemblages in the 1930s and early 1940s, calling them 'Poème-Objets'. The text on the plaster egg in this work translates as 'I see / I imagine' and the poem beneath is deliberately cryptic.© ADAGP, Paris and DACS, London 2004 http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/6018/artist_name/André Breton National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/15616/artist_name/Jane Brettle Jane Brettle - 2006. This photograph was commissioned as part of a series titled ‘Force’, documenting the diverse roles which constitute Scotland’s police force. The Air Support Unit provides aerial support to territorial divisions in the Strathclyde Police area and it currently operates the only police helicopter service in Scotland. The unit covers an area of 5,348 square miles, a population of two and a half million people, and a coastline of over 4,000 miles. All crew members volunteer for the job and must maintain competency in fire-fighting, first aid, underwater escape training and a variety of other skills. Any police officer is at liberty to request aerial support and the unit regularly responds to requests from police forces outside the Strathclyde area.© Jane Brettle http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/15616/artist_name/Jane Brettle National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/15616/artist_name/Jane Brettle Jane Brettle - 2006. This photograph was commissioned as part of a series titled ‘Force’, documenting the diverse roles of Scotland’s police force. It shows a behind-the-scenes view of police work. Instead of a firearm, Norma Graham’s weapon is a fountain pen, highlighting her role in setting the strategic direction of policing in Fife. It was taken when Norma was Deputy Chief Constable, but in July 2008 she was appointed Chief Constable of Fife Constabulary. She is Scotland's first female Chief Constable. During the sitting, Brettle observed that Norma said ‘we’ rather than ‘I’, fitting since she described her role as “building bridges with different communities”. The hat, featured in the background, shows her rank within the police force in its decorative silver braid.© Jane Brettle http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/15616/artist_name/Jane Brettle National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/15616/artist_name/Jane Brettle Jane Brettle - 2000. By showing these Newcastle girls next to Antonio Canova's three graces, Jane Brettle wants to challenge our notions of femininity. We can't help asking a set of complementary questions: Is spotless marble more appealing than the skin of ordinary women? Do the perfect bodies of the graces have any character at all compared to the three girls whose strong individuality the photographer captures so well? How can three completely naked bodies say so little about women, and three casually dressed girls tell so much?© Jane Brettle http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/15616/artist_name/Jane Brettle National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/15616/artist_name/Jane Brettle Jane Brettle - 2006. Commissioned as part of a series titled ‘Force’, documenting the diverse roles of Scotland’s police force, this photograph shows the Firearms Support Unit. It has five specialised support functions and is responsible for attending all incidents involving the criminal use of firearms in the Lothian and Borders area. The Tactical Firearms Unit has in excess of 100 firearms officers. The Armed Response Vehicle Unit has two vehicles that are manned around the clock. The Airport Security Unit provides armed cover at Edinburgh Airport. The Security and Protection Unit offers protection to VIPs. The Operational Training Unit consists of qualified instructors who provide firearms training. Each instructor has an area of expertise and they give advice to commanders dealing with armed incidents.© Jane Brettle http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/15616/artist_name/Jane Brettle National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/15616/artist_name/Jane Brettle Jane Brettle - 2006. Inspector Graham Gibb has completed thirty-one years service with Grampian Police. He has twenty-seven years mountain rescue experience, including twenty years as leader of the joint Grampian Police and Braemar Mountain Rescue Team. In 1996 he was honoured with an MBE for his services to mountain rescue. Over the years Graham has developed a personal interest in the behaviour of missing people and is now a leading expert in the field. There are fourteen officers in the Grampian Rescue Team and they have responsibility for some 500 square miles of mountainous terrain, including the Cairngorms National Park. This photograph was commissioned as part of a series titled ‘Force’, which reflects the breadth of activities that the Police service is involved with in Scotland.© Jane Brettle http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/15616/artist_name/Jane Brettle National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/15616/artist_name/Jane Brettle Jane Brettle - 2006. On 21 December 1988 Libyan terrorists blew up Pan Am Flight 103 causing the death of 270 people. Major parts of the debris landed in Lockerbie. This photograph was commissioned as part of a series titled ‘Force’, which reflects the breadth of activities that the Police service is involved with in Scotland. It shows Detective Chief Inspector Michael Dalgleish, Detective Constable Karen Rice, PC Rolf Buwert and Tom Gordon, all of whom were involved in the aftermath and investigation into the disaster. Poignantly, this image was taken in The Chapel of Remembrance, where the book of remembrance for the victims sits. The four police officers look uncomfortable and there is a sense of sorrow in their eyes - the horror of the events they were witness to over the last eighteen years is tangible.© Jane Brettle http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/15616/artist_name/Jane Brettle National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/15616/artist_name/Jane Brettle Jane Brettle - 2006. Horses have been used to combat crime in Britain since 1758 and currently seventeen UK police forces use horses. Lothian and Borders Police have seven horses which carry out work as diverse as leading civic parades, searching open countryside for missing people and patrolling city streets. Commander, shown here on the left with PC Jim Baker, is the leader of the group and a steadying influence, whereas Merlin, shown with PC Jackie Jack, is more impulsive. This photograph was commissioned as part of a series titled ‘Force’, which reflects the breadth of activities that the Police service is involved with in Scotland. The composition is calm and reflective, with the horses and riders mirroring each other. Shown without their battle dress, the only clue to their roles is their riders' uniforms.© Jane Brettle http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/15616/artist_name/Jane Brettle National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/15616/artist_name/Jane Brettle Jane Brettle - 2006. Commissioned as part of a series titled ‘Force’, documenting the diverse roles of Scotland’s police force, this photograph shows PC John Bryden of the Northern Constabulary. He is stationed at Mallaig Police Station, with five other officers. Together they police an enormous area of the West Highlands. As well as being a uniformed police officer, John is also a Wildlife crime officer which involves working closely with environmental organisations such as Scottish Natural Heritage and the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds. This photograph shows him with an eagle owl. In contrast to his uniform which stands out as a beacon of security, the owl is camouflaged against the landscape and looks ready to hunt.© Jane Brettle http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/15616/artist_name/Jane Brettle National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/15616/artist_name/Jane Brettle Jane Brettle - 2006. This photograph was commissioned as part of a series titled ‘Force’, which reflects the breadth of activities that the Police service is involved with in Scotland. It shows PC Scott Haig and his family on Unst, the most northerly-inhabited island within the Shetland Isles. The island has an extremely close-knit community and as such, community involvement is the backbone of successfully policing the island. Haig described his position: “My role on the island is to offer reassurance as well as to deal with the numerous challenges expected of the police, from investigating and reporting crime to road accidents, firearm enquiries and community liaison... I have no anonymity as I am based on such a small island. Whether in uniform or out I am always viewed as a police officer...”© Jane Brettle http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/15616/artist_name/Jane Brettle National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2830/artist_name/Paul Bril Paul Bril - 1598. This small painting on copper is a fine example of Bril’s imaginary landscapes. He used the established convention of dividing a distant vista into coloured bands to suggest the idea of receding space, from the warm brownish foreground, through to the lighter greenish middle ground and the cooler blue background. Bril also combined elements from his native Netherlandish landscape tradition, such as the twisted tree trunks, rocky outcrops and steep sided river valley, with his interest in classical fragments and architectural ruins. The lively figures provide colourful accents and some human interest. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2830/artist_name/Paul Bril National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/4045/artist_name/Gerald Leslie Brockhurst Gerald Leslie Brockhurst - 1942. This lithograph is of Brockhurst’s second wife, Kathleen Woodward, whom Brockhurst called Dorette. They first met when she was seventeen and a model at the Royal Academy Schools in London. She later features in Brockhurst’s controversial 1932 portrait, ‘Adolescence’, which depicts her sitting naked in front of a mirror. According to a label on the back of the work, ‘Head of a Girl' was Brockhurst’s first experimentation with lithography and was based on earlier crayon drawing from 1934 titled ‘Study for Head of Christ’. He made only five more lithographs in his lifetime.© Richard Woodward http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/4045/artist_name/Gerald Leslie Brockhurst National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/4045/artist_name/Gerald Leslie Brockhurst Gerald Leslie Brockhurst - . This is a painted version of one of the sisters featured in Brockhurst’s 1928 etching, ‘The West of Ireland’. Brockhurst told the story that this child was not favoured by her mother, whom he had also depicted, and so committed suicide by drowning herself. The artist claimed the image was a premonition of this. This idea reflects his interest in the often irrational mysteries of humanity. With heavy eyelids, the girl stares vacantly out of the work, as if she is having some other-worldly experience.© Richard Woodward http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/4045/artist_name/Gerald Leslie Brockhurst National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/4045/artist_name/Gerald Leslie Brockhurst Gerald Leslie Brockhurst - about 1905. Although most noted for his detailed etchings, Gerald Leslie Brockhurst was also an accomplished painter. This is an early painted self-portrait. As something of a child-prodigy, Brockhurst went on to become one of the most successful portraitists of his day, and enjoyed success both in Britain and the United States. It is for his portraits of women that he is especially remembered and while primarily depicting the women in his life, he also painted society figures such as Marlene Dietrich and the Duchess of Windsor.© Richard Woodward http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/4045/artist_name/Gerald Leslie Brockhurst National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/4045/artist_name/Gerald Leslie Brockhurst Gerald Leslie Brockhurst - 1929. This elegant etching is a portrait of the wife of the composer, Bobby Hazleton Ross. Brockhurst had previously used her as a model in 1922 for a work titled ‘Pépita’. He exhibited ‘Viba’ at both the Royal Academy and the Royal Society of Painter-Etchers and Engravers in 1929. Interestingly, he often made versions of his works in various media, including oil, graphite or chalk. This work is a reversed version of his painting ‘Dolores’. However, in the etching Brockhurst has included an open window, which frames the figure against the rolling landscape in the background.© Richard Woodward http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/4045/artist_name/Gerald Leslie Brockhurst National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/6281/artist_name/Alexander and William Brodie Alexander and William Brodie, Queen Victoria - 1865. Queen Victoria sat to Alexander Brodie at Balmoral in 1865 and 1866. He had been asked to produce a statue (now at Aberdeen City Chambers) and this bust. The queen wanted the results to look distinctly Scottish, so Brodie included a thistle on the neckline of her dress, alongside the English rose and Irish clover. Brodie was a perfectionist, and his anxiety over this commission is thought to have been a factor in his suicide, aged thirty-seven, in 1867. William, his elder brother, finished the bust. