About this artwork

This drawing by Thomas Hamilton shows the Dean Orphanage in Edinburgh before its construction from 1831 to 1833. Hamilton was the architect for the project and an accomplished watercolourist, who may have intended this drawing as a model for an engineer. Built of local Craigleith stone, the building is a curious mix of neo-classical and baroque features. It was designed to accommodate the Orphan Hospital of Edinburgh, which until then had been housed in the grounds of Trinity Hospital. During the 1990s the building was refurbished by architects Terry Farrell & Partners and in 1999 it was reopened by the National Galleries of Scotland as the Dean Gallery. Known now as Modern Two, it houses temporary exhibitions, the Keiller Library, a recreation of the sculptor Eduardo Paolozzi studio and a café.

Updated before 2020

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Thomas Hamilton

Thomas Hamilton