Press office

The main aim of the National Galleries of Scotland’s press office is to achieve positive coverage for the Galleries' art collection, exhibitions and activities in the widest range of media. The press office team works with a range of press, broadcast media and public body contacts in pursuit of constructive and informed public debate about the National Galleries.

Larry Herman, *Jim Russell, one of the elected worker directors with the first copy of the first edition of the Scottish Daily News* (1974 - 1976; printed: 2015)

The press office is the first point of contact for journalists seeking information. As a result, the team are in regular contact with all departments so as to maintain a constant awareness of current events.

The department holds regular press views for new exhibitions, liaises with journalists to achieve favourable and sometimes exclusive coverage of exhibitions, events or people within the Galleries, commissions and works with film-makers for specific projects and publicises new acquisitions. The press office also provides press releases, images and interviews for exhibitions and events.

Press releases 2021

18 March 2021
National Galleries of Scotland announce reopening dates

The phased reopening of the National Galleries of Scotland (NGS) will begin on 26 April, starting with the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art (Modern Two) and its exhibition Ray Harryhausen: Titan of Cinema. Visitors can book their tickets now on the NGS website.

Measures to ensure the health and safety of visitors and employees will be in place, including one-way routes around each Gallery and reduced capacities. This will enable people to be reassured during their visit while enjoying very personal encounters with their much-loved artworks. NGS has also secured the UK-wide industry standard ‘We’re Good to Go’ accreditation.

Reopening on Monday 26 April, the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art (Modern Two) will welcome visitors back to experience the landmark exhibition, Ray Harryhausen: Titan of Cinema. Originally due to close in September 2021, the show has been extended to 20 February 2022 to allow as many people as possible to experience this thrilling and immersive exhibition. The Gallery will be open seven days a week.

The Scottish National Portrait Gallery will reopen on Friday 30 April with The Modern Portrait exhibition on show for the first time since March 2020. Some of the most recognisable portraits from the national collection will be on display, featuring stars such as Billy Connolly, Annie Lennox and Doddie Weir. Visitors will also be able to enjoy the artworks on the ground floor, including the magnificent Great Hall and the ambulatory on the first floor. The Gallery will be open seven days a week.

The Scottish National Gallery will reopen on Thursday 6 May with seven Impressionist and Post-Impressionist paintings newly moved to the ground floor to make these incredibly popular works accessible to visitors. They include Olive Trees by Vincent van Gogh, Haystacks by Claude Monet and Vision of the Sermon by Paul Gauguin. Visitors will also be able to reconnect with other masterpieces such as Diego Velázquez’s An Old Woman Cooking Eggs, Sir Edwin Landseer’s iconic Monarch of the Glen and Sir Henry Raeburn’s Reverend Robert Walker (1755 - 1808), famously known as the Skating Minister. The Gallery will initially open for three days a week (Thursday, Friday and Saturday).

The Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art (Modern One) will reopen on Sunday 16 May with a new display celebrating the life and work of the artist Joan Eardley in the centenary year of her birth. Visitors will also be able to see the best of international modern art, including a major display devoted to its world-class collection of Surrealist art, including works by artists such as Dalí, Tanning, Magritte, Giacometti and Picasso. The Gallery will initially open for three days a week (Sunday, Monday and Tuesday). Café Modern One and a pop-up café beside the entrance of Modern Two will also be open.

The outdoor sculpture trails, the grounds and car parks at Modern One and Two have been open throughout and will continue to be open. Visitors can become avid art explorers by taking part in our free, newly-developed Walk, Talk, Make sculpture trails, aimed at all ages. Highlights from the trail include the stunning Landform (2001) by the late Charles Jencks, with its undulating hills and calming lake, Tracey Emin’s Roman Standard (2005) and the first figure of the six that constitute Antony Gormley’s much-loved 6 TIMES (2010), a series of sculptures beginning at Modern One and which are sited along the picturesque Water of Leith.

Sir John Leighton, Director General of the National Galleries of Scotland said: “In what has been a challenging time for everyone, we know that visitors are keen to get back into our Galleries and reconnect with the art they love. We are delighted that we can now share our reopening dates so people can begin to plan their visits. Whether that’s to experience the incredible legacy of cinematic pioneer Ray Harryhausen or to enjoy spending time with their favourite works from the permanent collection, we look forward to welcoming people back in the weeks ahead.”

—ENDS—
Notes to Editors

Covid-19 Measures

All four sites will continue to operate with a one-way route and visitors will receive a link to download a printable map of the Gallery so they can easily find their way through. Some smaller rooms and spaces will remain closed to conform with safe physical-distancing measures. Visitors can also use the Smartify app to delve deeper into the artworks on display, with highlight tours revealing hidden details and stories about key works.

In 2020, 96% of National Galleries of Scotland visitors surveyed deemed hygiene measures put in place to ensure visitor safety ‘excellent’ or ‘good’. 85% of visitors stated that visiting one of the Galleries had a positive impact on their mental health and wellbeing.

Click and collect for our online shop will resume from 5th April.

Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art (Modern Two)

— The Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art (Modern Two) will re-open on Monday 26 April 2021 with the exhibition Ray Harryhausen: Titan of Cinema.

— All visitors must book a ticketed time slot for their visit at nationalgalleries.org/exhibition/ray-harryhausen-titan-cinema

— The Gallery will be open seven days a week.

— The horsebox pop-up café beside the entrance to Modern Two will be open seven days a week. Opening hours for Paolozzi's Kitchen will be confirmed soon.

— The shop will be open 10-5, seven days a week.

— The car park will be open.

Scottish National Portrait Gallery

— The Scottish National Portrait Gallery will re-open on Friday 30 April 2021.

— The Gallery will be open seven days a week.

— The café will be open 10-5, seven days a week.

— The ground floor, including the Great Hall, ambulatory on the first floor and galleries 5-10 on the second floor of the Portrait Gallery will be open. The Modern Portrait exhibition will be open.

— The library (including the research consultation area) will be closed. Rooms 1-4 on the top floor will also be closed.

— The shop will be closed.

— All visitors must book a free time slot for their visit at nationalgalleries.org/visit.

Scottish National Gallery

— The Scottish National Gallery will re-open on Thursday 6 May 2021.

— The Gallery will open on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays, and be closed to visitors from Sunday-Wednesday (inclusive).

— The Scottish Café and Restaurant will open 10-5, Thursday-Sunday from 6 May, moving to seven days a week from 17 May.

— The shop will open 10-5, Thursday-Sunday from 6 May, moving to seven days a week from 17 May.

— All visitors must book a free time slot for their visit at nationalgalleries.org/visit.

Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art (Modern One)

— The Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art (Modern One) will re-open on Sunday 16 May 2021.

— The Gallery will open on Sundays, Mondays and Tuesday, and be closed to visitors from Wednesday-Saturday (inclusive).

— The Gallery will open with an exhibition celebrating the life and work of the artist Joan Eardley in the centenary year of her birth. More details to be announced.

— The café will be open 10-5, seven days a week.

— The car park will be open.

— The toilets at the rear of Modern One will be open seven days a week. A Changing Places facility will also be available.

— The grounds and sculpture trail will continue to be fully open and free to visit throughout the year. No booking is required.

— The shop will be closed.

— All visitors must book a free time slot for their visit at nationalgalleries.org/visit.

15 March 2021
National Galleries of Scotland announce first Virtual Exhibition Experience, with Ray Harryhausen: Titan of Cinema
#Harryhausen100

The National Galleries of Scotland (NGS) and The Ray and Diana Harryhausen Foundation are delighted to announce the launch of the Galleries’ first ever paid-for digital exhibition package, with a special virtual experience of our critically acclaimed show Ray Harryhausen: Titan of Cineama, available today via this link.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, restrictions and closures have affected people’s ability to travel to and enjoy the Galleries’ exhibition on the late legendary filmmaker Ray Harryhausen (1920-2013), whose exhilarating movies shaped the face of modern cinema.

However, we are thrilled to announce this new digital package which allows viewers to enjoy — from their computer, phone or tablet, anywhere across the world, at any time — a virtual experience of the show which BBC Arts cited as, “a preview of extraordinary objects, literally on legendary status, that charts the rise of Ray Harryhausen the student, son and friend, visionary, director and inventor: a true master of his craft”.

Simon Groom, Director of Modern and Contemporary Art at the National Galleries of Scotland, said: “We are only too aware of the huge number of visitors around the world who had hoped to see our landmark exhibition Titan of Cinema, but have unfortunately been unable to. So we are absolutely delighted to share, for the first time in the Galleries’ history, this landmark virtual exhibition experience which is available to anyone, anywhere, at any time, worldwide. Packed with information and insight, and with access to special live events, it is essential viewing for those who have seen the show – an amazing visual record of an unforgettable experience – as much as for those who won’t have the possibility to visit Edinburgh. The wonders of Ray Harryhausen’s imagination have beamed into homes across the world for many decades, and we are delighted to continue that tradition with our very first virtual exhibition.”

Our Ray Harryhausen: Titan of Cinema Virtual Exhibition Experience features a raft of content, including exclusive interviews, exhibition footage, film clips and specially created animation sequences which demonstrate Harryhausen’s innovative processes.

A one-time £10 purchase allows access to a stunning package of content, comprising of five newly-recorded short films, a plethora of Titan of Cinema exhibition materials including newly-digitised artworks, storyboards and movie memorabilia, as well as access to live Harryhausen events.

One film explores Harryhausen’s early years, of being awed and inspired by the movie King Kong at the cinema, then experimenting in his garage with amateur stop-motion models. Another offers an insight into animation techniques and the innovative Dynamation process which Harryhausen pioneered. Others reveal the secrets that went into making some of the filmmakers’ iconic models, such as the skeletons from Jason and the Argonauts or Pegasus from Clash of the Titans — from early sketches to first formations to featuring in classic cinematic sequences and being carefully restored to maintain their silver screen legacy. The first four films are available immediately and one other follow in the coming months.

Each film, hosted by a different narrator, explores a different section of the exhibition and introduces new material. The star cast of narrators include celebrated comic book writer Mark Millar (creator of Millarworld), Academy Award-winning special effects artist Randy Cook (of The Lord of the Rings trilogy), Ray Harryhausen’s daughter Vanessa Harryhausen, acclaimed actresses Martine Beswick and Caroline Munro, Academy Award-nominated animator Barry JC Purves (Screen Play, King Kong), BAFTA-nominated filmmaker John Walsh (My Life: Karate Kids, Ray Harryhausen: Movement Into Life) and BAFTA-winning animators Nina Gantz (Edmond) and Daisy Jacob (The Bigger Picture).