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/6281/artist_name/Alexander and William Brodie National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/4561/artist_name/William Brodie William Brodie, Hugh Miller - Sculpted in 1857. Hugh Miller was one of the most remarkable intellectuals of Victorian Scotland. The son of a Cromarty fisherman, he was apprenticed to a local stonemason. In 1840 he launched his brilliant journalistic career with the pro-Evangelical newspaper ‘The Witness’. A champion of the new Free Church, Miller simultaneously pursued his research in geology and paleontology and made important contributions to the pre-Darwinian debate on evolution. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/4561/artist_name/William Brodie National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2836/artist_name/Arnold Bronckorst Arnold Bronckorst, George Buchanan - 1581. Buchanan was born at Killearn in Stirlingshire in 1506. This portrait, painted within a year of his death, shows Buchanan as a great scholar. The inscription on the painting translates as: 'So were Buchanan's features and countenance. Seek his writings and the stars if you wish to know his mind.' He is best remembered now as one of the main adversaries of Mary, Queen of Scots. After the murder of her second husband, Lord Darnley, Buchanan publicly accused her of luring her husband to her death. He became tutor to Mary's son, James VI, giving the child a rigorous classical education but also turning the boy against his mother. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2836/artist_name/Arnold Bronckorst National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2836/artist_name/Arnold Bronckorst Arnold Bronckorst, James Douglas, 4th Earl of Morton - About 1580. James, 4th Earl of Morton, was involved in the most dramatic events of the reign of Mary, Queen of Scots. He was among those who burst into the Queen's chamber and murdered her secretary, David Rizzio. Morton was also implicated in the murder of her second husband, Lord Darnley. He ruled Scotland from 1572 to 1578 during the minority of James VI, working hard to maintain friendship with England and dealing ruthlessly with Mary's supporters. The castle in the background of this portrait may be a fanciful representation of Aberdour or Tantallon. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2836/artist_name/Arnold Bronckorst National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2836/artist_name/Arnold Bronckorst Arnold Bronckorst, James VI and I - About 1574. James VI was crowned King of Scots when he was still a baby, after the forced abdication of his mother, Mary, Queen of Scots. Before he assumed personal rule, Scotland (and the young king) were in the control of various warring factions of nobility. Still a child in this portrait, James is dressed, like a miniature adult, for hunting, with a sparrow hawk perched on his gloved left hand. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2836/artist_name/Arnold Bronckorst National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2838/artist_name/Marcel Broodthaers Marcel Broodthaers - 1966. This work is made of standardised, repeatable units: glass jars, wooden discs and pictures of an eye from a cosmetics advert. Broodthaers's use of commonly available objects in this work shows the impact of the 1960s, when Pop artists frequently made use of advertising and the replicated image in their work. However, the sculpture also opens up a range of ideas about voyeurism and consumer culture. There is no front or back view of the work: the eyes look out from every angle of the tower; there is no escape from their gaze.© DACS 2004 http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2838/artist_name/Marcel Broodthaers National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/19337/artist_name/Joan Brossa Joan Brossa - 1988. Although he is known primarily as an artist, Brossa’s object poems are only one branch of his wide conception of poetry. He believed that the idea rather than the medium was of central importance. Brossa began making object-poems in 1943, and they are typically perverse, ironic and humorous, either made by combining two unusual objects, or transforming an everyday item so that its function is removed. Here, a pair of scissors literally became a ‘dead tool,’ unable to be put to their intended use. Brossa’s love of magic and conjuring tricks can be connected to his playful object-poems. He explained that "Poetry and magic are the same thing. Art is a metamorphosis, basically, and magic too."© Fundacio Joan Brossa / DACS 2006 http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/19337/artist_name/Joan Brossa National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/6020/artist_name/Helen Paxton Brown Helen Paxton Brown, Jessie M. King - about 1915. Jessie Marion King was a pupil at Glasgow School of Art at the same time as Helen Paxton Brown and the two became lifelong friends. This portrait is probably from around 1915 and shows King wearing a silken scarf. King was one of the most commercially successful designers to emerge from Glasgow at this time and she sold some of her fabric designs to the famous English firm, Liberty.© The Artist’s Estate http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/6020/artist_name/Helen Paxton Brown National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2841/artist_name/John Brown John Brown, Alexander Runciman - 1785. Alexander Runciman was a Scottish painter of historical and mythological subjects. He spent five years in Rome before returning to Edinburgh where in 1772 he became master of the Trustees’ Academy. This miniature pencil drawing by John Brown was created in 1785, the year of Runciman’s sudden death. Brown was therefore keen to point out that he had drawn his sitter ‘ad vivam’ – from the life. Runciman’s hands rest on a book entitled ‘Ossian’: James MacPherson’s translations of ancient Gaelic poetry supposedly by the third-century Scottish bard. Several years earlier Runciman had decorated parts of Sir John Clerk’s Penicuik House with large-scale murals. His famous ceiling of ‘Ossian’s Hall’ depicted narrative scenes from these poems. Sadly all murals were destroyed in a fire in 1899. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2841/artist_name/John Brown National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2841/artist_name/John Brown John Brown, Alexander Runciman - about 1781 - 1783. Both Brown and Runciman were born in Edinburgh and became close friends. They both made extended visits to Italy and emerged as talented artists. In this large drawing, Brown represents his friend close up, turning his head to the right in a three-quarters profile and resting his chin on his crossed hands, which are in turn shown leaning on a table. The face and hands are strongly lit with the rest of the composition more heavily shadowed. Brown shows his friend in a contemplative mood but also marked by inspiration, as Runciman looks upwards intently. The portrait may be understood as a mediation on the nature of artistic friendship. On the back of the drawing is a pen and ink sketch of Brown by Runciman. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2841/artist_name/John Brown National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2841/artist_name/John Brown John Brown, David Deuchar - 1787. David Deuchar was a goldsmith, seal engraver and an amateur etcher. Deuchar was one of the first to have spotted the talent of the future portrait painter, Henry Raeburn, encouraging him to become a painter rather than a jeweller. This unusual portrait presents the sitter as if he were a classical marble bust, rather than a contemporary figure in everyday dress. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2841/artist_name/John Brown National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2841/artist_name/John Brown John Brown, David Steuart Erskine, 11th Earl of Buchan - 1781. The eccentric and patriotic 11th Earl of Buchan founded the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland in 1780. The Society's purpose was to safeguard national heritage, preserving artefacts and archaeological material relevant to Scottish history. Its collections now form part of the holdings of the Royal Museum of Scotland. The Earl commissioned this drawing from Brown along with portraits of all the other founder members of the Society.© The Trustees of the National Museums of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2841/artist_name/John Brown National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2841/artist_name/John Brown John Brown, Rev. Alexander Carlyle - . At least two artists are known to have drawn the profile of Alexander Carlyle. His friends nicknamed him 'Jupiter' (the king of the gods) because of the nobility of his bearing and features. He was ordained in 1745 and was minister of Inveresk, near Edinburgh, from 1748 until his death. He belonged to the liberal wing of the Church of Scotland and was a friend of some of the great figures of the Scottish Enlightenment, for example, David Hume and Adam Smith. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2841/artist_name/John Brown National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2841/artist_name/John Brown John Brown, William Smellie - about 1781. Edinburgh-born printer and naturalist William Smellie is best-known for editing the first edition of the ‘Encyclopaedia Britannica’. The encyclopaedia’s publication, in 100 weekly instalments between 1768 and 1771, was a tremendous task and its success immediately led to a second edition. Even so, the first edition reflected some of Smellie’s strong opinions, misconceptions and occasional lack of expertise – his article on women, for example, simply says: "the female of man". Smellie is also known for his translation of the famous ‘Histoire Naturelle’ by French naturalist Leclerc, and his own ‘Philosophy of Natural History’. This portrait is one of several pencil drawings by John Brown, executed during the early 1780s and given to the Society of Antiquaries in April 1782. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2841/artist_name/John Brown National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/26386/artist_name/Alicia Bruce Alicia Bruce - 15 August 2010. In 2010 Alicia Bruce spent the summer collaborating with the residents of Menie, a small community in Aberdeenshire. The area was catapulted into the press following the threat of compulsory purchase orders on several of their homes as part of Trump International’s planned golf course and housing development. In Bruce’s series of portraits she approached the subjects from an art historical stand point, with the residents restaging compositions from famous paintings. This image shows Mike and Sheila Forbes re-enacting Grant Wood’s sinister painting, ‘American Gothic’. Although parodied numerous times, Bruce evokes something of the tension in the original painting, with the Forbes defiant subjects ready to fight for their land. © Alicia Bruce http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/26386/artist_name/Alicia Bruce National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/26386/artist_name/Alicia Bruce Alicia Bruce - 21 August 2010. In 2010 Alicia Bruce spent the summer collaborating with the residents of Menie, a small community in Aberdeenshire. The area was catapulted into the press following the threat of compulsory purchase orders on several of their homes as part of Trump International’s planned golf course and housing development. In Bruce’s series of portraits she approached the subjects from an art historical stand point, with the residents restaging compositions from famous paintings. This image shows Molly Forbes re-enacting James Guthrie’s iconic painting, ‘To Pastures New’. In positioning the residents in their own landscape, Bruce is asserting their strength and defiance against Trump’s plans. © Alicia Bruce http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/26386/artist_name/Alicia Bruce National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/6282/artist_name/George Bruce George Bruce, Sir James (Jimmy) Shand - 1995. A household name among lovers of popular Scottish music, Jimmy Shand began his working life at fourteen down a mine in his native Fife. In the late 1940s and 50s, with his chosen instrument, the accordian, he created the typical Scottish country dance band. Radio broadcasts and television appearances made Shand and his band internationally known. He was awarded the Golden Disc in 1978 and counted the Queen Mother and the Queen among his fans.© George Bruce http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/6282/artist_name/George Bruce National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2846/artist_name/Günter Brus Günter Brus - 1965. This work documents a 'Self-painting', in which Brus covered his whole body in white paint, and then painted black lines over himself to suggest cracks. The collaged pins, razor blades and pen-knife take on the ritual significance of tools of torture, making Brus's body like that of a secular saint. By using his body in this way, Brus reintroduced raw human emotion into art. The collage is typical of the counter-culture which operated throughout Europe and the USA during the 1960s, but also refers to the tortured self-portraits of the Viennese Expressionists, Egon Schiele and Oskar Kokoschka.