15,000 photographs of Scotland | Introducing the MacKinnon Collection

The MacKinnon Collection of Scottish photography was recently acquired by the National Galleries of Scotland and the National Library of Scotland and is shared by both institutions. In this talk, Curator Blake Milteer provides an introduction to the collection and discusses its representation of Scottish life and identity from the 1840s through the 1940s – a century of dramatic transformation and innovation.

This collection, originally amassed by Murray MacKinnon, is distinguished by the work of photographers who captured unprecedented images that brilliantly transport us back to a century of changing rural communities, growing cities and enduring historic sites, but also illuminate the faces and places that continue to affect our lives today.

This talk, which was recorded in April 2019, is approx. 21 minutes long, and can also be accessed via our Soundcloud profile (external website).

The images that Blake refers to during the talk are displayed below.

Unknown Memento - Old Tay Bridge 1880s
David Octavius Hill and Robert Adamson, The Misses Grierson, salt print from a calotype negative, mid 1840s.
Unknown, Dundee Views, gelatin silver prints, one of three mounted together in one matte.
George Washington Wilson, Fingal's Cave, albumen print.
James Craig Annan, Glasgow University, photogravure, printed on Japanese tissue paper, 1898.
William Henry Fox Talbot, Loch Katrine (pier and boat) salted paper print from a calotype negative, about 1845.

The MacKinnon Collection was acquired jointly with the National Library of Scotland with assistance from National Lottery Heritage Fund, Scottish Government and the Art Fund.

By Blake Milteer, Curator, Photography (The MacKinnon Collection), 24 April 2019