They are joined by animators Mark Caballero and Seamus Walsh (both Robot Chicken, Spongebob Squarepants The Movie, Celebrity Deathmatch) from animation collective Screen Novelties, and film critic Marshall Julius.

The package also features a raft of detailed information on the iconic models, drawings, storyboards and many other works on display in Titan of Cinema, and a video featuring a 3D model re-creation of a Harryhausen model — making this essential viewing for those who have seen the show, as much as for those who haven’t had the opportunity to view the exhibition in person.

The online experience also includes exclusive access to a series of related, live online events created in close collaboration with The Ray and Diana Harryhausen Foundation, with the first happening in May and more over the coming months. More details to follow soon.

Our Harryhausen virtual experience also allows access to a number of Harryhausen-related live events which will become available over the coming months, with the first taking place in May 2021.

The digital package is available for everyone, wherever they are, whether they’ve had the chance to see the exhibition, or not.

Ray Harryhausen: Titan of Cinema opened at the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art (Modern Two) in Edinburgh in October 2020 and had to close temporarily because of the pandemic. The exhibition will resume the Gallery reopens and is now scheduled to run until 20 February 2022.

Titan of Cinema has been organised in close collaboration with The Ray and Diana Harryhausen Foundation as part of the legendary trailblazer’s centenary celebrations last year. It is the largest and most comprehensive exhibition ever of the art of Harryhausen, who elevated stop-motion animation to an art form between the 1950s-1980s, and whose exhilarating movies inspired a generation of the world’s greatest living filmmakers, among them Steven Spielberg, George Lucas, Sir Peter Jackson and Guillermo del Toro.

The exhibition would not be possible without the generous support of players of People's Postcode Lottery.

John Walsh, filmmaker and Trustee of The Ray and Diana Harryhausen Foundation, said: “For generations of moviegoers, Ray Harryhausen is a giant of cinema creating worlds and creatures that come alive on the screen. This first-ever virtual exhibition experience is the ultimate journey into those thrilling worlds from the mind of the stop-motion animation genius who revolutionised Hollywood special effects.”

Laura Chow, Head of Charities at People’s Postcode Lottery said: “I’m so pleased that players are supporting NGS to bring the magic of Ray Harryhausen: Titan of Cinema to the homes of audiences across Britain and beyond. I hope this new digital experience will engage as many people as possible, no matter where they are!

—ENDS—

Notes to Editors

Our Ray Harryhausen: Titan of Cinema Virtual Exhibition Experience can be purchased from today via this link.

You can read more on Ray Harryhausen on the National Galleries website here and here.

For press requests relating to Titan of Cinema or the National Galleries of Scotland, please contact [email protected].

Find out more about The Ray and Diana Harryhausen Foundation and the #Harryhausen100 here (Charity No. SC001419): www.rayharryhausen.com

More information on John Walsh can be found here: https://www.johnwalshfilmmaker.com

Viewers can also enjoy additional Titan of Cinema digital content via the Smartify app, which includes an audioguide narrated by celebrated film director John Landis. It is now available for free download on Google Play and Apple’s App Store.

People’s Postcode Lottery

People’s Postcode Lottery manages multiple society lotteries promoted by different charities and good causes. People play with their chosen postcodes for a chance to win cash prizes. A minimum of 32% from each subscription goes directly to charities and good causes across Great Britain and internationally -- players have raised £500 million so far. For details of the charities and good causes which are promoting and benefitting from the lottery draws, please visit https://www.postcodelottery.co.uk/good-causes/draw-calendar

New players can sign up to pay using direct debit by calling 0808 10 9 8 7 6 5. New players who sign up online at www.postcodelottery.co.uk can pay using direct debit, debit card or PayPal.

Postcode Lottery Limited is regulated by the Gambling Commission under licence numbers: 000-000829-N-102511 and 000-000829-R-102513. Registered office: Titchfield House, 69/85 Tabernacle Street, London, EC2A 4BD

Press releases 2020

17 December 2020
Portrait of iconic singer-songwriter Horse McDonald to enter Scotland's national art collection

A bold, vibrant and captivating large-scale painting of Scottish music icon, Horse McDonald, will enter Scotland’s national collection and go on display at the heart of the Scottish National Portrait Gallery (SNPG) in the Great Hall.

This compelling oil painting by artist Roxana Halls, captures Horse’s charismatic and enthralling performance style, beloved by her fans. As part of the creative process of the portrait sitting, Horse sang her best-loved song ‘Careful’, live and a capella for the artist in her London studio. This experimental session resulted in a portrait which, rather than depicting one specific pose, is an amalgam of all the live moments, mannerisms and movements Halls witnessed while Horse performed and which she felt best encapsulated her sitter.

Horse McDonald, born in Newport-on-Tay in Fife, has been writing and performing for over thirty years, during which time she has built up a reputation as an iconic and unique singer-songwriter. She is one of Scotland’s most celebrated performers and has released nine albums; Q magazine described her as owning ‘one of the finest voices of modern times, soul and intelligence combined.’ She has opened for and toured with international artists including Tina Turner, BB King, Bryan Ferry and Burt Bacharach. She changed her name over thirty-five years ago. The singer feels that her distinctive name reflects both strength and softness at the same time.

Her critically acclaimed one-woman autobiographical play ‘Careful’ details stories from her life, including growing up gay in Lanark in the 1970s. It debuted at the 2016 Edinburgh Festival Fringe where it won a Voice Magazine Pick of the Fringe award and many five star reviews. In 2017, Horse was one of the inductees into the Saltire Society Outstanding Women of Scotland community. At the SSE Scottish Music Awards in 2017, she received the Reo Stakis /Nordoff Robbins award for her service to music. She was awarded the DIVA Magazine ‘Hall of Fame’ Award in 2018, in recognition of her life and work. She is a proud ambassador for the music charity Nordoff Robbins. This year marks the 30th anniversary of her first album ‘The Same Sky’. To celebrate this, there is a UK tour scheduled for Spring 2021.

Born in London, artist Roxana Halls (b. 1974) is drawn to investigate the meaning of cultural trends and invites the viewer to reflect on the interplay of gender, class, sexuality and identity. Her many solo exhibitions include Roxana Halls' Tingle-Tangle at the National Theatre, South Bank, London and she has been a multiple exhibitor in the BP Portrait Award, The Royal Society of Portrait Painters Annual Exhibition and the Ruth Borchard Self-Portrait Prize. Her work has been exhibited and commissioned widely and is held in numerous private and public collections in the UK and internationally. Halls has been the recipient of several awards, including the Villiers David Prize, The Discerning Eye Founder's Purchase Prize and The Derwent Special Prize and she recently contributed to the Portraits for NHS Heroes project.

Commenting on having her portrait painted and how she feels to be part of the National Galleries of Scotland collection, Horse said: ‘I was incredibly flattered and grateful to have my portrait painted by Roxana. We spent a lot of time talking and sharing our experiences, finding so much in common in our work and lives. The journey which brought us together and then, in turn, the fates that continued for the portrait to then be acquired for the SNPG, is nothing short of magical.

“I was both shocked and thrilled when I saw the painting because not only has it captured the energy and the passion of the ‘me’ I feel inside, but it is very much a Roxana Halls painting. I cannot find the words to express my pride, honour and privilege to be on display amongst our nation’s peers and generations of dignitaries. This is something I could never, ever have envisaged. I am most humbled at the thought of children seeing my portrait in such a setting and finding inspiration and courage from it.”

Artist Roxana Halls said about Horse: “I can hardly recall a time when I wasn't aware of her, not only as a much-admired vocalist and songwriter, but also as a lodestar for the LQBTQ community. When I finally had the opportunity to see her in concert I was struck by the combination of a fearlessness and charisma I had anticipated, with a rare tenderness, which I had not – a tension which I hoped to capture in this portrait”

Imogen Gibbon, Deputy Director and Chief Curator, Portraiture at the National Galleries of Scotland said: “I’m thrilled that the National Galleries of Scotland have acquired this portrait of Horse and truly excited for our audiences, and Horse’s fans, to experience this stunning portrait in the Great Hall at the Scottish National Portrait Gallery.”

—ENDS—

Notes to Editors

Further information about the National Galleries is available at https://www.nationalgalleries.org/

1 December 2020
Scotland's national art collection acquires rare painting by Gwen John

Scotland’s national art collection has acquired a rare and stunning painting by the Welsh artist Gwen John (1876-1939) from her celebrated Portrait of a Girl in Grey series. The purchase has been made possible thanks to assistance from Art Fund and The Henry and Sula Walton Fund.

The other versions from the series of four works are held in major museum collections in north America. Made during the late 1910s to early 1920s, each shows a woman in a grey-blue cloak looking out to the left. One version belongs to the Yale Centre for British Art in New Haven, another to the Albright Knox Art Gallery in New York State, and another is in the National Gallery of Canada in Ottawa.

Gwen John was born in Haverford West in Wales in 1876. Her younger brother, the artist Augustus John (1878-1961), arrived two years later. Following their mother’s early death, the family moved to Tenby. Augustus enrolled at the Slade School of Art in London in 1894 and Gwen joined him there the following year;d she remained there until 1898. By then Augustus was already celebrated as a prodigy, known for his outgoing, bohemian character and his brilliant draughtsmanship. Gwen, by contrast, was shy and introverted, or as one friend put it, ‘timid and fierce’.

Gwen moved to Paris in 1904, where she earned a living as an artist’s model and began posing for the great sculptor Auguste Rodin (1840-1917). They became lovers, and in 1911 she moved to an apartment in Meudon, near Paris, where Rodin lived.

In 1910 she began a correspondence with the American lawyer John Quinn, a pioneer collector of avant-garde art. He bought everything he could from her, eventually paying her a monthly stipend in return for any paintings she could send him. Dissatisfied with her work, she constantly avoided sending him pictures. Quinn assured her that, “if I had to make a choice between the painting by you and Picasso, I would cheerfully sacrifice the Picasso”.