© Gunter Brus http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2846/artist_name/Günter Brus National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/1424/artist_name/Domenico Brusasorci (Domenico Riccio) Domenico Brusasorci (Domenico Riccio) - 1547. In accordance with the Law of Moses, the infant Jesus was taken to the temple to be circumcised and named when he was eight days old. Here Brusascorci shows the child passively submitting to the operation while Joseph supports him, and the Virgin Mary kneels close-by before the altar. The event was significant as it was the first time that Christ shed blood. Brusascorci has filled his scene with spectators, even although there is no account of their presence in the Bible. The drawing is highly finished with particularly dark outlines used to define the figures. No painting of this subject by Brusascorci has been traced. The date 1547 is inscribed on the lower step beneath the Virgin’s left foot. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/1424/artist_name/Domenico Brusasorci (Domenico Riccio) National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/1424/artist_name/Domenico Brusasorci (Domenico Riccio) Domenico Brusasorci (Domenico Riccio), The Virgin Mary - 1550s. This is a preparatory drawing for a fresco in the basilica of Sant’Andrea in Mantua. Prior to the discovery of this drawing the attribution of the fresco was unknown, but it has now been firmly ascribed to Brusasorci, together with the scene of the ‘Birth of the Virgin’ on the opposite wall. The high degree of finish suggests that this drawing may have served as the model (‘modello’) or final design to be shown to a patron for approval before being squared for enlargement. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/1424/artist_name/Domenico Brusasorci (Domenico Riccio) National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/81/artist_name/David Stewart Erskine, 11th Earl of Buchan David Stewart Erskine, 11th Earl of Buchan, James Ferguson, Colin Maclaurin - . Colin Maclaurin was a Scottish mathematician who published and extended Newton's work in calculus, geometry, and gravitation. Born in the parish of Kilmodan in Argyll, Maclaurin lost both parents in childhood. He graduated from the University of Glasgow, aged only fourteen, with a thesis on the power of gravity. In 1717 he became professor of mathematics at Marischal College in Aberdeen. His work came to the attention of Sir Isaac Newton, who became something of a patron. In 1725 Maclaurin was appointed deputy professor at the University of Edinburgh. When the University struggled to fund the post, Newton contributed to Maclaurin’s salary. In Edinburgh, Maclaurin met and tutored the young astronomer James Ferguson, whose portrait of Maclaurin formed the basis for this drawing by the Earl of Buchan. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/81/artist_name/David Stewart Erskine, 11th Earl of Buchan National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/16723/artist_name/Roderick Buchanan Roderick Buchanan - 1995. The men in 'Work in Progress' are wearing either Inter Milan or AC Milan football team shirts. The type of portrait is familiar from football publicity photographs, where the players stare ahead with their arms held behind their backs. However, instead of being Italian sportsmen, the players are from amateur five-a-side Glasgow teams. Their separation into two sets alludes to the need of individuals to lend themselves a separate identity, while at the same time maintaining common bonds of knowledge and agreed opinion. The implied rivalry echoes the competition between the two Glasgow football teams, Rangers and Celtic.© Roderick Buchanan http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/16723/artist_name/Roderick Buchanan National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/15583/artist_name/Alfred G Buckham Alfred G Buckham - about 1920. Buckham had crashed nine times before he was discharged from the Royal Naval Air Service as a hundred per cent disabled. Continuing to indulge his passion for aerial photography, he wrote that 'If one's right leg is tied to the seat with a scarf or a piece of rope, it is possible to work in perfect security'. Presumably these were the perilous conditions in which the photographer took this dazzling picture of Edinburgh.© Courtesy of Richard and John Buckham http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/15583/artist_name/Alfred G Buckham National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/15583/artist_name/Alfred G Buckham Alfred G Buckham - about 1920. Buckham was the leading aerial photographer of his day and was renowned for his atmospheric shots of the landscape. He felt that the most spectacular cloud formations and theatrical light could be captured on “stormy days, with bursts of sunshine and occasional showers of rain”. Over the years Buckham amassed a vast collection of photographs of skies which he could integrate with a separate landscape photograph to enhance the drama and create a more impressive composition. This is an example of one of his shots of an impressive cloud formation. It also features an autogyro emerging from within the depths of the clouds. A spectacular contraption that seems remarkably unstable against the power of nature, this autogyro was in fact painted in by Buckham.© Courtesy of Richard and John Buckham. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/15583/artist_name/Alfred G Buckham National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/15583/artist_name/Alfred G Buckham Alfred G Buckham - about 1920. This photograph of Castle Island, where Mary, Queen of Scots was imprisoned in 1567, shows the vast expanse of the rolling countryside around Loch Leven. The cloudy sky enhances the depth of the image and the small biplanes, which Buckham added later by hand, reinforce the dramatic scale. Buckham was the leading aerial photographer of his day and was renowned for his atmospheric shots of the landscape. He felt that the most spectacular cloud formations and theatrical light could be captured on “stormy days, with bursts of sunshine and occasional showers of rain”. Over the years Buckham amassed a vast collection of photographs of skies which he could integrate with a separate landscape photograph to enhance the drama and create a more impressive composition.© Courtesy of Richard and John Buckham. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/15583/artist_name/Alfred G Buckham National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/15583/artist_name/Alfred G Buckham Alfred G Buckham - about 1920. This dramatic, and almost surreal photograph, shows the diversity of cloud formations during a fierce thunderstorm. Buckham was the leading aerial photographer of his day and was renowned for his atmospheric shots of the landscape. He felt that the most spectacular cloud formations and theatrical light could be captured on “stormy days, with bursts of sunshine and occasional showers of rain”. Over the years Buckham amassed a vast collection of photographs of skies which he could integrate with a separate landscape photograph to enhance the drama and create a more impressive composition. He also often manipulated his images further by adding hand painted aircraft, such as in this image, which heightens the viewer’s awareness of the dominating power and scale of the natural world.© Courtesy of Richard and John Buckham. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/15583/artist_name/Alfred G Buckham National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/15583/artist_name/Alfred G Buckham Alfred G Buckham - about 1920. Buckham was the leading aerial photographer of his day and was renowned for his atmospheric shots of the landscape. He felt that the most spectacular cloud formations and theatrical light could be captured on “stormy days, with bursts of sunshine and occasional showers of rain”. Over the years Buckham built up a vast collection of photographs of skies which he could integrate with a separate landscape photograph to enhance the drama and create a more impressive composition. This is an example of one of his shots of an impressive cloud formation before a thunderstorm.© Courtesy of Richard and John Buckham. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/15583/artist_name/Alfred G Buckham National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/15583/artist_name/Alfred G Buckham Alfred G Buckham - about 1920. This photograph captures the stormy ocean with its swelling crests of the waves illuminated white. Silhouetted against the threatening sky is a flying boat. This specialised form of aircraft was purposely designed to take off from, and land on, water. This feature was exploited during the World Wars but its use rapidly declined thereafter. Buckham was aware of the flying boat from his time in the Royal Naval Air Service and, specifically, his involvement in photographing the alterations required that allowed planes to take off from, and land on, a ship. Regarded as the leading aerial photographer of the day, Buckham felt that the most spectacular cloud formations and theatrical light could be captured on “stormy days, with bursts of sunshine and occasional showers of rain”.© Courtesy of Richard and John Buckham. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/15583/artist_name/Alfred G Buckham National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/15583/artist_name/Alfred G Buckham Alfred G Buckham - about 1920. This spectacular shot of the landscape around Peebles highlights Buckham’s willingness to fly in the depths of winter despite the freezing conditions in the plane’s open cockpit. Although unbearably cold, he recalled that “the air… is so splendidly exhilarating that the discomfort is little felt until the blood begins to circulate freely again”. The sense of scale is enhanced in this image with the small silhouette of a biplane visible against a wispy, white cloud. This is an example of Buckham’s artistic manipulation of his images, which included combining atmospheric photographs of the sky with his landscape shots alongside painted aircraft, all of which enhance the composition.© Courtesy of Richard and John Buckham. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/15583/artist_name/Alfred G Buckham National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/15583/artist_name/Alfred G Buckham Alfred G Buckham - about 1920. Buckham was the leading aerial photographer of his day and was renowned for his atmospheric shots of the landscape. He felt that the most spectacular cloud formations and theatrical light could be captured on “stormy days, with bursts of sunshine and occasional showers of rain”. Over the years Buckham amassed a vast collection of photographs of skies which he could integrate with a separate landscape photograph to enhance the drama and create a more impressive composition. The title of this photograph of the Firth of Forth refers to sunrise in classical Greek mythology, and the ancient Greek belief that the rising and setting sun was due to Apollo driving his chariot across the sky. Perhaps with this image Buckham felt he was witnessing the sunrise in the way Apollo purportedly did.© Courtesy of Richard and John Buckham. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/15583/artist_name/Alfred G Buckham National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/15583/artist_name/Alfred G Buckham Alfred G Buckham - about 1920. Buckham was the leading aerial photographer of his day and was renowned for his atmospheric shots of the landscape. He felt that the most spectacular cloud formations and theatrical light could be captured on “stormy days, with bursts of sunshine and occasional showers of rain”. This is an example of one of his shots of an impressive cloud formation. It features the R100 airship, noted for its more oval, aerodynamic shape in comparison to the traditional Zeppelin. The R100 embarked on its maiden flight in 1929 but in 1930 it was deflated and removed from service following the crash of her sister ship, the R101, with the loss of forty-eight lives. Buckham painted the airship into the scene by hand.© Courtesy of Richard and John Buckham. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/15583/artist_name/Alfred G Buckham National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/15583/artist_name/Alfred G Buckham Alfred G Buckham - about 1920. Buckham was the leading aerial photographer of his day and was renowned for his atmospheric shots of the landscape. He felt that the most spectacular cloud formations and dramatic light could be captured on “stormy days, with bursts of sunshine and occasional showers of rain”. Over the years Buckham amassed a vast collection of photographs of skies which he could integrate with a separate landscape photograph to enhance the drama and create a more impressive composition. This photograph of the landscape over the Pentlands Hills near Edinburgh demonstrates this technique. It also illustrates another feature of Buckham’s photographs in the perfectly positioned silhouette of a biplane against the broken clouds, which Buckham would have painted on later.© Courtesy of Richard and John Buckham. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/15583/artist_name/Alfred G Buckham National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/15583/artist_name/Alfred G Buckham Alfred G Buckham - about 1920. Buckham was the leading aerial photographer of his day and was renowned for his atmospheric shots of the landscape. He felt that the most spectacular cloud formations and theatrical light could be captured on “stormy days, with bursts of sunshine and occasional showers of rain”. This image shows Captain Jordan flying his ‘Black Camel’ biplane at very close proximity to Buckham’s aircraft. Taken over the landscape around Rosyth, this was near to where Buckham crashed for the ninth time in 1918 and sustained serious injuries.© Courtesy of Richard and John Buckham. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/15583/artist_name/Alfred G Buckham National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/15583/artist_name/Alfred G Buckham Alfred G Buckham - about 1920. Buckham was the leading aerial photographer of his day and was renowned for his atmospheric shots of the landscape. He preferred to take shots at an altitude of between 1000 and 2000 feet as he felt that at any point higher “ details will become irritatingly small and uninteresting and only useful for record and survey purposes”. For this photograph he has, however, climbed to 16000 feet which has allowed him to capture the impressive storm clouds from above.© Courtesy of Richard and John Buckham. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/15583/artist_name/Alfred G Buckham National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/15583/artist_name/Alfred G Buckham Alfred G Buckham - about 1920. Buckham was the leading aerial photographer of his day and was renowned for his atmospheric shots of the landscape. He felt that the most spectacular cloud formations and theatrical light could be captured on “stormy days, with bursts of sunshine and occasional showers of rain”. Over the years Buckham built up a vast collection of photographs of skies. This is an example of one of his shots of a threatening bank of clouds in the heart of a storm. The billowing shapes of the clouds, more reminiscent of a nuclear explosion, than a brewing storm.© Courtesy of Richard and John Buckham. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/15583/artist_name/Alfred G Buckham National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/15583/artist_name/Alfred G Buckham Alfred G Buckham - about 1920. Buckham was the leading aerial photographer of his day and was renowned for his atmospheric shots of the landscape. He felt that the most spectacular cloud formations and theatrical light could be captured on “stormy days, with bursts of sunshine and occasional showers of rain”. Over the years Buckham amassed a vast collection of photographs of skies. In this photograph the contrasting light enhances the threatening nature of the clouds. The small biplane silhouetted against the bank of cloud was a later addition, painted in by Buckham to heighten the scene.© Courtesy of Richard and John Buckham. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/15583/artist_name/Alfred G Buckham National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/15583/artist_name/Alfred G Buckham Alfred G Buckham - about 1930. In 1930 Buckham was commissioned by Fortune magazine to produce a portfolio of aerial photographs of his chosen area of the Americas. Buckman selected central and South America. This striking photograph shows the expanse of the Chilean wilderness over which Buckham flew more than 2,000 miles. He recalled that “the desert of Chile – where rain never falls and the only living things are one species each of lizard and scorpion – there is no space to tell. Not all those desert miles were flown willingly, although I am grateful to the Chilean Government for granting me the first permission ever accorded to take aerial photographs of the region where lie Chile’s rich deposits of nitrate.”© Courtesy of Richard and John Buckham. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/15583/artist_name/Alfred G Buckham National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/15583/artist_name/Alfred G Buckham Alfred G Buckham - about 1930. This surreal and somewhat beautiful photograph features one of Mexico’s active volcanoes, Popocatepetl. Buckham describes the journey of the flight as his aeroplane turned down into the crater: “Almost at once the aeroplane dropped about two hundred feet... Beneath us the circular lake of boiling lava emitted numerous spouts of smoke and steam, whilst round its edge played occasional fires which, suddenly springing up and flickering awhile, as suddenly disappeared.” Breaking through the clouds, the sunlight highlights the jagged, snow-covered edge of the crater as smoke billows over the rim like a boiling saucepan. In 1930 Buckham was commissioned by 'Fortune' magazine to produce a portfolio of aerial photographs of his chosen area of the Americas, this photograph is part of that series.© Courtesy of Richard and John Buckham. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/15583/artist_name/Alfred G Buckham National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/15583/artist_name/Alfred G Buckham Alfred G Buckham - about 1930. In 1930 Buckham was commissioned by 'Fortune' magazine to produce a portfolio of aerial photographs of his chosen area of the Americas. Buckman opted for central and South America and this dramatic photograph captures the centre of Mexican volcano, Popocatepetl. The snow covered edge of the crater contrasts against the ominous dark sky, creating a shot which captures the awe-inspiring power of an active volcano. Buckham described the journey of the flight as his aeroplane turned down into the crater: “Almost at once the aeroplane dropped about two hundred feet... Beneath us the circular lake of boiling lava emitted numerous spouts of smoke and steam, whilst round its edge played occasional fires which, suddenly springing up and flickering awhile, as suddenly disappeared.”© Courtesy of Richard and John Buckham. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/15583/artist_name/Alfred G Buckham National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/15583/artist_name/Alfred G Buckham Alfred G Buckham - about 1930. In 1930 Buckham was commissioned by 'Fortune' magazine to produce a portfolio of aerial photographs of his chosen area of the Americas. Buckman opted for central and South America. Buckham described his journey across Guatemala and the opportunity to photograph the country’s largest volcano, Santa María, in The Morning Post of January 1934: “Over Guatemala very little was seen of its dense jungles and wild mountains owing to the presence of thick cloud; but luckily her most famous volcanoes, excepting San Salvador, stood clear. Among others Santa María presented an awe-inspiring subject for the camera.” This striking photograph captures the thick, ferocious smoke rising from the crater.© Courtesy of Richard and John Buckham. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/15583/artist_name/Alfred G Buckham National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2852/artist_name/Edward Burch Edward Burch, William Hunter - 1774. William Hunter was a famous and successful surgeon and teacher of medicine. He specialised in midwifery and attended Queen Charlotte, wife of George III, at the birth of her children. He was particularly interested in anatomy and was appointed to lecture on the subject at the Royal Academy of Arts. Hunter amassed a huge collection of coins, works of art, scientific specimens and ethnographic items, which he bequeathed to his old university in Glasgow as well as the money to construct a suitable building to display the collections. The Hunterian Museum opened in 1807, making it Scotland's oldest museum. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2852/artist_name/Edward Burch National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2855/artist_name/Archibald Burns Archibald Burns - 1858 or before. This photograph was featured in the book ‘Picturesque “bits” from Old Edinburgh’, published in 1868. It comprises several photographs by Burns alongside descriptive and historical texts by Thomas Henderson. This work highlights the typical living conditions of Edinburgh’s old town at this time – with overcrowding and poor sanitation prevalent. The scene was chosen, according to Henderson, “to show the earliest form of timber-fronted houses”. Despite acting as a documentary record, this photograph also displays a beautiful and almost mystical quality. The ghostly apparitions of figures at windows and walking along the Cowgate, creates a sense of foreboding which anticipates the demolition of these buildings following the 1871 Act of Improvement. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2855/artist_name/Archibald Burns National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2855/artist_name/Archibald Burns Archibald Burns - 1868. This is one of the images which Burns included in a book, called 'Picturesque Bits from Old Edinburgh' and published in 1868. Although the photographs record the historic buildings of the Old Town, Burns wanted them to be a reminder of the 'pain in the present'; the squalid and overcrowded conditions in which the poor lived. There is nevertheless a lot of charm in this picture and, although, there are no figures in the street, it is clearly inhabited. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2855/artist_name/Archibald Burns National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2855/artist_name/Archibald Burns Archibald Burns - 1871. In 1871, Burns was commissioned by Edinburgh's City Improvement Trust to photograph the derelict closes between the Old Quadrangle of the university and the Cowgate, prior to their demolition later in the year. According to a contemporary minute, Burns's twenty-six photographs excited "deep interest" as a "faithful record of this old historic part of the City which in a few days will be entirely swept away". http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2855/artist_name/Archibald Burns National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2855/artist_name/Archibald Burns Archibald Burns - 1871. In 1871 Archibald Burns was appointed by the Edinburgh Improvement Trust to document buildings in the area between the Cowgate and the University’s Old College, which were to be demolished that same year as part of a slum clearance programme. Burns took his photographs after the buildings had been cleared in February 1871, which explains the many removal and relocating signs. The resulting series captures perfectly the desolation and melancholy of the derelict area. The effect is heightened by his use of the then old-fashioned salted paper process, which gives the photographs an air of nostalgia. The Horse Wynd is now a set of steps rather than a street; it runs from the Cowgate at its present junction with Guthrie Street up in a straight line to present day Chambers Street. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2855/artist_name/Archibald Burns National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2856/artist_name/Robert Burns Robert Burns, Diana - about 1926. The vibrant colours and patterns of this panel provide an exotic jungle-like setting for the Greek goddess Diana, and her nymphs. The wild birds and animals, including the striking leopards at the front, allude to her role as the goddess of hunting. The panel is filled with exuberant rhythm and energy characteristic of 1920s design. It was created as part of the ambitious first floor decoration for Crawford's Tea Rooms at 70 Princes Street, Edinburgh. Burns was responsible for every detail of the interior design from the murals to the cake-stands. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2856/artist_name/Robert Burns National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2857/artist_name/Alexander Hohenlohe Burr Alexander Hohenlohe Burr - Dated 1860. This painting epitomises Alexander Hohenlohe Burr’s creative response to seventeenth-century Dutch and Flemish painting. The dramatic chiaroscuro and monumentality of the figures viewed close to the picture plane are strongly reminiscent of the candle-lit night scenes of the Dutch followers of Caravaggio. The meticulous figure drawing seen here was characteristic of the early independent works of all of the former students of Robert Scott Lauder. In subject matter and treatment, The Night Stall also recalls the Edinburgh street life scenes of Walter Geikie. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2857/artist_name/Alexander Hohenlohe Burr National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2859/artist_name/Edward Burra Edward Burra - 1930. The theme of this collage is a day at the races. Burra has combined cut-outs from magazines with drawn elements to create a variety of humorous and fantastical creatures. On the left is a horse with the body of a corseted lady and at the top is a Zeppelin airship smoking a pipe. On the face on the right, a peapod forms a toothy mouth and a pressure gauge becomes an eye. Collages by Burra are rare. He only used the technique for about a year from 1930-31 before reverting to his favourite medium of watercolour.© Estate of the Artist c/o Lefevre Fine Art Ltd., London http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2859/artist_name/Edward Burra National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2859/artist_name/Edward Burra Edward Burra - 1929. This drawing reflects Burra’s delight in the cabarets, bars and nightspots he frequented in Paris and Toulon. Specifically, it relates to the ‘folies’ – the extravagant music-halls of Paris which Burra visited regularly in 1929. The dancers at these ‘folies’ wore cut-away dresses and regularly flaunted naked torsos as they danced with high kicks: much like Burra’s central figure who is framed in the spotlight. Typical of Burra’s style of this time, she displays a mask-like face with a large, lipstick smeared mouth. Burra’s desire to capture the sense of movement shows a debt to Vorticism and his deep admiration for the satirical drawings by George Grosz is also evident. There is a drawing of a seated woman on the verso.