About this artwork

This watercolour drawing illustrates how Playfair’s proposed new National Gallery of Scotland building would look against the rugged grandeur of the Castle. Although the design for the building was based on ancient classical sources, the historical backdrop of the Castle Rock only served to highlight the modernity of Playfair’s new building. Playfair did not dogmatically follow the academic principles of the Greek Revival in his design and placed emphasis on creating a building that would suit the needs of its occupants and more importantly the scenic requirements of the site.

Updated before 2020

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William Henry Playfair

William Henry Playfair