Portrait of a Girl in Grey, also known as Girl in Grey with Rosary, is one of Gwen John's largest paintings. It has belonged to a private family collection for around 40 years and has been on long-term loan to the National Galleries of Scotland (NGS) for nearly 20 years. Although she made thousands of drawings and watercolours, her paintings are rare. The catalogue raisonné by Cecily Langdale lists fewer than 150 finished works, the majority of which are in public collections. They very rarely come up for sale.

Most of her oil paintings are of women in interiors. It is often noted that they are self-portraits of sorts. However, unlike the mood which pervades her paintings, Gwen John’s interior life was anything but serene and harmonious.

The sitter in Portrait of a Girl in Grey is unknown, although she appeared in nearly fifty of Gwen John’s paintings –
almost half her paintings of women – between about 1915 and 1925. John mentioned her in letters on a few occasions, but did so dismissively, referring to her as ‘just a neighbour’.

The four variants of this painting are almost identical apart from slight differences in the position of the hands and the folds of the blue cloak. It is not known which version came first and they may even have been in production simultaneously. John Quinn’s partner, Jeanne Robert Foster — who posed for John — gave something of the flavour of the artist’s obsessive and rigorous method: “She cannot endure having the pose changed by a hair’s breadth once she has arranged it.”

The Yale version and the NGS work feature a rosary, held loosely in the woman's left hand. John was drawn to the Catholic faith late in life, probably converting in 1913. She became closely involved with the nuns of the Dominican Sisters of Charity, who ran an Orphanage in Meudon. NGS already owns one other painting by Gwen John, a portrait of one of the sisters, A Young Nun, bought in 1970.

This work will go on display next year as part of a new exhibition titled New Acquisitions: From Salvador Dali to Jenny Saville..

Jenny Waldman, Art Fund Director, said: “This exceptional painting, one of Gwen John’s best-known works, has been a highlight for many visiting National Galleries Scotland over the past 20 years. We are delighted to support the acquisition, which will ensure Portrait of a Girl in Grey enters the museum’s permanent collection, where it will captivate generations of visitors.

Simon Groom, Director of Modern and Contemporary Art at the National Galleries of Scotland, said: “Portrait of a Girl in Grey has hardly been off the gallery wall since we took it on loan over 20 years ago, so we are thrilled that such a popular, and important work, should now be part of the permanent collection. We are extremely grateful to the Art Fund, and the Henry and Sula Walton Fund, for their generosity in helping us to acquire the work, which we will be showing as part of our forthcoming exhibition, New Acquisitions: From Salvador Dali to Jenny Saville.”

—ENDS—

Notes to Editors

Portrait of a Girl in Grey was purchased for £175,000, which includes:

— £58,518 from the NGS Purchase grant.
— £58,518.50 from the Henry and Sula Walton Fund.
— £58,519 from Art Fund, 2020.

Art Fund
Art Fund is the national fundraising charity for art. It provides millions of pounds every year to help museums to acquire and share works of art across the UK, further the professional development of their curators, and inspire more people to visit and enjoy their public programmes. In response to Covid-19 Art Fund has made £2 million in adapted funding available to support museums through reopening and beyond, including Respond and Reimagine grants to help meet immediate need and reimagine future ways of working. Art Fund is independently funded, supported by the 159,000 members who buy the National Art Pass, who enjoy free entry to over 240 museums, galleries and historic places, 50% off major exhibitions, and receive Art Quarterly magazine. Art Fund also supports museums through its annual prize, Art Fund Museum of the Year. In a unique edition of the prize for 2020, Art Fund responded to the unprecedented challenges that all museums are facing by selecting five winners and increasing the prize money to £200,000. The winners are Aberdeen Art Gallery; Gairloch Museum; Science Museum; South London Gallery; and Towner Eastbourne. www.artfund.org

The Henry and Sula Walton Fund
Henry Walton (1924-2012) and Sula Walton (1924-2009) were prominent and highly-regarded figures in Edinburgh academia for more than fifty years. Married in 1958, they moved to Edinburgh in 1962. They worked in the field of psychiatry, Sula as a child psychiatrist at the Royal Hospital for Sick Children, Henry at the University of Edinburgh. Passionate about the arts, they left their art collection to the National Galleries of Scotland and also established a Fund to help support acquisitions made by the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art. Important works by Picasso, Toyen, Carrington, Dalí and Jenny Saville have been bought with help from the Walton Fund.

Further information about the National Galleries is available at https://www.nationalgalleries.org/

27 November 2020
Scotland's national art collection receives first artwork by Marc Chagall, one of the greatest masters of modern art

An outstanding mid-career work on paper by Marc Chagall, one of the great masters of modern art, has become the first of Chagall’s artworks to enter Scotland’s national art collection.

The Horse Rider (L’Écuyère), 1949–53 — a lively and yet elegiac gouache focusing on the equestrienne, or female horse rider — has never previously been published or travelled to exhibitions before, meaning its acquisition by the National Galleries of Scotland presents the first opportunity for the public to view and enjoy the artwork, since it was created approximately 70 years ago.

It will enter the National Galleries of Scotland collection thanks to the Acceptance in Lieu scheme which enables works of art to be presented to the nation and offset against inheritance tax.

Fiona Hyslop, Scottish Government Cabinet Secretary for Economy, Fair Work and Culture, said: “I am pleased that the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art is now in possession of this remarkable painting by Marc Chagall for audiences to enjoy. The Cultural Gifts Scheme encourages people to gift pre-eminent works for the public to see, and I am pleased to have accepted this painting for the Gallery as the first Chagall to enter its collection. This will also provide the first opportunity for the public to view this wonderful artwork since it was created.”

Speaking of the acquisition, Simon Groom, Director of Modern and Contemporary Art at the National Galleries of Scotland, said: “Marc Chagall is one of the great painters of the 20th Century, whose iconic and visionary works have entranced and delighted successive generations around the world. The Horse Rider is the first work by Chagall to enter a public collection in Scotland, and we are absolutely thrilled to be able to share this work with the public for the very first time as part of our forthcoming exhibition, New Acquisitions: From Salvador Dali to Jenny Saville in March 2021. We are extremely grateful to the Acceptance-in-Lieu Panel at Arts Council England, as well as to Christies”.

Edward Harley OBE, Chairman of the Acceptance in Lieu panel, commented further: “I’m delighted that the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art has acquired its first work by Marc Chagall through the Acceptance in Lieu Scheme. One of the artist’s well-known equestrian scenes, this gouache is painted in the vibrant colours with which he was closely associated. I hope this example will encourage others to use the scheme to enrich our public collections.”

Marc Chagall (1887-1985) was born Moise Shagal near the Belarussian city of Vitebsk — then part of the Russian Empire — and died at his home in France at the age of 97. His remarkably long life and varied artistic career span almost the length of the twentieth century, his journey criss-crossing France, Germany, Russia and the United States. Chagall’s ceaseless creativity and commitment to exploring the emotional power of colour in its many manifestations led to works in a huge variety of mediums and materials, from his acclaimed public commissions in stained glass to ceramics, book illustrations, printmaking and tapestries.

His many collaborations with ballet, opera and theatre companies across the world were inspired by his lifelong love of the theatre and particularly the circus, which flourished from his very first encounter as a young child with a travelling troupe of acrobats busking on the streets of Vitebsk. The circus and its cast of characters both human and animal would remain an enduring inspiration and subject matter for Chagall throughout the next eight decades.

The equestrienne is a recurring subject of Chagall’s circus works from mid-1920s Paris onwards. One of the artist’s key supporters during this time was the legendary art dealer Ambroise Vollard. Starting in 1926, Chagall worked on an ambitious project proposed by Vollard to create a series based on the circus. They were regular visitors to the city’s historic Cirque d’Hiver Bouglione around this time, where Vollard made available his private box seats to Chagall and his young daughter Ida. Chagall completed the 19 gouaches collectively titled The Vollard Circus in 1927. He would return to this deep well of subject matter repeatedly during the remainder of his long career.

The artist’s nuanced observation of the trusted relationship between the female rider and her steed forms the core of The Horse Rider’s power and dynamic sense of energy. The dark hair and pale features of this particular horse rider recall those of Chagall’s second wife, Valentina (Vava) Brodsky, a Kiev native who shared the artist’s Russian Jewish background, whom he met and married in 1952, during the making of this work. Alongside this protagonist, who seems to be leading her horse out of the circus, rather than riding it bareback, the work shows two further circus personages: a clown dressed in white ruff (recalling Pierrot) who is floating horizontally beside the horse, and a female acrobat whose trapeze suspends her from a great height.

In a text that originally accompanied a set of 38 lithographs titled Le Cirque / The Circus (published by Tériade Éditions in 1967 and inspired by his original Vollard series forty years earlier), Chagall shared his deeply personal response to the circus as an arena of creativity and emotion: 

“For me a circus is a magic show that appears and disappears like a world. A circus is disturbing. It is profound. These clowns, bareback riders and acrobats have themselves at home in my visions. Why? Why am I so touched by their make-up and their grimaces? With them I can move toward new horizons. Lured by their colours and make-up, I can dream of painting new psychic distortions”.

Suggesting the circus to be a metaphor for the challenging terrain of artistic life – for the path he had chosen despite its difficulties and repeated sacrifices – this important text confirms the utterly foundational role of the circus within Chagall’s imaginative worldview. Some scholars have proposed that the clown or acrobat represents the artist himself: a stand-in for Chagall on the stage of life.

This gouache was made during a four-year period, 1949–53, which was an important time of change in Chagall’s personal and professional life. The artist’s return to France from America in 1948 represented an emotional journey back to his adopted home country after escaping seven years earlier during its Nazi occupation. In 1949, Chagall relocated temporarily to Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat on the Côte d'Azur, but by 1950 had moved to Les Collines, an estate that became his permanent home in nearby Saint-Paul-de-Vence. During the early 1950s, the area was seen as an artistic colony, with both Matisse and Picasso living nearby. It is around this time that gouache became a preferred medium for the artist, who focused on rich blues as a response to the beautiful sunlight in the south of France.

This gouache was acquired in 1954, the year following its completion, by a well-regarded collector from the Galerie Rosengart in Lucerne, Switzerland. Galerie Rosengart’s founders had a longstanding relationship with Chagall and exhibited his gouache and colour wash drawings on numerous occasions. This particular work has remained in the same family since 1954, being inherited by the collector’s grandchildren, three of whom is based in Edinburgh. The Galleries’ acquisition of this treasured family heirloom allows the public to view it for the first time.