© Estate of the Artist c/o Lefevre Fine Art Ltd, London http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2859/artist_name/Edward Burra National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2859/artist_name/Edward Burra Edward Burra - 1937. This painting shows Izzy Orts, a popular bar and dance-hall once located at the docks in Boston, but now demolished. Burra was a frequent visitor to the bar, no doubt attracted by the lively mix of clientele. Many of his works depict life in the seedier areas of cities. Burra visited America several times and this picture is believed to have been painted during his second visit in 1937. The vibrant scene contains a number of strange characters, such as the disquieting blank-eyed sailor who faces the viewer. The sailor in the foreground on the left-hand side is a self-portrait of the artist. The work is painted in watercolour, Burra's favourite medium.© Estate Of The Artist c/o Lefevre Fine Art Ltd, London http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2859/artist_name/Edward Burra National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2859/artist_name/Edward Burra Edward Burra - about 1937. Burra visited Spain on several occasions in the 1930s and was deeply impressed by the paintings by Goya and Bosch that he saw at the Prado museum in Madrid. However, although the extremist politics of the Spanish Civil War, that were intensifying in Spain and being felt around Europe, satisfied Burra’s interest in theatrical sensation, the increasing violence provoked a new turn in his work. Unusual for progressive artists of the period, Burra was pro-Franco, and his reaction to the violence was not ideological or moralistic but instead featured a sinister cast of characters - skeletons and menacing, cloaked figures, inhabiting a decaying world of ruined buildings - an exploration into the effect of the escalating violence and suffering on the people.© Estate of the Artist c/o Lefevre Fine Art Ltd, London http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2859/artist_name/Edward Burra National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/657/artist_name/Bernardino Butinone Bernardino Butinone - about 1480 - 1490. This is one of sixteen surviving scenes from the life of Christ, of similar size and style, which must originally have formed part of the same altarpiece or devotional work. A portable triptych of this kind by Butinone, also featuring scenes from the life of Christ, is in the Castello Sforzesco in Milan. The unusual spiral throne on which Christ is seated in this panel may be an allusion to the Tower of Babel and the confusion of languages associated with it, over which the divine wisdom of Christ triumphs. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/657/artist_name/Bernardino Butinone National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2864/artist_name/Reg Butler Reg Butler - 1957 - 1958. After the Second World War, Butler was among a number of British sculptors who felt that sculpture should respond to the nuclear age. As he remarked, 'Belsen, Buchenwald, Hiroshima and Nagasaki, were very much in our minds'. In the early 1950s Butler moved away from forged work to create modelled figures cast in bronze. The architectural stand featured in this sculpture derives from Butler's earlier forged metal pieces. It can also be compared to contemporary works by Francis Bacon and Alberto Giacometti, in which a cage device is used to hold the figure in empty space and accentuate its solitary nature.© Estate of Reg Butler http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2864/artist_name/Reg Butler National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2865/artist_name/Vincent Butler Vincent Butler, Cardinal Gordon Gray - 1990. To mark his 80th birthday, a bust of Gordon Joseph Cardinal Gray was commissioned for St Mary's Roman Catholic Cathedral in Edinburgh in 1990. The first cast is in the Cathedral, the second was donated to the Scottish National Portrait Gallery by the artist. No other casts exist. Edinburgh-born Gordon Gray became the first Roman Catholic Cardinal in Scotland since the Reformation. Ordained as a priest in 1935 and appointed Archbishop of St Andrews and Edinburgh in 1951, he was named a Cardinal in 1969 by Pope Paul VI. He played a major role in improving inter-denominational relations in Scotland and was greatly admired for his tolerance and benevolence.© Vincent Butler http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2865/artist_name/Vincent Butler National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2865/artist_name/Vincent Butler Vincent Butler, Helen Cruickshank - 1970. Helen Cruickshank was born at Hillside near Montrose. The poet Hugh MacDiarmid, a close friend, described her as a catalyst to the Scottish literary renaissance of the twentieth century. As Secretary of the Scottish PEN (an international association of Poets, Playwrights, Editors, Essayists and Novelists) she encouraged many young writers and was a particular support to Lewis Grassic Gibbon. This sculpted head suggests both her strength and openness of spirit. Her own first collection of poems 'Up the Noran Water' was published in 1934.© Vincent Butler http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2865/artist_name/Vincent Butler National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2865/artist_name/Vincent Butler Vincent Butler, Liz Lochhead - about 2004. Scottish poet and playwright Liz Lochhead was born in Motherwell in 1947. She studied at Glasgow School of Art and taught art at schools in Glasgow and Bristol. In 1971 Lochhead published her first collection of poems, ‘Memo for Spring’, which won a Scottish Arts Council Book Award. A female poet in a male-dominated field, her writings cross the boundaries of poetry, prose and drama. They are poignant and often humorous pieces that tell stories and question assumptions of female and Scottish identity. Often they also contain Gothic elements. In addition to poetry, she has written several theatrical pieces, the best-known being 'Mary Queen of Scots Got Her Head Chopped Off', which dramatises the history of Scotland from the female point of view.© Vincent Butler http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/2865/artist_name/Vincent Butler National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/8380/artist_name/John Byrne John Byrne, Billy Connolly - 2002. This celebratory portrait was painted to commemorate the comedian's 60th year. In his affectionate and humorous depiction, Byrne has included elements that represent the different aspects of Connolly's life and career. Wearing one of his famous 'Big Banana Feet' shoes, and with his belt buckle bearing his nickname 'Big Yin', the laughing figure of Connolly gestures towards his younger self in the background. The scene also includes smaller images of the comedian playing the banjo and running in the nude, two of the other pastimes for which he has become famous. © the Artist / Bridgeman Art Library. All rights reserved. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/8380/artist_name/John Byrne National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/8380/artist_name/John Byrne John Byrne, John Byrne - 1971 -73. John Byrne has combined several careers - playwright, theatre designer and artist. In his most famous play, 'The Slab Boys', Byrne drew on his experience as a paint mixer in a Paisley carpet factory. During the 1980s Byrne wrote the cult television series 'Tutti Frutti', followed by 'Your Cheatin' Heart', which used country and western music as a backdrop to a comedy of Glasgow life. Byrne painted this self-portrait after returning from California, and the influence of the 'Flower Power' hippy era can be seen in his appearance. © the Artist / Bridgeman Art Library. All rights reserved. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/8380/artist_name/John Byrne National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/8380/artist_name/John Byrne John Byrne, Robbie Coltrane - 1988. Robbie Coltrane became well known in the early 1980s with the rise of television's alternative comedy scene. Coltrane was in the original production of 'The Slab Boys' and its sequel 'Cuttin' a Rug', which were written by Byrne. This portrait shows the actor in the character of Danny McGlone from Byrne's 'Tutti Frutti', for which Coltrane won his first nomination as best actor for a BAFTA award. The apple core he clutches represents the music business in which his character is involved, suggesting it is rotten to the core. He is now best known to an international audience as Hagrid, the kindly giant in the Harry Potter films. © the Artist / Bridgeman Art Library. All rights reserved. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/8380/artist_name/John Byrne National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/8380/artist_name/John Byrne John Byrne, Tilda Swinton - 2001. Tilda Swinton is an acclaimed actress, famous for her roles in the films of the avant garde director, Derek Jarman, and the title role in an adaptation of Virginia Woolf's 'Orlando' (1993). Her work in theatre and in film has often explored and challenged supposed differences between genders and in 2008 she won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress for her role in the film 'Michael Clayton'. This vibrant chalk drawing captures Tilda Swinton's fragile beauty as well as her serious and strong intelligence. She and the artist have two children together. © the Artist / Bridgeman Art Library. All rights reserved. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/B/8380/artist_name/John Byrne National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/C/2867/artist_name/Florence St. John Cadell Florence St. John Cadell, Wendy Wood - 1959. A founder member of the National Party of Scotland, later the Scottish Nationalist Party, Wendy Wood campaigned for the cause of an independent Scotland for over half a century. She was also a practising artist who had trained with Walter Sickert and she regularly sent work to the Royal Scottish Academy. Wood was a close friend of St John Caddell with whom she shared a studio in Edinburgh. When this portrait was exhibited in 1959, it had the alternative title 'The Patriot'.© Estate of Florence St. John Cadell http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/C/2867/artist_name/Florence St. John Cadell National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/C/2868/artist_name/F.C.B. Cadell F.C.B. Cadell - mid-1920s. This painting is from the later part of Cadell's career. From the First World War onwards he used increasingly bright colours and strong shapes in his work. Cadell frequently painted interiors and still lifes. The red chair in the background of this painting was from the artist's studio and can be seen in other still lives painted during the 1920s and 1930s. Although this still life contains few objects, the simple composition of the image is tied together by the use of red and pink tones throughout the painting. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/C/2868/artist_name/F.C.B. Cadell National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/C/2868/artist_name/F.C.B. Cadell F.C.B. Cadell - 1915. This is a vibrant and humours drawing of a young sailor talking to a glamorous woman. Cadell has expertly depicted the woman’s demure glance with minimal brushstrokes and a hint of red to suggest her lips. Cadell joined the Royal Scots in 1915 and produced a series of drawings like this of army life before leaving for service in France. Twenty of the drawings were published in 1916 in the book ‘Jack and Tommy’, which was sold to benefit the Red Cross. Their clean lines and flat colours anticipate the style of his painting in the 1920s. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/C/2868/artist_name/F.C.B. Cadell National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/C/2868/artist_name/F.C.B. Cadell F.C.B. Cadell - 1915. This simple drawing epitomises Cadell’s skill in capturing a figure with a few swift, inky brushstrokes. Cadell produced a series of drawings like this before leaving for service in France in the First World War. Twenty of the drawings were published in 1916 in the book ‘Jack and Tommy’, which was sold to benefit the Red Cross. Their clean lines and flat colours anticipate the style of his painting in the 1920s. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/C/2868/artist_name/F.C.B. Cadell National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/C/2868/artist_name/F.C.B. Cadell F.C.B. Cadell, F.C.B. Cadell - about 1914. Edinburgh-born painter F C B Cadell was one of several painters known as the ‘Scottish Colourists’. Cadell trained in Paris from 1899 to 1903 and lived in Munich for several years before returning to his native city. In 1912 he founded the ‘Society of Eight’ with a group of artists equally interested in French Impressionism and Fauvism, including John Lavery and Samuel John Peploe. Cadell and Peploe, together with J D Fergusson and Leslie Hunter, later became known as the principal Scottish Colourists. They were among the first to introduce the intense colours of Fauvism into Scottish art. The bold colours and brushstrokes in this self-portrait, painted around 1914, are reminiscent of the style of French painter Edouard Manet. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/C/2868/artist_name/F.C.B. Cadell National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/C/2868/artist_name/F.C.B. Cadell F.C.B. Cadell - 1915. Cadell joined the Royal Scots in 1915 and produced a series of drawings of army life before leaving for service in France. In 1916 about fifty of these drawings were exhibited, whilst twenty were published in a book entitled ‘Jack and Tommy’, which was sold to benefit the Red Cross. These witty, quickly executed images depict soldiers and sailors on duty and on leave. Their clean lines and flat colours anticipate the style of Cadell’s painting in the 1920s. Here, three soldiers are sitting in a park watching two women walk past. The soldiers are captured in a few swift lines denoting their uniform, with the central figure smoking a pipe. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/C/2868/artist_name/F.C.B. Cadell National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/C/2868/artist_name/F.C.B. Cadell F.C.B. Cadell - mid-1920s. Cadell first visited the island of Iona, off the west coast of Scotland, in 1912. Thereafter he returned frequently, often in the company of Peploe. Cadell’s paintings show everyday life on the island such as the brightly-roofed building seen here, and he felt the light was of the same quality as that in the south of France. Like Peploe, Cadell found the tranquillity of the island a welcome break from his life in Edinburgh. His canvases of island scenes, painted in bold colours with block-like brushstrokes, were easy to sell when he returned to the city. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/C/2868/artist_name/F.C.B. Cadell National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/C/2868/artist_name/F.C.B. Cadell F.C.B. Cadell - 1915. This unusual drawing shows the backs of the heads of a man from the army and two sailors. The title ‘Jack and Tommy’ refers to their military roles – Jack meaning a sailor and Tommy a private in the army. The strong lines, vibrant primary colours and curious viewpoint create a bold composition. Cadell joined the Royal Scots in 1915 and produced a series of drawings of army life before leaving for service in France. Twenty of these drawings were published in 1916 in the book, also titled ‘Jack and Tommy’, which was sold to benefit the Red Cross. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/C/2868/artist_name/F.C.B. Cadell National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/C/2868/artist_name/F.C.B. Cadell F.C.B. Cadell - Dated 1912. The sketchy ‘Impressionist’ brushwork is typical of Cadell’s early work. He painted Peggy Macrae on several occasions (as did fellow Scottish Colourist Samuel John Peploe), titling each work after the colours of her dress. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/C/2868/artist_name/F.C.B. Cadell National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/C/2868/artist_name/F.C.B. Cadell F.C.B. Cadell, Bertha Hamilton Don-Wauchope - about 1921. The sitter in this painting is Bertha Hamilton Don-Wauchope (1864 - 1944), an Edinburgh model who posed regularly for Cadell from about 1911 to 1926. The distinctive mauve-coloured walls indicate that the portrait was painted in the artist's studio in Ainslie Place, Edinburgh, where the artist lived from 1920. After the First World War, Cadell abandoned his feathery impressionistic manner for this style, using bold colours and scarcely-visible brushstrokes. Cadell often included the names of colours in the titles of his paintings. This practice had been made popular by Whistler and became fashionable during the Edwardian period. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/C/2868/artist_name/F.C.B. Cadell National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/C/2868/artist_name/F.C.B. Cadell F.C.B. Cadell - about 1920 - 1925. Cadell employed a limited stock of objects in his still lifes with the fan and the ceramics seen here reappearing in several other works. The painting is undated, but the steeply banked perspective and decorative sense of pattern are typical of his work of the early 1920s. Cadell painted a series of colourful still lifes, which caused some controversy when first exhibited. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/C/2868/artist_name/F.C.B. Cadell National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/C/2868/artist_name/F.C.B. Cadell F.C.B. Cadell - about 1922. This painting is typical of Cadell's post-war style, characterised by vivid, acidic colours and strict composition. Using areas of flat colour and disregarding shadow, the artist has stylized the forms of jug, fan, chair, table and bowl to such an extent that the painting may be read as a two-dimensional pattern. Cadell painted a series of colourful still lifes, which caused some controversy when first exhibited. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/C/2868/artist_name/F.C.B. Cadell National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/C/2868/artist_name/F.C.B. Cadell F.C.B. Cadell - mid-1920s. Cadell often used the ‘picture within a picture’ device in his paintings. This allowed him to play with the geometric form of the picture frame and indulge his interest in two-dimensional surface pattern. Here, the composition is formally divided by five horizontal panels. This, combined with the fruit in the foreground, which echoes the fruit in the picture, creates a lively composition, with the focal point resting on the decorated Wiener Werkstätte designed glass on the table. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/C/2868/artist_name/F.C.B. Cadell National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/C/2868/artist_name/F.C.B. Cadell F.C.B. Cadell - about 1912. This is one of Cadell's largest paintings. The style is influenced by the broad brushstrokes of the Impressionists. The use of the mirror was a common artistic device, enabling an artist to show both the front and back views of a model in a single picture. Until the creation of the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art in 1959, the National Gallery of Scotland would not purchase work by living artists or even those who had been dead for less than ten years. This painting was bought immediately after Cadell's ten-year period in 'purgatory' had elapsed. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/C/2868/artist_name/F.C.B. Cadell National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/C/2868/artist_name/F.C.B. Cadell F.C.B. Cadell - 1915. Cadell joined the Royal Scots in 1915 and produced a series of drawings of army life before leaving for service in France. The drawings were published in 1916 in the book ‘Jack and Tommy’, which was sold to benefit the Red Cross. Their clean lines and flat colours anticipate the style of his painting in the 1920s. Here, Cadell depicts the moment of a couple walking away from each other. The artist deftly indicates the woman’s body with half a dozen inky marks. Red touches highlight her lips, which appear slightly downturned, adding a sombre tone to the already tangible tension. The man’s hat and socks are also decorated in red, denoting the uniform of the Royal Scots. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/C/2868/artist_name/F.C.B. Cadell National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/C/2868/artist_name/F.C.B. Cadell F.C.B. Cadell - 1915. In this ink and watercolour sketch, with a few bold lines and washes of colour Cadell has deftly captured a new recruit walking with an army officer. Cadell joined the Royal Scots in 1915 and this is one of a series of drawings of army life he produced before leaving for service in France. Twenty of the drawings were published in 1916 in the book ‘Jack and Tommy’, and sold to benefit the Red Cross. The brisk, economic brush-and-ink technique of these drawings seems to have been based on illustrations the Dutch Fauve painter, Kees van Dongen, made in the early 1900s, for journals such as ‘L’assiette au beurre’ and ‘Gil-Blas’. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/C/2868/artist_name/F.C.B. Cadell National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/C/2868/artist_name/F.C.B. Cadell F.C.B. Cadell - 1915. Cadell joined the Royal Scots in 1915 and produced a series of drawings of army life before leaving for service in France. In 1916 about fifty of these drawings were exhibited, whilst twenty were published in a book entitled ‘Jack and Tommy’, which was sold to benefit the Red Cross. These witty, quickly executed images depict soldiers and sailors on duty and on leave. This drawing shows an open top car with three figures inside – the title ‘Their Lordships’ implies that they are high ranking officials. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/C/2868/artist_name/F.C.B. Cadell National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/C/2868/artist_name/F.C.B. Cadell F.C.B. Cadell - 1915. In this ink and watercolour sketch, Cadell has captured the essence of the scene with an economy of line and colour. The drawing depicts a dashing soldier chatting to a girl. The artist has specified that the girl is a ‘flapper’, a term used in the 1920s to describe a particular type of liberated young woman. Cadell joined the Royal Scots in 1915 and this is one of a series of drawings of army life he produced before leaving for service in France. The drawings were published in 1916 in the book ‘Jack and Tommy’, and sold to benefit the Red Cross. Their clean lines and flat colours anticipate Cadell’s painting style of the 1920s. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/C/2868/artist_name/F.C.B. Cadell National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/C/2873/artist_name/Alexander Calder Alexander Calder - about 1935 - 1937. This is among the earliest of Calder's hanging mobiles. Calder made frequent trips to Paris where he was friendly with the Surrealists. The poetic, floating forms of this mobile look like three-dimensional equivalents of Miró's paintings. It has been suggested that they have a source in scientific models of the planetary system. Arp's sculptures were also an influence on Calder. Due to his training as an engineer, Calder was well acquainted with the mechanical principles required to make his mobiles balance and move freely.© ARS, NY and DACS, London 2004 http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/C/2873/artist_name/Alexander Calder National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/C/4074/artist_name/Benedetto Caliari Benedetto Caliari, St Jerome - . Saint Jerome is celebrated for his translations of the Bible from Greek and Hebrew into Latin. Because of this, Jerome is acknowledged as the patron saint of translators and librarians, and his Latin edition of the Bible (the Vulgate) remains the official biblical text of the Catholic Church. Jerome was a renowned scholar and studied a variety of subjects before dedicating himself to religion. He is frequently shown as a penitent elderly hermit, beating his own chest with a rock as punishment for loving secular learning. In this drawing, the monumental figure of Jerome is shown in deep contemplation, the intensity of this rapture expressed by the forceful gesture of his left arm. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/C/4074/artist_name/Benedetto Caliari National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/C/2875/artist_name/Abraham van Calraet Abraham van Calraet - . This painting is typical of Van Calraet’s work, particularly in the depiction of dogs and horses. It shows two riders and their dogs preparing to leave an inn and ‘start’ their journey. A wreath and a pewter wine jug hanging from the pole attached to the building indicate that this is an inn; the lady to the left wearing red is the inn-keeper. One man is mounted with his plumed hat and gloves on and clearly wishes to leave, while the other gestures to his companion to enjoy another glass (‘roemer’) of wine. Until the twentieth century, this picture was thought to be by Aelbert Cuyp, as it emulates his work both in its composition and in its use of light. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/C/2875/artist_name/Abraham van Calraet National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/C/2876/artist_name/Denys Calvaert Denys Calvaert, Jesus Christ, The Virgin Mary, St John the Baptist, St Joseph - about 1590 - 1600. The Holy Family rests during the Flight into Egypt, while angels provide refreshing fruit and spring water. The Christ Child blesses the infant St John the Baptist, whose reed cross is echoed by the wooden cross appearing in the miraculous vision above. Putti emerge from an opening in the clouds above the mountainous landscape, holding the instruments of Christ’s Passion: the cross and nails, and the column on which he is scourged. The smooth copper sheet on which this work is painted provided an ideal surface for Calvaert’s fluid style, enhancing the glowing colours and jewel-like finish. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/C/2876/artist_name/Denys Calvaert National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/C/2880/artist_name/Sir David Young Cameron Sir David Young Cameron - 1911. This image of Ben Ledi was produced in 1911, and by 1925 had become one of the most desirable and expensive Scottish prints. Here, Cameron used a combination of etching and drypoint to create the strong and dramatic contrasts of light and shade, resulting in a rich and full-toned image. Ben Ledi is a mountain set in the picturesque scenery of Perthshire, and its name means ‘Hill of the Gods’ in Gaelic. It was a constant source of inspiration for Cameron, who painted Ben Ledi many times in a variety of different seasons and atmospheres. His canvas in the National Gallery of Scotland’s collection (NG 2443) shows the mountain in autumn. