Artists
Browse over a thousand highlighted artists from the collection.
Samuel John Peploe
Eduardo Paolozzi
Francesca Woodman
Sir Henry Raeburn
Vincent van Gogh
Why are there so few female artists?
The ten most expensive paintings in history were painted by men. And of the $196 billion spent on art at auction in the last decade, women accounted for only 2% of sales. So why are so few female artists represented in the world of art?
Why can't I touch art?
If you’ve ever seen a painting behind glass, or a barrier in front of a sculpture, you might have wondered, ‘why can’t I touch that?’ So why can’t you touch art? And as the world of art constantly evolves, is this changing?
Inspiring collections
New acquistions
This collection presents some of the works acquired in recent years, including painting, works on paper and photography.
Scottish art
In this collection, you can explore a selection of highlights from our collection of Scottish art.
Highlights
The National Galleries of Scotland has over 96,000 objects in its collection. We have selected just a few of these for you to enjoy.
MacKinnon Collection
This unique collection of Scottish photography represents Scottish life and identity from the 1840s through the 1940s – a century of dramatic transformation and innovation.
Reviewing our collection content
As part of our commitment to equality, we are undertaking a review of the national art collection in relation to colonialism, slavery and their legacies. New content, in gallery and online, is being developed over the coming months in light of this research and will remain an ongoing project. If you see content that you think should be reviewed as part of this work, please email us. All suggestions will be considered. We are currently unable to give a timescale for when any agreed changes will be made but we will do it as soon as we can.
From our archive
Delve in to our archive to uncover extraordinary art treasures.
Toyen
A look at astonishing works by Marie Čermínová (1902-1980), more famously known as Toyen.
La Dame Ovale
A look at a livre d’artiste written by the Surrealist painter, poet and author Leonora Carrington, and illustrated by Max Ernst.
Surrealist Argentinian playing cards
A deck of playing cards crafted by the Argentinian painter, designer, illustrator and author, Leonor Fini.
Artist book of proverbs
We take a look at a fascinating artist book of proverbs from around the world by Linda K. Johnson.