In the early 1950s, at the time of this work’s making, Pablo Picasso declared that: “When Matisse dies, Chagall will be the only painter left who understands what colour really is”. Blue is unquestionably the colour with which Chagall is most closely associated – from his paintings to his stained glass for cathedrals and synagogues. The intensely blue gouaches from this period are inspired by the sea and strong light of the south of France and have a well-regarded status within the artist’s output and, indeed, within the wider context of post-war French art.

The National Galleries of Scotland are grateful to Christie’s London for their role in this acquisition.

— ENDS —

Notes to Editors

Biography of Marc Chagall
Born into an impoverished Hasidic Jewish shtetl community close to Vitebsk in the Pale of Settlement, Russian Empire (modern day Belarus) in 1887, Chagall quickly left his rural family life behind to study in St Petersburg from 1907 to 1910, partly in the class of Léon Bakst, designer for Diaghilev’s Ballet Russes, who introduced him to the work of Henri Matisse and the Fauves, and encouraged Chagall to follow him to Paris.

Chagall did just that, arriving in Paris precisely when Cubism debuted at the infamous Salon des Indépendants of 1911. He was subsequently taught by some of the figures associated with Cubism including Henri Le Fauconnier and Jean Metzinger. His time in Paris from 1911–14 transformed the palette and composition of his paintings, which absorbed the prismatic colours of The City of Lights, as well as the Orphism of Robert Delaunay and Sonia Delaunay-Terk, with whom he became close. His graphic approach to storytelling and his cast of recurring characters was also influenced by the popular decorative and narrative style of Russian lubok prints that were commonplace in Vitebsk’s Hasidic community.

Chagall rapidly became one of the most celebrated of Paris’ pre-war avant-garde figures, despite his refusal to adhere to any one style or movement. He returned to Russia in 1914, following the success of his first ever solo exhibition at the Galerie Sturm, Berlin. During his extended time in Russia following the outbreak of WWI, he married his childhood sweetheart Bella in 1915, before experiencing the October Revolution and the remaking of Russian society in both Petrograd and their home in Vitebsk.

He subsequently became Vitebsk’s Commissar of Fine Arts (1918–20), a position from which he invited Suprematist artists El Lissitzky and Kazimir Malevich to teach at the city’s People's Art College. A period in Moscow followed, which led to a commission by critic and theatre director Abram Efros (co-author of the first monograph on Chagall’s work in 1918) to design murals for the interior of the city’s State Jewish Chamber Theatre, 1921–22.

Chagall lived in France from 1923 until his decision to leave for America (1941–48) during the German occupation. His time in New York included a prestigious solo exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art in 1946. He finally settled in Vence, in the south of France, upon his return to Europe. His commission to paint the ceiling of the Paris Opera (1963) was only the grandest of his many public works in the final decades of his life.  

Acceptance in Lieu
The acceptance of this work settled £490,000 of tax.

The Acceptance in Lieu scheme enables taxpayers to transfer important works of art and other heritage objects into public ownership while paying Inheritance Tax. In this way, objects that might otherwise be sold on the open market and thus be potentially lost to the nation, remain in the public domain. AIL is a reserved matter but “executive devolution” arrangements are in place to enable Scottish Ministers to deal with cases in which there is a Scottish Interest.

AIL is administered across the UK by the Arts Council, which also oversees the Cultural Gifts Scheme.  Combined the two Schemes are capped, so can offset a total of £40m worth of tax per annum. The Acceptance in Lieu Panel, chaired by Edward Harley OBE, advises on whether property offered in lieu is of suitable importance and offered at a value which is fair to both nation and taxpayer. Full details and guidance are available on the Arts Council’s website at http://www.artscouncil.org.uk/what-we-do/supporting-museums/cultural-property/tax-incentives

National Galleries of Scotland
National Galleries of Scotland looks after one of the world's finest collections of Western art, ranging from the Middle Ages to the present day, including masterpieces by Titian, Rembrandt, Monet, Van Gogh, Picasso and Magritte. These holdings include the national collection of Scottish art, which is displayed in an international context. Each year NGS welcomes visitors from Scotland and the rest of the world to our three Galleries in Edinburgh: the Scottish National Gallery, the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art and the Scottish National Portrait Gallery.

The Scottish National Gallery is home to our collection of fine art from the early Renaissance to the end of the nineteenth century, including masterpieces by Botticelli, Raphael, Titian, Rembrandt, Vermeer, Constable, Turner, Monet, Van Gogh and Gauguin, amongst many others. The most comprehensive part of the collection covers the history of Scottish painting with all the major names represented, including Ramsay, Raeburn, Wilkie and McTaggart.

The Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art comprises two buildings, Modern One and Modern Two, which house our outstanding collection of modern and contemporary art. The early part of the collection features French and Russian art from the beginning of the twentieth century, Cubist paintings and superb holdings of Expressionist, modern British and international post-war art. The gallery is a world-renowned centre for the study of Dada and Surrealism and home to the world's most important and extensive collection of modern and contemporary Scottish art.

The Scottish National Portrait Gallery first opened to the public in 1889 as the world’s first purpose-built portrait gallery. Over the past century, its collection of portraits has grown to become one of the largest and finest in the world, comprising 3,000 paintings and sculptures, 25,000 prints and drawings. The Gallery tells the story of Scotland through the people who have shaped its history – past and present, famous or forgotten. This distinctive red sandstone building also houses the national collection of photography, with some 38,000 historic and modern photographs and film.

For further information please go to nationalgalleries.org or call 0131 624 6200. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter or Instagram.

25 November 2020
Revised completion date for the Scottish National Gallery Project

The Scottish National Gallery construction project is a transformative initiative to create a new space for the nation's renowned collection of Scottish art. In February 2020 we reported the discovery of unexpected defects within the 1970s building which sits beneath the original nineteenth-century National Gallery. These include damp penetration and inadequate drainage in and around the site. A commitment was made to address these issues to ensure the building is fully protected and safeguarded for the future.

The combined stopping of works due to the lockdown, along with the complex and changing nature of the construction requirements, have led us to revise the project timescales. Works are now expected to be completed and the new Gardens- Level Galleries open to the public by the end of 2022.

Director-General of the National Galleries of Scotland, Sir John Leighton, said: “We always knew that the Scottish National Gallery Project would be a complex endeavour, but that never diminished our desire to deliver the new space that our visitors deserve. Working underground on a World Heritage Site that comprises an iconic nineteenth-century building with modern additions from the 1970s located above one of Edinburgh’s busiest train tunnels is, of course, challenging. The COVID-19 pandemic has added a further layer of complexity, with the closure of the site during lockdown and now the introduction of measures to accommodate social distancing. Any associated additional costs are being worked through diligently.

"While we recognise this delay may be disappointing, we also want to stress that the wait will be worth it. We will deliver a world-class facility for showing Scotland’s distinctive artistic heritage in a whole new light, and at a time when we all hope the COVID-19 pandemic will be receding. We intend for our new galleries to be a focal point for cultural renewal, a place to discover the joy and wonder that art can bring to us all.”

The first phase of the Scottish National Gallery Project was completed successfully in 2019. This included a new entrance area in East Princes Street Gardens, a new café, refurbished restaurant and shop, an extensive sandstone terrace, and new landscaping and paths to improve access to the gardens and the Galleries.

— ENDS —

Notes to Editors

The Scottish National Gallery remains open to visitors, with many works of major international importance on show such as Diego Velázquez’s Old Woman Cooking Eggs, Sir Edwin Landseer’s Monarch of the Glen and Sir Henry Raeburn’s Reverend Robert Walker (1755 - 1808), famously known as the Skating Minister. New visitor offers include a free and specially created Smartify audio tour which focuses on collection highlights.

The Gallery has secured the UK-wide industry standard ‘We’re Good to Go’ accreditation, which means businesses across the sector can demonstrate that they are adhering to the respective Government and public health guidance, have carried out a COVID-19 risk assessment and check they have the required processes in place.

The vision for the Scottish National Gallery Project, which got underway in October 2018, has been driven by the National Galleries’ ambition to ensure that the widest number of people can enjoy our art and activities. The displays in the new galleries will be directly informed by extensive research into the needs of existing and potential audiences.

For the first time in a generation, there will be new displays drawn from the Scottish and international collection. This fresh approach will allow us to say much more about Scotland’s art and to highlight the international significance of pioneering figures such as Allan Ramsay, Gavin Hamilton, Sir David Wilkie and Phoebe Anna Traquair.

The scope of the new displays will encompass the work of early 20th-century artists such as Anne Redpath, Charles Rennie Mackintosh, Stanley Cursiter, Phyllis Mary Bone and the Scottish Colourists S J Peploe and F C B Cadell.

The project will create a beautiful new space in the heart of Edinburgh, which will be free for everyone to use and enjoy. A series of large windows, running the length of the new gardens-level façade, will fill the galleries with light and colour and offer spectacular views.

A fly-through animation of the Scottish National Gallery Project is available to view here.

Read more on the Scottish National Gallery Project on our website here.

5 November 2020
Scotland's lockdown experience captured in new exhibition at Scottish National Portrait Gallery

A new exhibition dedicated to sharing the experiences of people in Scotland during the coronavirus pandemic will lead the reopening of the Scottish National Portrait Gallery (SNPG) this Sunday (8 November 2020). Over 200 public submissions will be presented in You Are Here 2020: Stories, Portraits, Visions. A rotating selection will be displayed alongside five artworks from the national collection, including a bronze bust of Scots Makar Jackie Kay (pictured above). Others include a bust of the pioneering surgeon Dr Elsie Inglis made by Ivan Meštrovic; a selection of works by photographer Iain Stewart from his series Tender for which he shadowed two Edinburgh GPs; a video work featuring Mercury Prize-winning Edinburgh band Young Fathers titled Man Up, and a new acquisition – a portrait of the singer-songwriter Emeli Sandé, painted by Samira Addo, winner of the Sky Arts Portrait Artist of the Year 2018 prize. Visitors can book their free ticket to attend on the National Galleries of Scotland (NGS) website.