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/C/2880/artist_name/Sir David Young Cameron National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/C/2880/artist_name/Sir David Young Cameron Sir David Young Cameron - 1923. Cameron was interested in portraying the grandeur and beauty of the Scottish Highlands, which he achieved through design rather than picturesque detail. He concentrated on the structure, tone and balance of the landscape. In this print Cameron shows the outline of Ben Lomond from across Loch Ard, but he has eliminated everything trivial to present a view of austere beauty that concentrates on the spirit of place. After giving up etching in 1917, Cameron took it up again in 1923 and then produced two of his greatest prints, this plate and the ‘Thermae of Caracalla’. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/C/2880/artist_name/Sir David Young Cameron National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/C/2880/artist_name/Sir David Young Cameron Sir David Young Cameron - 1929. Castle Urquhart is situated on the banks of Loch Ness, with magnificent views across the Great Glen towards Inverness and Fort Augustus. Throughout its long existence, the castle has been an important strategic stronghold for anyone wishing to control the area, including both Robert the Bruce and Oliver Cromwell’s armies. The history of the castle is steeped in conflict, but this accounts for only part of the now ruined state. It was deliberately blown up in 1692 to prevent it falling into Jacobite hands. The castle’s turbulent past and the surrounding romantic landscape combine to make this one of the most popular beauty spots in Scotland. Cameron’s print shows the austere ruins set in the now peaceful valley, with its majestic tower reflected in the still, unbroken waters of Loch Ness. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/C/2880/artist_name/Sir David Young Cameron National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/C/2880/artist_name/Sir David Young Cameron Sir David Young Cameron - 1922. During the early 1920’s, while recuperating from a heart attack, Cameron painted several extended visits to the South of France. The landscapes executed during this period, when he painted in oils in preference to printmaking, are characterised by vibrant colour reflecting his delight in the intensity of the southern light and by a tendency to eliminate extraneous detail in the interests of bold geometric pattern. One of Cameron’s most entrancing Provençal subjects, this picture can probably be associated with his stay in Nice in 1926. 'En Provence' was first exhibited in 1927 at the Barbizon House gallery of the Scottish dealer David Croal Thomson, a close friend of the artist and his regular agent until 1930. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/C/2880/artist_name/Sir David Young Cameron National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/C/2880/artist_name/Sir David Young Cameron Sir David Young Cameron - 1932. This print is the last landscape Cameron made, and it shows a panoramic view of Tantallon Castle sitting at the shores of the Firth of Forth. Tantallon is on the East Lothian coast, some eight miles south of Haddington. The castle was built by William Douglas, 1st Earl of Douglas, in about 1350. It was the scene of many battles over the centuries. In 1651 Cromwell sent an army to attack the castle, and after twelve days of bombardment much of it was destroyed. The castle was then abandoned as a fortress and residence, and sold to the Dalrymple Family in 1699. It was taken into state care in 1924, and is now maintained by Historic Scotland. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/C/2880/artist_name/Sir David Young Cameron National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/C/2880/artist_name/Sir David Young Cameron Sir David Young Cameron - 1923. In 1919 Cameron was appointed a member of both the Faculty of Painting and the newly formed Faculty of Engraving of the British School at Rome. This print dates from his trip to Rome in 1923, when he visited the School and its students. The Baths of Caracalla were the second largest complex of baths in ancient Rome, and were built in the 3rd Century AD by Marcus Aurelius Antonius, better known as Caracalla. The Baths or Thermae were an important part of Roman social life and this building must have been staggering in both its size and opulence. In this print (which is one of Cameron’s largest), he concentrates on the massive, gloomy architectural ruins. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/C/2880/artist_name/Sir David Young Cameron National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/C/2880/artist_name/Sir David Young Cameron Sir David Young Cameron - 1910. Following a trip to Egypt in 1908-09, Cameron visited France. Amiens is the principal city and ancient capital of Picardy, and its Gothic Cathedral of Notre-Dame is especially noted for the fine array of sculptures on the main façade and in the south transept. This print shows the chimera on one of the buttresses of the Cathedral. Chimera are gargoyles that are formed from parts of different animals. They were traditionally placed on the upper levels of buildings to serve as rainwater spouts, but were also believed to guard the building from evil spirits. This print was undoubtedly inspired by Cameron’s friend Charles Meryon’s etching of 1853, which shows the chimera ‘Le Stryge’ on the parapet of Notre-Dame in Paris.// After his trip to Egypt it appears that Cameron returned to France in 1910, visiting Amiens, Beauvais, Chartres and Paris. Amiens is the principal city and ancient capital of Picardy, and is famed for its Gothic Cathedral of Notre-Dame. The Cathedral is especially noted for its fine array of sculptures on the main façade and in the south transept. This print shows the Griffin on one of the buttresses of the Cathedral. In producing this print Cameron would have been inspired by Meryon’s etching of 1853 showing the Chimera ‘Le Stryge’ on the parapet of Notre-Dame, Paris. In early states the design fills the whole of the copper plate, but by this fourth state the composition had been restricted within an oval border. The following year Cameron made a similar print showing ‘The Wingless Chimera; sited on the neighbouring buttress on the Cathedral’s roof. (VH: DY Cameron Display, B2 26 March – 13 June 2004) http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/C/2880/artist_name/Sir David Young Cameron National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/C/2880/artist_name/Sir David Young Cameron Sir David Young Cameron - 1898. The Palace of Stirling Castle was built by King James V in the mid-sixteenth century. The King had just returned from France and wanted new accommodation to rival what he had seen on the Continent. This etching shows the view along the southern side of the Palace. Cameron concentrated on depicting the ornate façade with its tall grilled windows and grotesque carved figures. These Renaissance sculptures were probably carved by a Frenchman, and would have been an attempt by King James V to replicate the type of work that he has seen at Loches and Blois in France. Today the Palace is considered one of the finest Renaissance buildings in Scotland, and the sculptures are among the best examples of French stone carving in the country. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/C/2880/artist_name/Sir David Young Cameron National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/C/2880/artist_name/Sir David Young Cameron Sir David Young Cameron - about 1913. Cameron's austere landscape, first exhibited in 1913, provides a striking contrast to the romantically charged Highland scenery of earlier painters. He emphasises the essential outline and structure of the mountainous range, including bands of deep shadow. Illuminated grassy stretches and clearer patches in the sky which relieve the sombre slopes. Superfluous detail and narrative content are excluded. Nothing detracts from the central peak's overwhelming presence. Cameron's bold, stark etchings certainly informed his painted compositions of this sort. To a certain extent they also reflect Rembrandt's influence and also that of Whistler.© Dr John R Wattt http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/C/2880/artist_name/Sir David Young Cameron National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/C/2880/artist_name/Sir David Young Cameron Sir David Young Cameron - about 1908. Cameron’s watercolour of the West Coast of Scotland shows a view from the mainland over to the islands, which stretch out across the horizon. He has captured the brilliant effects of the setting sun on the landscape, as its rays penetrate the thin cloud and radiate upon the land and water. In both the roof of a foreground farm building, and in the calm Atlantic Ocean behind, Cameron left areas without any colour, where the dazzling evening sun has had an almost bleaching effect. He applied very thin washes of watercolour to the painting and added minimal detail. This gives the scene an overall haziness, and adds to the sense of languidness as the day ends. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/C/2880/artist_name/Sir David Young Cameron National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/C/2880/artist_name/Sir David Young Cameron Sir David Young Cameron - 1898. This print shows Stirling Castle, which provided a home for Scottish Kings and Queens from the days of Alexander I until the Union of the Crowns under King James VI in 1603. The castle was of strategic importance, as it guarded the lowest crossing point on the River Forth, and was well defended on three sides by the rock on which it stands. The natural approach to the Castle is from the south, by the esplanade shown in the foreground of Cameron’s etching. King James IV was responsible for building the magnificent defences known as the Forework, seen in the centre of the print. To the right Cameron included part of the towers of the Gatehouse built between 1501 and 1506. These would have been originally twice the height shown here and topped with conical roofs. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/C/2880/artist_name/Sir David Young Cameron National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/C/2880/artist_name/Sir David Young Cameron Sir David Young Cameron - 1916. This print was issued to subscribers of a special edition of ‘The Royal Scottish Academy 1826 – 1916’, by William Darling McKay and Frank Rinder. It shows William Henry Playfair’s two great gallery buildings in the centre of Edinburgh, set beneath the magnificent backdrop of the Castle. Playfair strove to achieve harmony between the buildings and their picturesque surroundings. Cameron captured these temples to the arts and their setting with his typically economical use of line, creating an atmospheric print that celebrates Playfair’s designs. Cameron himself had a close association with this site. In 1920 he was selected to sit on the Board of Trustees of the National Galleries of Scotland, an appointment which he retained until his death in 1945. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/C/2880/artist_name/Sir David Young Cameron National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/C/2880/artist_name/Sir David Young Cameron Sir David Young Cameron - about 1905. In this large watercolour Cameron used a restrained palette to create a feeling of solitude and serenity as the evening light fades. This drawing was probably made in 1905, two years after Cameron moved into his new house ‘Dun Eaglais’ in Kippen. The house had spectacular views of the Forth Valley and Trossachs to the north, and the Garunnock Hills and Stirling Castle to the east. The ever-changing Stirlingshire landscape was probably the source for this watercolour. Cameron first exhibited this work at the Royal Watercolour Society’s Spring Exhibition in 1905. A similar composition, also dating from around 1905, is in the Fleming-Wyfold Collection, London. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/C/2880/artist_name/Sir David Young Cameron National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/C/2880/artist_name/Sir David Young Cameron Sir David Young Cameron - 1894. Cameron’s print shows the Venetian home of the artist Tintoretto, where he lived from 1574 until his death in 1594. This image reveals the influence of Whistler in the way Cameron combined the beautiful interplay of sunlight bouncing off carved masonry. He varied between passages of intense detail and blank open areas, to produce a balanced and harmonious composition. This etching is No. 6 of ‘The North Italian Set’, a collection of prints that Cameron made during his visit to Italy. Only twenty-five complete sets were printed and initially offered for sale at £30 per set. The demand for Cameron prints was such that by 1911 a set would fetch £460 at auction, and by 1929 another set reached the astronomical sum of £1,290. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/C/2880/artist_name/Sir David Young Cameron National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/C/2881/artist_name/Hugh Cameron Hugh Cameron - Exhibited 1873 (RSA). During the 1870s Cameron produced a number of paintings depicting Scottish country people engaged in hard farm tasks, or collecting and dragging firewood. Several of these compositions suggest the influence of Jean François Millet's scenes of peasant life. First exhibited in 1873, this picture was painted for Cameron's friend, John McGavin of Glasgow. McGavin was also a patron of Cameron's contemporaries Orchardson and Pettie and a discerning collector of Corot, Diaz, Millet and the two Hague School painters, Israels and Maris. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/C/2881/artist_name/Hugh Cameron National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/C/2879/artist_name/J. Bruce Cameron J. Bruce Cameron - . David Livingstone was one of the great Christian missionaries of the nineteenth century, and fought the slave trade in Africa throughout his life with great dedication. His journey across Africa and his discovery, and naming, of Victoria Falls made him Britain's national hero. Livingstone was born in the Lanarkshire town of Blantyre. This etching shows the building which housed the single room that he was born and grew up in.© Estate of the Artist http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/C/2879/artist_name/J. Bruce Cameron National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/C/2882/artist_name/Julia Margaret Cameron Julia Margaret Cameron, Charles Darwin - 1868. This photogravure is part of a book of twenty-five portraits titled ‘Alfred, Lord Tennyson and his friends’. Published in 1893, it features the likes of Thomas Carlyle, Sir John Herschel and Charles Darwin. Darwin is widely recognised as one of the most influential figures in the history of science. His research conducted during The Beagle voyage from 1831-6, marked a definitive period in his life and formulated the beginnings of his investigations into evolution: “it determined my whole career”. In 1859 Darwin published ‘On the Origins of Species’, which shattered established beliefs and proposed his theory of evolution. Darwin met Tennyson and the photographer, Julia Margaret Cameron, in 1868 whilst visiting the Isle of Wight. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/C/2882/artist_name/Julia Margaret Cameron National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/C/2882/artist_name/Julia Margaret Cameron Julia Margaret Cameron, Lionel Tennyson - about 1866. In 1860, Cameron moved to Freshwater on the Isle of Wight to be close to her friends the Tennysons who lived on the nearby estate of Farringford. This reflective portrait shows the poet's youngest son, Lionel, who later joined the India Office. In 1885, he contracted malaria at Assam and died at sea on the journey home. Cameron's own son reminisced about Farringford: 'I hear again the voice of my best loved friend, Lionel Tennyson, and gaze once more into those fine eyes of his through which his steadfast noble soul looked out so kindly and lovingly on this world'. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/C/2882/artist_name/Julia Margaret Cameron National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/C/2882/artist_name/Julia Margaret Cameron Julia Margaret Cameron, Elizabeth Keown, Kate Keown - 1865. The red and the white roses are a simple metaphor of youthful beauty, briefly flowering in early summer and changed by biting frost or age. The photographer has filled the frame to overflowing giving the image a very direct quality, but by showing her subjects out of focus, she's made it very melancholy too. The two girls were Kate and Elizabeth Keown, the daughters of an artillery officer living near Cameron's house at Freshwater on the Isle of Wight. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/C/2882/artist_name/Julia Margaret Cameron National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/C/2882/artist_name/Julia Margaret Cameron Julia Margaret Cameron, Thomas Carlyle - 1867. In 1843 Thomas Carlyle published ‘Past and Present’, the most articulate mid-century expression of romantic principle. The book contrasted a modern world degraded by machines and money to the fulfilment offered by a medieval monastic community. ‘Past and Present’ had a profound influence on Victorian society: thirty years later the art critic, John Ruskin, was still recommending it to his readers, suggesting that they learn it “by heart”. Julia Margaret Cameron’s extraordinary animated portrait of Carlyle communicated something of the intellectual force of the author’s vision. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/C/2882/artist_name/Julia Margaret Cameron National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/C/4075/artist_name/Domenico Campagnola Callisto, Domenico Campagnola, Juno - about 1540. This drawing illustrates an episode in the life of Callisto from Ovid’s Metamorphoses. Callisto was one of the goddess Diana’s chaste and beautiful maidens. She was seduced by Jupiter, who had disguised himself as Diana in order to become close to Callisto. When the resulting pregnancy was discovered by Diana, Callisto was banished from her group, and having given birth to her son Arcas, she was punished again by Jupiter’s jealous wife Juno, who transformed her into a bear. This drawing shows the moment when Juno catches Callisto’s hair; her subsequent transformation into a bear begins with her arms growing hair. Jupiter eventually turned Callisto into the constellation of Ursa Major, the Great Bear. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/C/4075/artist_name/Domenico Campagnola National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/C/4075/artist_name/Domenico Campagnola Domenico Campagnola, Jesus Christ, The Virgin Mary, St Joseph - about 1545. The Virgin Mary is shown breastfeeding the infant Christ outside a stable, as Joseph sits reading close by. This scene is imbued with a domestic charm. A group of three birds occupy the hay loft of the ramshackle stable and go about their own activities, just as the holy trio below are fully absorbed in theirs. The strong ox peering around the stable and the ass within are commonly found in representations of the Nativity. This drawing displays the overall refinement and steady touch that is so typical of Campagnola’s mature drawing style of the mid-1540s. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/C/4075/artist_name/Domenico Campagnola National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/C/23656/artist_name/Duncan Campbell Duncan Campbell, Bernadette Devlin - 2008. This film is a captivating portrait of the charismatic political activist, Bernadette Devlin. In the late 1960s Devlin was a prominent figure in the student-led group People’s Democracy and in 1969, at the age of twenty-one, she became the youngest female British MP. Campbell has pieced together vintage film clips, sourced from British and American news archives, alongside animation and a scripted voiceover. The result is an intriguing interplay which builds an absorbing portrait of a passionate individual through the eyes of the media. As Campbell commented, “I wanted to faithfully represent Devlin... Yet I worked with mediated images of her and writings about her. What I produced can only ever be a selection of these representations…”© The Artist http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/C/23656/artist_name/Duncan Campbell National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/C/27362/artist_name/Hamish Campbell Hamish Campbell, Ian Rankin - 2011. This portrait of Scottish writer Ian Rankin was taken in Edinburgh’s Oxford bar, made famous as the favoured wateringhole of Rankin’s character, Detective Inspector Rebus. Ponderous, unshaven and holding a pint, Rankin appears as an author deep in thought. The neutral background draws attention to Rankin’s features as he looks out of the frame. Born in Cardenden, Fife, in 1960, Rankin graduated from the University of Edinburgh in 1982 and lists in his biography work as a grape-picker, swineherd, taxman, alcohol researcher, hi-fi journalist and punk musician. His first novel, ‘Knots and Crosses’, featuring Rebus, was published in 1987. The Rebus books have now been translated into over twenty languages and made into a TV series.© H Campbell Photography (HCP) http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/C/27362/artist_name/Hamish Campbell National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/C/2887/artist_name/Steven Campbell Steven Campbell - 1985. In this painting, the bubble-like capsule encompassing the man’s head is, as the title suggests, a flea’s impression of a head seen through its multi-faceted eye. But why the man wears only one shoe and why another head appears at his waist is not clear, nor is it intended to be. Campbell was influenced by the spirit of Surrealism – the idea of a picture reflecting mental space, rather than real, physical, space. Yet, while his work is complex and absurd, it is also humorous. As in this picture, Campbell’s paintings often suggest a narrative, but this cannot be ‘read’ in a straightforward manner. Many of his paintings contain strong theatrical elements, showing the influence of contemporary performance art.© The Artist http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/C/2887/artist_name/Steven Campbell National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/C/2887/artist_name/Steven Campbell Steven Campbell, Bill Forsyth - 1995. The first film of Glasgow-born director, Bill Forsyth, was 'That Sinking Feeling', a low budget movie made in 1979 about a group of unemployed teenagers in Glasgow. His second film, 'Gregory's Girl', set in Cumbernauld and made in 1980, brought Forsyth international recognition. By 1983 he was directing Hollywood's Burt Lancaster in 'Local Hero'. Campbell described Forsyth as 'a dark mysterious creature' although his movies are decidedly funny. The motorway flyover is a reference to Glasgow's Kingston Bridge which Forsyth often uses in his films.© The Artist http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/C/2887/artist_name/Steven Campbell National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/C/2887/artist_name/Steven Campbell Steven Campbell, Steven Campbell, Jesus Christ, St Christopher - 1986. In this painting, a suited figure (perhaps the artist himself) wedges himself between St Christopher and the infant Christ, and seems intent on guiding the latter to a watery end. The sheep, the hilly landscape and the presence of the Union Jack may refer to the Falklands War of 1982. Campbell was influenced by the stories of P.G. Wodehouse, murder mystery magazines and children's book illustrations. Like many of Campbell's paintings, this work has a surreal quality and features male characters involved in bizarre, apparently nonsensical activities.© The Artist http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/C/2887/artist_name/Steven Campbell National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/C/2887/artist_name/Steven Campbell Steven Campbell, Steven Campbell - about 2006. This theatrical and complex self-portrait is one of the last paintings Campbell completed before his untimely death in 2007. It is filled with a rich narrative, incorporating figures and symbols, mixed together in a dream-like composition. The artist presents himself as a Christ figure, displaying his palms which show stigmata. To the left a cross is marked out with police tape, which, as testament to Campbell’s dark humour, reads “Police. Death In Progress’. He takes this further with a skull visible at the base of the cross, a reference to Golgotha, the place where Christ was crucified. Crammed with death and religious symbolism, it is hard not to consider this work as a portrait of a man in some way aware that death was on his doorstep.© The estate of Steven Campbell http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/C/2887/artist_name/Steven Campbell National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/C/2888/artist_name/Thomas Campbell Thomas Campbell, Sir Henry Raeburn - 1822. By 1822 Raeburn was nearing the end of a hugely succesful career which established him as one of the greatest of all Scottish portrait painters. In celebration of this, Campbell produced this bust in the classical style. Campbell, from Edinburgh, was working in Rome at the time but he would have been familiar with Raeburn's appearance. The bust must have reached Edinburgh before Raeburn's death in July 1823, as it is recorded that he was "much pleased with it'". http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/C/2888/artist_name/Thomas Campbell National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/C/4083/artist_name/Giovanni Domenico Campiglia Giovanni Domenico Campiglia, Venus - about 1730. In the early 1730s, the antiquary Anton Francesco Gori started work on a comprehensive set of volumes called the 'Museum Florentium' that were intended to provide a visual record of the artistic treasures of Florence. He employed artists to draw copies of famous works which were subsequently engraved and published. This fine red chalk drawing of the ancient sculpture called 'The Medici Venus' was one of Campiglia's contributions to the Antique Sculpture volume (first published in 1734). The Medici Venus was celebrated as a model of female beauty. It was discovered in Rome in the sixteenth century, and for some time it was housed in the Villa Medici, Rome. In 1677 the sculpture was moved to Florence, where it was eventually installed in the Tribuna of the Uffizi. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/C/4083/artist_name/Giovanni Domenico Campiglia National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/C/2890/artist_name/Canaletto (Giovanni Antonio Canal) Canaletto (Giovanni Antonio Canal) - about 1728. Previously considered to be the work of an imitator of Canaletto, the autograph status of this picture was recognised during recent restoration. It is one of many versions by Canaletto of this view of the Grand Canal looking east towards the Bacino di San Marco from the Campo San Vio (shown in the right foreground). The large building on the left is the Palazzo Corner della Ca’ Grande. The painting dates from relatively early in Canaletto’s career, probably from the second half of the 1720s. http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/C/2890/artist_name/Canaletto (Giovanni Antonio Canal) National Galleries of Scotland http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/artists-a-z/C/6176/artist_name/Antonio C