Acting as a portrait of the nation, You Are Here will provide a platform for visitors to reflect on the experience of lockdown and gain an insight into what people in Scotland have faced during the COVID-19 outbreak. Presented through art, photography and writing, recurring themes of friendship, kindness, heartbreak and resilience are strong throughout. Each submission offers a new point of view to visitors and allows for a deeper understanding of what individuals and communities have been going through, from stories of babies born during the pandemic to long-distance relationships and lockdown loneliness. Other pieces tell of sacrifices made to beat ‘an invisible enemy’, as described in one of the poems.
Nine submissions will be shown during the opening week of the exhibition, with examples such as photographs from socially distanced garden visits, family Zoom calls and home-school activities. The display will be updated every week and, for those who are unable to visit in person, all works shown will be shared on the NGS website and social media channels. In addition, people of all ages are being encouraged to continue submitting their work until 31 December 2020.

Learning and Engagement Outreach Officer, Richie Cumming, who devised the display, said: “It has been humbling and a privilege to receive these submissions. The project has given participants the opportunity to share intimate and moving stories and portraits that, when taken together, create a powerful portrait of human experience. I know it has been cathartic for many people who have taken part and I hope these stories give visitors renewed perspectives on their experiences too.”

Alongside You Are Here, visitors to the SNPG will also be able to enjoy the magnificent Great Hall, the ambulatory on the first floor and the galleries on the second floor. The other exhibitions on show will include:

Reformation to Revolution, The King’s Last Day: The Execution of Charles I
Art & Analysis: Two Netherlandish Painters working in Jacobean Scotland
Imagining Power: The Visual Culture of the Jacobite Cause
Scots in Italy: Artists and Adventurers
The Remaking of Scotland: Nation, Migration, Globalisation 1760-1860
Heroes and Heroines: The Victorian Age

The first floor, where The Modern Portrait exhibition is usually held, will be temporarily closed, as will the library and research consultation area in order to maintain physical distancing requirements. Provisionally opening for three days a week due to the staffing levels required to ensure COVID-19 health and safety standards are met, the SNPG will be open every Sunday, Monday and Tuesday.

—ENDS—
NOTES TO EDITOR:

You are Here:

— Members of the public can upload their submissions via the NGS website, and the project is open to all.

— The display will feature a selection of submissions and these will change on a rotational basis. The majority of all submissions will be displayed on the exhibition feature pages on the NGS website.

Scottish National Portrait Gallery:

— Until 10 January 2021, the SNPG will open on Sundays, Mondays and Tuesdays of each week. It will be closed to visitors from Wednesday-Saturday (inclusive) each week. A decision on opening days beyond 10 January will be made in the coming months.

— The café will be open Sunday-Tuesday in line with the Gallery opening days, 10am-5pm. Booking will not be required.

— The shop will be closed. Products are available for home delivery or click and collect at www.nationalgalleries.org. — All visitors must book a time slot for their visit at nationalgalleries.org/visit

— As part of NGS’s commitment to equality, we are undertaking a review of the national art collection in relation to colonialism and slavery and their legacies. This involves research into the previous ownership of artworks, their subject matter, sitters depicted, and existing interpretation. New content, in gallery and online, is being developed over the coming months in light of this research and will remain an ongoing project. We would be pleased to receive any information which supports this work.

The Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art (Modern One):

— Modern One has been open seven days a week since 24 August.

— From 1 November 2020 it will open on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays, and be closed to visitors from Sunday-Wednesday (inclusive).

— Now 6 is on display until 10 January. This exhibition focuses on the theme of time and highlights the work of Scottish artist Katie Paterson. Paterson’s work explores deep time, the cosmos, and the place of humans in relation to these phenomena – ideas that have been central to the artist’s work for more than a decade. Among the works featured are Paterson’s mesmerising installation Totality (2016), a large-scale mirror ball featuring almost all known images of solar eclipses captured by humankind, and Light Bulb to Simulate Moonlight (2008), held in National Galleries of Scotland’s collection, which provides a lifetime’s supply of moonlight. Time appears as both a subject and a process of making in works by three further artists: Darren Almond, Shona Macnaughton and Lucy Raven.

— A decision on opening days beyond 10 January 2021 will be made in the coming months.

— The New Acquisitions: From Salvador Dali to Jenny Saville exhibition opens on 27 March 2021.

— The café will continue to be open 7 days a week, 10am-5pm. Booking is not required.

— The shop will continue to be closed. Products are available for home delivery or click and collect at www.nationalgalleries.org/shop.

— The toilets at the rear of Modern One will continue to be open 7 days a week, 10am-5pm.

— The grounds and sculpture trail will continue to be fully open and free to visit throughout the year. No booking is required.

— All visitors must book a time slot for their visit at nationalgalleries.org/visit.

National Galleries of Scotland:

NGS looks after one of the world's finest collections of Western art, ranging from the Middle Ages to the present day, including masterpieces by Titian, Rembrandt, Monet, Van Gogh, Picasso and Magritte. These holdings include the national collection of Scottish art, which is displayed in an international context. Each year NGS welcomes visitors from Scotland and the rest of the world to our three Galleries in Edinburgh: the Scottish National Gallery, the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art and the Scottish National Portrait Gallery.

For further information please go to nationalgalleries.org or call 0131 624 6200. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter or Instagram.

12 October 2020
New opening days announced for the Scottish National Portrait Gallery and the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art (Modern One)

Images can be downloaded via Dropbox here.

We are delighted to announce that the Scottish National Portrait Gallery will reopen on Sunday 8 November 2020 with a new exhibition You Are Here 2020: Stories, Portraits, Visions, which will showcase contributions from the public and well-known figures. This includes a new acquisition – a portrait of the international singer-songwriter Emeli Sandé, painted by Samira Addo, winner of Sky Arts Portrait Artist of the Year 2018. Visitors are able to book their free ticket at www.nationalgalleries.org/visit.

Due to the staffing levels required to ensure we adhere to COVID-19 health and safety standards, the Scottish National Portrait Gallery and Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art (Modern One) will each open for three days a week from early November 2020 - 10 January 2021. A decision on opening days beyond then will be made in coming months.

This is a temporary measure which, during this time, will see the Portrait Gallery open from Sunday-Tuesday (inclusive) and Modern One open from Thursday-Saturday (inclusive) each week. Note that Modern One will continue to open 7 days a week throughout October; it will move to this new pattern from 5 November and will be closed from 1-4 November (inclusive).

The Scottish National Gallery will continue to be open and free to visit 7 days a week.

The Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art (Modern Two) will reopen on 24 October with our new major exhibition: Ray Harryhausen: Titan of Cinema. It will be open 7 days a week.

Ahead of visiting any Gallery, people must book a time slot at nationalgalleries.org/visit.

Each Gallery requires higher than pre-Covid numbers of staff to work in front of house roles in order to manage entry, oversee Covid restrictions and support our visitors. Detailed analysis showed that there were not the numbers of staff required to open all four Galleries seven days a week.

When the Portrait Gallery reopens, visitors will be able to enjoy the artwork on the ground floor, including the magnificent Great Hall, the ambulatory on the first floor and the galleries on the second floor.

On the ground floor there will be a brand new exhibition: You Are Here 2020: Stories, Portraits, Visions. This will showcase submissions from people across Scotland representing stories from this year, portraits and visions for the future. As of early October, around 120 submissions have been received. A rotating selection of these submissions will be shown alongside five striking examples of portraiture from the national collection. The five works are: two bronze busts of influential women: Scots Makar Jackie Kay and the pioneering Dr Elsie Inglis; a photograph and display of work prints by Iain Stewart from his series, Tender, for which he shadowed two Edinburgh GPs; Man Up a video work featuring Mercury Prize-winning Edinburgh band Young Fathers and a new acquisition – a portrait of the international singer-songwriter Emeli Sandé, painted by Samira Addo, winner of Sky Arts Portrait Artist of the Year 2018.

Reformation to Revolution, The King’s Last Day: The Execution of Charles I , Art & Analysis: Two Netherlandish Painters working in Jacobean Scotland, Imagining Power: The Visual Culture of the Jacobite Cause, Scots in Italy: Artists and Adventurers, The Remaking of Scotland: Nation, Migration, Globalisation 1760-1860 and Heroes and Heroines: The Victorian Age exhibitions on the second floor will re-open.

The first floor, where The Modern Portrait exhibition is held, will be temporarily closed. The library (including the research consultation area) will also be closed. Due to the narrow spaces in these areas it would prove problematic to open them and ensure physical distancing.

Sir John Leighton, Director General of the National Galleries of Scotland said: “We are delighted to be opening the Scottish National Portrait Gallery again with an exhibition featuring people’s experiences of 2020. We have received many queries from the public asking when they can visit again, so I’m really pleased that we have found a way to manage this demand within the constraints that covid-19 has placed on us. This will mean that all four of the Gallery sites will once again be open and that once again we will be able to share the full breadth of our collection”.

“I am very grateful to all the colleagues at the National Galleries who have worked very hard to create a safe and engaging experience for our audiences and I am also grateful to our visitors for their loyal support. The Portrait Gallery has always been a place that helps us to recognise individuals, experiences and spark conversations so we hope that the public will once again enjoy the beautiful surroundings and artwork.”

—ENDS—

Notes to Editors

Scottish National Portrait Gallery

— The Scottish National Portrait Gallery will re-open on Sunday 8 November November 2020.

— Until 10 January 2021, the Portrait Gallery will open on Sundays, Mondays and Tuesdays of each week. It will be closed to visitors from Wednesday-Saturday (inclusive) each week. A decision on opening days beyond 10 January will be made in the coming months.

— The ground floor, including the Great Hall, ambulatory on the first floor and galleries on the second floor of the Portrait Gallery will be open.

— The first floor, where The Modern Portrait permanent exhibition is held, will be temporarily closed. The library (including the research consultation area) will also be closed.

— The café will be open Sunday-Tuesday in line with the Gallery opening days, 10-5. Booking will not be required.

— The shop will be closed. Products are available for home delivery or click and collect at www.nationalgalleries.org.

— We will make a decision on opening days beyond 10 January 2021 in the coming months.

— All visitors must book a time slot for their visit at nationalgalleries.org/visit

The Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art (Modern One)

— Modern One has been open 7 days a week since 24 August.

— From 1 November 2020 it will open on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays, and be closed to visitors from Sunday-Wednesday (inclusive). Note that this means that it will be closed from 1-4 November (inclusive).

— Now 6 is currently on display until 10 January. This exhibition focuses on the theme of time and highlights the work of Scottish artist Katie Paterson. Paterson’s work explores deep time, the cosmos, and the place of humans in relation to these phenomena – ideas that have been central to the artist’s work for more than a decade. Among the works featured are Paterson’s mesmerising installation Totality (2016), a large-scale mirror ball featuring almost all known images of solar eclipses captured by humankind, and Light Bulb to Simulate Moonlight (2008), held in National Galleries of Scotland’s collection, which provides a lifetime’s supply of moonlight. Time appears as both a subject and a process of making in works by three further artists: Darren Almond, Shona Macnaughton and Lucy Raven.

— A decision on opening days beyond 10 January 2021 will be made in the coming months.

— The New Acquisitions: From Salvador Dali to Jenny Saville exhibition opens on 27 March 2021.

— The café will continue to be open 7 days a week, 10-5. Booking is not required.

— The shop will continue to be closed. Products are available for home delivery or click and collect at www.nationalgalleries.org/shop.

— The toilets at the rear of Modern One will continue to be open 7 days a week, 10-5.

— The grounds and sculpture trail will continue to be fully open and free to visit throughout the year. No booking is required.

— All visitors must book a time slot for their visit at nationalgalleries.org/visit.

10 September 2020
Arts face coverings gifted to local community by National Galleries of Scotland and North Edinburgh Arts

Five hundred specially crafted face coverings have been gifted to people in Edinburgh thanks to a partnership between National Galleries of Scotland (NGS) and North Edinburgh Arts (NEA). The coverings feature four stunning artworks from Scotland’s national collection, and they are being shared among seven local charities, including Granton Community Gardeners, Scran Academy, Fresh Start, North Edinburgh Arts café, Link Up, Pilton Community Health Project and A Stitch in Time.

Inspired by a request for face coverings from a member of Edinburgh’s Covid-19 Food Share Group, NGS staff teamed up with local group at NEA, A Stitch in Time, to commission local volunteers and craft professionals to make the coverings. A special note was included with each one to let the recipient know who made their individual gift. NGS then delivered them to volunteers and residents of north Edinburgh.

The designs were chosen by employees of NGS and NEA who took part in polls to whittle their selections down to four favourite works:

John Francis Campbell, Suilven with Rainbow (1848)
Samuel John Peploe, Tulips - The Blue Jug (about 1919)
Mabel Royds, Prickly Pear Cactus (1924)
Mabel Royds, The Waterfall (about 1938)

As well as gifting 500 masks to the local community in north Edinburgh, NGS commissioned Francia Frank, a locally based couturier and designer, and one of the original makers, to make a second batch of 500 face coverings for its staff.

Natalie Taylor, Community Development Officer at National Galleries of Scotland, said: “Having started my role with the National Galleries of Scotland in May, during the most intense part of lockdown, I was pre-occupied by the situation, as I think we all were. In the weeks before, I had been volunteering for Granton Community Gardeners by distributing food packages and some residents were asking us for fabric masks, but at that time non-PPE masks were few and far between.

I could see there was great need for help, and that the National Galleries of Scotland could play a small part by engaging people in the collection to give them a lift and make them feel safe. Our masks are obviously a drop in the ocean in comparison to the sustained local effort of food distribution, but I hope that our contribution will help as we ease our way out of lockdown.”

Designer and Machinist, Francia Frank, said: “It was such a pleasure working with the National Galleries of Scotland on this initiative. Between the first and the second commission, we have collectively made close to 1,000 face masks, and coordinating the last commission was such a joy. Together as a community here at North Edinburgh, we are pleased to have been part of this history.”

Francia can also be seen encountering Samuel Peploe’s ‘Tulips - The Blue Jug’ (about 1919) for the first time at the Granton Art Centre, which features on her masks in a new film that NGS will share as part of Virtual Doors Open Day on 26 and 27 September.

The makers who crafted each face covering worked from their homes to prepare the fabric, with volunteers later adding in elastic. The designs were printed on polyester fabric then layered with up-cycled cotton. A third disposable layer can also be placed inside. Each mask was made in line with W.H.O guidelines.

—ENDS—
Notes to Editors

National Galleries of Scotland
The National Galleries of Scotland (NGS) looks after one of the world's finest collections of Western art, ranging from the Middle Ages to the present day, including masterpieces by Titian, Rembrandt, Monet, Van Gogh, Picasso and Magritte. These holdings include the national collection of Scottish art, which is displayed in an international context. Each year NGS welcomes visitors from Scotland and the rest of the world to our three Galleries in Edinburgh: the Scottish National Gallery, the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art and the Scottish National Portrait Gallery.

North Edinburgh Arts
North Edinburgh Arts offers local residents a place to relax, explore, learn, meet, share, volunteer and have fun in. Last year over 40,000 visits were made to the venue that ‘floats like a bright bubble behind the Muirhouse shopping centre‘ (STV Local). NEA is based in the heart of Muirhouse and our venue incorporates two studios, a 96 seat theatre, recording studio, gallery, offices and the Pop In community café with children’s play area leading onto a large garden. NEA offers a safe, comfortable and creative space for people of all ages to develop within, in contrast to what can otherwise feel a harsh physical and social environment.

Prior to the Covid-19 pandemic over 30 hours of creative workshops were on offer each week, most with a family focus, alongside a wide range of other events from singing groups to circus skills workshops, exhibitions, community theatre, film clubs, and festival events. The venue is also home to Muirhouse Link Up, Firstport Social Enterprise, North Edinburgh Drug and Alcohol Centre, and the Tinderbox Orchestra, all working to serve the most disadvantaged children, families and individuals in the North Edinburgh area.

Covid-19 Food Share Group
Covid-19 Food Share Group was formed at the beginning of lockdown to support North Edinburgh residents during the pandemic. In total during the 13 weeks of lockdown, around 49,000 hot lunches, 53,000 packed lunches, and 16,000 food packs were distributed in the local area, providing vital emergency food to residents.

21 August 2020
Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art’s Modern Two to reopen with landmark show on filmmaking icon Ray Harryhausen

RAY HARRYHAUSEN:
TITAN OF CINEMA
24 October 2020 — 5 September 2021
73 Belford Road, Edinburgh, EH4 3DS
Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art (Modern Two)
0131 624 6200 | nationalgalleries.org
Tickets: £14-12 (concessions available)
Ticketed access available online from 2 September.
Free for Our Friends
#Harryhausen100

A thrilling and immersive exhibition on the pioneering and unparalleled work of Ray Harryhausen (1920-2013), the cinematic titan whose movies shaped the face of modern cinema, will be coming to the National Galleries of Scotland (NGS) this Autumn, as part of the late filmmaker’s centenary celebrations.

Working in close collaboration with The Ray and Diana Harryhausen Foundation, the National Galleries are proud to present Ray Harryhausen: Titan of Cinema, which will lead the reopening of Modern Two at the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art from Saturday 24 October.

Titan of Cinema will be the largest and most comprehensive exhibition ever of the art of the legendary trailblazer Harryhausen, who elevated stop-motion animation to an art form between the 1950s-1980s, and whose exhilarating movies inspired a generation of the world’s greatest living filmmakers, among them Steven Spielberg, George Lucas, Sir Peter Jackson and Guillermo del Toro.

The exhibition was originally scheduled for May this year and was delayed due to current events, but we are delighted to share that it will now lead the reopening of Modern Two with an extended run from October until September 2021. Visitors can secure their tickets via our new online booking system, available from Wednesday. 2 September on our website. Visitors can book tickets up to 3 months in advance.

Ray Harryhausen was responsible for some of cinema’s most magical moments. Titan of Cinema will showcase the original models that were miraculously brought to life on screen by Harryhausen’s mastery of stop-frame animation, such as the iconic skeletons from Jason and the Argonauts (1963), the Cyclops from his highly-influential Sinbad series, and his trademark UFOs from 1956’s Earth vs the Flying Saucers. The models shown will include those which would later inspire movies such as Lord of the Rings, Star Wars, Jurassic Park, Pan’s Labyrinth and Mars Attacks!

Also on display will be the young Harryhausen’s very first models, including a marionette inspired by the gorilla from King Kong, conceived by the film’s special effects supervisor Willis O’Brien, and artwork from Mighty Joe Young, the first film that Harryhausen and O’Brien worked on together, and the movie which effectively launched Harryhausen’s career.

These miniature monuments to cinematic history are joined by a treasure trove of posters, personal memorabilia, original photographs, storyboard illustrations and the drawings and art that inspired Harryhausen’s creatures and films, all taken from his remarkable collection.

The Academy Award-winning filmmaker’s life story, work and boundless imagination will be explored in an immersive presentation that will reveal new insights to dedicated Harryhausen fans, and open up a whole world of wonder to visitors of all ages and interests.

Visitors will have the opportunity to meet face-to-face the models and memorabilia from the films of their childhood. Younger visitors can learn all about Harryhausen’s pioneering movie-making process, and the great influence he’s had upon many of the movies and animations of today, including Wallace and Gromit.

Californian-born Harryhausen was massively inspired by the work of Willis O’Brien after seeing King Kong at Grauman’s Chinese Theatre in Hollywood in 1933. As a teenage boy, he went to see the film 33 times. Soon after, he was experimenting with models and stop-motion animation in his backyard, and was later mentored by O’Brien.

Titan of Cinema tells the story of how this young boy became so enraptured by O’Brien’s special effects , he devoted his entire life to filmmaking, invented ingenious techniques, created unforgettable cinematic moments, became what Aardman Animations’ Peter Lord described as a, “one-man industry” and inspired many of the world’s greatest movie-makers.

It also explores Harryhausen’s love of art and the impact certain artists had upon him, including the spectacular illustrations and paintings of Gustav Doré (1832-1883), and Joseph Michael Gandy (1771-1843), whose epic painting Jupiter Pluvius will be concurrently shown at the Scottish National Gallery. The filmmaker said Gandy’s paintings taught him, “to think big and give my imagination free reign”.

The exhibition also traces Harryhausen’s unique connection to Scotland. Harryhausen’s wife Diana was the great-great granddaughter of the Scottish explorer David Livingstone, and both she and her husband developed a strong affinity for the country. One of Harryhausen’s final projects was to design a statue of the legendary missionary, which now stands in the town of Blantyre.

Ray Harryhausen: Titan of Cinema is presented in collaboration with The Ray and Diana Harryhausen Foundation (Charity No. SC001419) to celebrate what would have been his centenary birthday year. As part of a series of events and initiatives under the banner #Harryhausen100, the exhibition will be accompanied by a programme of events, bringing his creations to life once again and celebrating the legacy of the filmmaker who shaped cinema as we know it today. Titan of Cinema would not be possible without the generous support of players of People's Postcode Lottery.

We want all visitors to stay safe while visiting our buildings, and new measures have been implemented so that the health and safety of our visitors, employees and volunteers can be ensured. We have secured the UK-wide industry standard ‘We’re Good to Go’ accreditation, which means businesses across the sector can demonstrate that they are adhering to the respective Government and public health guidance, have carried out a COVID-19 risk assessment and check they have the required processes in place.

Vanessa Harryhausen, daughter of Ray Harryhausen and a Trustee of The Ray and Dianna Harryhausen Foundation, said: “Our plans to celebrate Dad’s centenary at the National Galleries in Edinburgh are so exciting; if he was still around, he would be so enthused by all the centenary celebrations and plans! It’s wonderful that we are able to display so much of Dad’s collection: the space at the Galleries gives us great scope to display as many of his models and artworks as possible, as well as personal items which have never been exhibited before.”

“We at the Foundation are thrilled to work with the National Galleries on displaying Dad’s collection and celebrating his legacy. He established the Foundation in order to encourage future generations to enjoy stop-motion animation, and we hope the celebrations and activities in Edinburgh will encourage fans of all ages to be inspired by his creativity”.

Simon Groom, Director of Modern and Contemporary Art at the National Galleries of Scotland, said: “We are delighted to open Mod Two with the largest ever exhibition devoted to Ray Harryhausen. His creative vision, and ability to realise scenes of enduring dramatic and imaginative power, are as relevant now as they have ever been. The exhibition promises to transport all visitors, young and old, into the amazing world of one of the greatest innovators of special effects in the history of cinema.”

Stephanie Kerr, programmes advisor at People’s Postcode Lottery, said: “I’m delighted this exhibition, which has been supported with funding raised by our players, is now able to take place. It’s sure to be an inspiring experience for everyone who visits.”

—ENDS—

Notes to Editors

What to Expect

Titan of Cinema opens at Modern Two from 24 October.
The exhibition is ticketed access only. You can book your tickets on our website from Wednesday 2 September, up to 3 months in advance.
Stay safe while visiting and follow physical-distancing rules.
As of writing, face-coverings are mandatory if over 5 years old.
Please use the hand-sanitisers inside Modern Two.
Car parking at both Modern One and Two is now open, 9.45am-5.30pm. 

You can read more on our Visitor frequently asked questions here.

More information on the exhibition

Raymond Frederick Harryhausen was born in 1920 in Los Angeles, California, to parents Martha L. and Frederick W. Harryhausen. As a young boy in 1933, Harryhausen attended a showing of King Kong at Grauman’s Chinese Theatre in Hollywood, whose special effects supervisor was Willis O’Brien.

It was a seminal moment, changing the course of his life: “I’ve never forgotten it”, Harryhausen said in 2005. “The dinosaurs, and King Kong particularly…For its time it was unique”. Remarkably, a note in his diary in 1939 mentions he’d just spent another evening in the cinema, watching King Kong for the thirty-third time.

Soon after, the teenage Harryhausen was building model dinosaurs and experimenting with stop-motion in his back garden. He contacted O’Brien and was invited – model dinosaurs in tow – to O’Brien’s studio at MGM Studios. Despite remarking that the legs on Harryhausen’s dinosaurs – shown in the exhibition - looked like sausages, and suggesting that he go and study the anatomy of creatures he was building - O’Brien would later become the budding filmmaker’s mentor, hiring him to work on Mighty Joe Young. Harryhausen would produce most of the movie’s accomplished animated scenes and the film’s massive success helped launched his career.

An original film poster of King Kong, a King Kong marionette made by a teenage Harryhausen in the 1930s, and an RKO original model gorilla from Mighty Joe Young, will be on display, alongside other early marionettes and sketches from both Harryhausen and O’Brien. Also on display are Harryhausen’s personal effects, and some of the many honours he was awarded in his lifetime.

Starting with his work on Mighty Joe Young, the impact Harryhausen had on modern cinema cannot be overstated. He singlehandedly changed what was thought possible with animation and special effects. Spielberg, Lucas and Jackson directly cite his movies as the reason they became filmmakers – and especially for the influence they had on the making of Jurassic Park, Star Wars and Lord of the Rings respectively – as do Del Toro, James Cameron, John Landis, Tim Burton and JJ Abrams to name but a few. Del Toro has said, “No one will ever compare to Ray Harryhausen. He was a true pioneer... He was designer, technician, sculptor, painter and cinematographer all at once. To my generation, and to every generation of monster lovers to come, he will stand above all. Forever”. Titan of Cinema’s visitors can view these original models that had such a formative influence on the next generation of movie giants.

As a stop-motion trailblazer, one of Harryhausen’s ingenious inventions – first demonstrated in The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms – was the creation of Dynamation. The phrase was coined by Harryhausen’s long-term friend, collaborator and producer Charles H. Schneer, to describe his unique process which successfully integrated animation and live action, and used perspective to portray scale and movement in ways that were both breathtaking and cost-efficient.

The larger stage sets of the past gave way to smaller models and inventive perspective techniques, freeing up budget for the taking of more exciting shots. Two-inch-tall figurines became towering, realistic monsters, and a fleet of flying saucers seamlessly crossed the skies of Harryhausen’s in breathtaking scenes, from Earth vs the Flying Saucers (1956). Forty years later, Tim Burton paid homage in Mars Attacks! (1996), replicating both models and scenes in Harryhausen’s original film. These out-of-this-world UFO creations, still in pristine condition, will be shown, as will a full room revealing the Dynamation process.

Also on display will be a models, posters, drawings and photographs from Harryhausen’s blockbusters, including his hugely influential Sinbad series, Jason and the Argonauts, and Clash of the Titans. A single viewing of The 7th Voyage of Sinbad made a young John Landis commit to becoming a filmmaker. Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger did the same for Sir Peter Jackson. The childhoods of millions of others were filled with Sinbad’s swashbuckling adventures. Storyboards, sheet music, the original model of the cyclops will be some of the material from the series on show.

Just as Harryhausen inspired countless artists and succeeding generations, so artists and writers inspired the filmmaker himself. Their influence is seen in the dramatic backdrops, scenes and creatures of his movies. Harryhausen was a great lifelong friend of the sci-fi writer Ray Bradbury with whom he worked closely, and absorbed inspiration from ancient Greek mythology, the work of HG Wells (1886-1946) and Jules Verne (1828-1905), and the art of John Martin (1718-1854), Gustave Doré (1832-1883), and Joseph Michael Gandy (1771-1843), whom he recognised as imaginative visionaries of their time. Harryhausen was to say that Gandy’s paintings taught him, “to think big and give my imagination free reign”. Harryhausen, an incredible draughtsman himself, would skilfully illustrate the storyboards which wove together stories and images of such power and depth that, even now in our digital age, make his films so iconic.

Book

Titan of Cinema will be accompanied by a new publication especially commissioned for the exhibition, written by Harryhausen’s daughter Vanessa, that provides a very personal insight into her father’s ground-breaking career, collection and life. This book, part-biography and part-exhibition catalogue, marks the first ever time Vanessa has spoken about her father’s work in such detail, and includes a personal biography of her father from the beginnings in the 1930s through to projects he was working on throughout his ‘retirement’, less than 10 years ago.

Exhibition

Ray Harryhausen: Titan of Cinema will take place at the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art (Modern Two) from Saturday 22 October.

You can read more on Ray Harryhausen on the National Galleries website here and here.

Find out more about The Ray and Diana Harryhausen Foundation and the #Harryhausen100 here (Charity No. SC001419): www.rayharryhausen.com

Vanessa Harryhausen and John Walsh, Trustees of The Ray and Diana Harryhausen Foundation, and Connor Heaney, Collections Manager of the Foundation, are available for interviews and will be present for the press view on Thursday 22 October 2020.

More information on John Walsh can be found here: https://www.johnwalshfilmmaker.com

For press requests relating to The Ray and Diana Harryhausen Foundation and the #Harryhausen100 please contact [email protected]

For enquiries relating to Ray Harryhausen: Titan of Cinema at the Scottish National Galleries of Modern Art, please contact [email protected] or call 0207 292 7390.

For enquiries relating to the National Galleries of Scotland of the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art, please contact [email protected] or call 0131 624 6247.

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6 August 2020
Wonder awaits at the National Galleries of Scotland: first phase of reopening dates announced

The wonder of Scotland’s national art collection awaits visitors in-person as today the National Galleries of Scotland (NGS) can share the dates and details of the first phase of our gradual reopening.

The Scottish National Gallery will reopen to the public on Monday 17 August, and the Modern One building at the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art will reopen the following week, on Monday 24 August.

Those visiting will be able to enjoy a very special encounter with the much-loved artworks of the nation’s exceptional art collection, as we will be limiting the number of visitors in each gallery at any one time, to ensure physical distancing.

Visitors can book free time-slots for the Scottish National Gallery and for Modern One via our new online booking system, available from 10am on 12 August on our website. Admission remains free, but tickets must be booked online in advance. Tickets can be booked up to 2 weeks ahead.

We are delighted to welcome visitors back to the Scottish National Gallery, where they can reconnect with masterpieces such as Diego Velázquez’s Old Woman Cooking Eggs, Sir Edwin Landseer’s iconic Monarch of the Glen and Sir Henry Raeburn’s Reverend Robert Walker (1755 - 1808), famously known as the Skating Minister.

A treasure trove of modern art awaits visitors to Modern One, with works from Picasso to Jenny Saville via Francis Bacon, Scottish Colourist paintings and our world-class Surrealist collection featuring art from Salvador Dalí, René Magritte and others.

Visitors can immerse themselves in our specially-created sculpture trails in the grounds outside, or be mesmerised indoors by Katie Paterson’s Totality — the stunning centrepiece of our contemporary art series NOW — which brings together over 10,000 images of almost every solar eclipse documented by humankind in one monumental glitter-ball.

Both buildings will be open from 10am-5pm and final admission is at 3.45pm. Visitors can print off tickets to bring with them, or simply show the email attachment from their mobile phone at the entrance of the gallery.

We are implementing a one-way route around all our buildings. Those booking will receive a link to download a printable map of the Gallery so they can easily navigate each site. Some smaller rooms and spaces will remain closed so that we can conform with safe physical-distancing measures. Visitors can also use the Smartify app to delve deeper into the artworks on display, with our Smartify highlights tours revealing hidden details, stories and interpretations about key works.

As part of the gradual reopening, the Scottish National Portrait Gallery and Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art (Modern Two) will reopen in the Autumn. We are still finalising the specifics for both buildings and their exact reopening dates will be announced in due course. Ray Harryhausen: Titan of Cinema will be taking place at Modern Two when it reopens.

Visitors can now wander through the serene grounds of the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art. Admission to the grounds is free and unticketed, and there are specially-created sculpture trails for visitors of all ages to enjoy. A pop-up cafe in front of the main entrance to Modern Two is now offering takeaway coffee and snacks. Our Sculpture Trails would not be possible without the generous support of players of the People's Postcode Lottery.

Look out for updates on our website, social media channels and sign up for our email newsletters.

Sir John Leighton, Director-General of the National Galleries of Scotland, said: “We are delighted to now welcome visitors back to the Scottish National Gallery and Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art’s Modern One, as part of the first phase of our reopening. It’s been a challenging time for all, but our reopening offers the public the opportunity to reconnect with the national collection and to view their favourite works in a more intimate setting. Whether that’s to find comfort, calm or spark creativity, visitors will have their very own close encounters with art from across the centuries, be that Constable, the Colourists or Katie Paterson’s cosmos”.

Stephanie Kerr, Programmes Advisor at People’s Postcode Lottery, said: “I’m so pleased the National Galleries of Scotland are able to safely re-open to the public, in particular the sculpture trails which are supported by our players and assessible for people of all ages. The fun trail is full of wonderful sculptures, and provide a great way for those who aren’t yet comfortable with going indoors to experience some of Edinburgh’s finest culture."

—ENDS—

Notes to Editors

Reopening Dates

Monday 17 August
Scottish National Gallery reopens.

Monday 24 August
Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art (Modern One) reopens.

Autumn (exact dates tbc)
Scottish National Portrait Gallery reopens.
Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art (Modern Two) reopens.

What to Expect

Scottish National Gallery and Modern One open from 10am-5pm.
Book your free time-slot on our website from 12 August (max 6 tickets per person)
NGS Friends can book from 10am on 10 August, and will have a limited number of priority booking slots.
An outdoor queuing system will be in place.
Stay safe while visiting and follow physical-distancing rules.
Face-coverings are mandatory if over 5 years old.
Please use the hand-sanitisers inside all our buildings.

You can read more on our Visitor frequently asked questions here.

Parking
There is metered, on-street parking near Scottish National Gallery and both car parks at the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art (One and Two) are open 9.45am-5.30pm. 

Toilets
Toilets  at the Scottish National Gallery  are available at gallery level, but only for those with a ticket.  Public toilets and Changing Places facilities are open 10am-5pm  at the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art (Modern One).  All facilities are cleaned regularly. 

Shops
The Scottish National Gallery shop at the East Princes Street Gardens Entrance will be open from 10am-5pm. There is no direct access up to the Galleries from the Gardens Entrance. 

You can read more on our Shop frequently asked questions here. If the FAQ doesn’t help with your query then please email us on [email protected] or call us on 0131 624 6494 (international customers call 0044 131 624 6494).

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New players can sign up to pay using direct debit by calling 0808 10 9 8 7 6 5. New players who sign up online at www.postcodelottery.co.uk can pay using direct debit, debit card or PayPal.

27 July 2020
Public appeal for stories, portraits and ideas to be displayed alongside the national collection
#youarehere2020

People across Scotland and beyond are being asked to submit stories, portraits and ideas about the future as part of a new display at the Scottish National Portrait Gallery. They will be shown alongside five striking examples of portraiture from the national collection in a display titled You Are Here| 2020: Stories, Portraits, Visions.

This display will explore the issues Scotland faces in 2020 by providing a platform for people to reflect on a year, which has seen the most unprecedented times in a generation.

People can respond to one or more of the three categories: stories, portraits and visions. The first, 2020 Stories is looking for a story about this year in 100 words or less which could be positive or negative, prose or poetry. The second, 2020 Portraits is a portrait that encapsulates something about this year. From the joyful to the tragic and everything in between; lockdown hair and extra time with family, social distancing to social isolation, PPE-clad shopping trips to food bank deliveries. Lastly 2020 Visions is asking for people’s thoughts on the future; what are the good things to come out of this year? What lessons have been learned that could be taken forward?

The public submissions will sit alongside artworks from the national collection, which were selected for their contemporary relevance. They speak of the health service, powerful cultural icons and under-represented demographics. The five works are: two bronze busts of influential women - Scots Makar (the national poet for Scotland) Jackie Kay and the pioneering Dr Elsie Inglis; a photograph and display of work prints by Iain Stewart from his series, Tender, for which he shadowed two Edinburgh GPs; Man Up, a video work featuring Mercury Prize-winning Edinburgh band Young Fathers and a new acquisition – a portrait of the international singer-songwriter Emeli Sandé, painted by Samira Addo, winner of Sky Arts Portrait Artist of the Year 2018.

Learning and Engagement Outreach Officer, Richie Cumming who has devised this display, said: ‘We are asking the questions; “How are you doing?” How has your year been? We want this installation to be a broad representation of 2020 and hope people will be inspired to participate and share this call to action with family, friends, neighbours and colleagues. The combined results will act as a portrait of the nation, offering the opportunity for work from members of the public to be displayed alongside portraits of these exceptional people from the national collection and give brief insights into the range of experiences people have had over this bizarre and troubling year.’

Members of the public can upload their submissions via the National Galleries of Scotland (NGS) website and the project is open to all. As the project is based on 2020, works must have been created this year and should respond to the themes of stories, portraits, visions. The works to be displayed will be reviewed by a panel consisting of Learning and Engagement and Collection and Research staff from NGS. Each submission will be considered under the criteria of: creativity, originality, geographic spread and uniqueness of the submission.

The display will feature a selection of submissions and these will change on a rotational basis. The majority of all submissions will be displayed on the exhibition feature pages on the NGS website.

Notes to Editors

Submissions are now open until the end of the year.
The display will open when the SNPG reopens (date tbc).
Full terms and conditions for submissions can be found on the National Galleries of Scotland’s website.

National Galleries of Scotland

The National Galleries of Scotland (NGS) looks after one of the world's finest collections of Western art, ranging from the Middle Ages to the present day, including masterpieces by Titian, Rembrandt, Monet, Van Gogh, Picasso and Magritte. These holdings include the national collection of Scottish art, which is displayed in an international context. Each year NGS welcomes visitors from Scotland and the rest of the world to our three Galleries in Edinburgh: the Scottish National Gallery, the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art and the Scottish National Portrait Gallery.

For further information please go to nationalgalleries.org or call 0131 624 6200. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter or Instagram.

16 July 2020
A breath of fresh air awaits you in the serene grounds of the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art

The National Galleries of Scotland (NGS) are delighted to share that we will be welcoming visitors back to the grounds of the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art (SNGMA) from today, Wednesday 15 July.

Visitors and families can take in the beauty of both works of art and nature as they wander within the landscapes of Modern One and Two, enjoying world-class sculptures with coffee and cake from our new pop-up cafe.

Whilst the grounds have been open throughout lockdown, today we can officially welcome visitors back with some specially-created sculpture trails and newly-adapted facilities. Entrance to the grounds remains free of charge.

All our Gallery buildings are currently closed, and we are currently working hard on all the plans for their phased reopening from August.

For the meantime, visitors can simply wander or become avid art explorers by taking part in our free, newly-developed Walk, Talk, Make sculpture trails, aimed at all ages. Highlights from the trail include the stunning Landform (2001) by the late Charles Jencks, with its undulating hills and calming lake, Tracey Emin’s Roman Standard (2005) and the first figure of the six that constitute Antony Gormley’s much-loved 6 TIMES (2010), a series of sculptures beginning at Modern One and which are sited along the picturesque Water of Leith.

Through the online version of a printed trail, families can discover the artists and their artworks on outside display, and receive some prompts to make their own art amongst the trees. Or even just absorb the timely and reassuring message of the Martin Creed artwork on the front of Modern One: WORK: NO. 203: EVERYTHING IS GOING TO BE ALRIGHT.

The grounds and the car park will be open from 9.45am-5.30pm daily. Toilets and a Changing Places facility are both available at Modern One, from 10-5pm.

Those visiting can be kept energised by freshly brewed coffee, snacks and sweet treats from our pop-up outside cafe (open from Thursday 16 July — takeaway only) beside the front door of Modern Two. The pop-up cafe will be open from 10am-3pm each day.

The gallery grounds at the SNGMA can be accessed via the gates on Belford Road, the Water of Leith and the Dean Graveyard.

We want all visitors to stay safe while visiting and follow physical distancing rules during their journeys around the two grounds. Your health and safety are important to us, and we look forward to welcoming you all back inside our galleries soon.

We have also secured the UK-wide ‘We’re Good to Go’ accreditation. The ‘We’re Good To Go’ industry standard and supporting mark means businesses across the sector can demonstrate that they are adhering to the respective Government and public health guidance, have carried out a COVID-19 risk assessment and check they have the required processes in place.

Look out for updates on our website, social media channels and sign up for our email newsletters.

— ENDS —

Notes to Editors

What to expect:

No need to book. Admission is free and unticketed.
Access is via the gates on Belford Road, the Water of Leith and the Dean Graveyard.
The grounds and car park are open from 9.45am-5.30pm daily.
Toilets and a Changing Places facility are both available at Modern One from 10-5pm.
Stay safe while visiting and follow physical distancing rules.

To find out more about the art in the Collection through the free mobile phone app Smartify. Download the app, scan the art, uncover the story.

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9 July 2020
Statement on reopening from the National Galleries of Scotland

Earlier today, Museums Galleries Scotland shared the news that museums and galleries including the National Galleries of Scotland, National Museums Scotland, Glasgow Life, V&A Dundee and Industrial Museums Scotland are now looking ahead to the imminent reopening of our respective cultural sites.

We can further share that we will be reopening our own gallery buildings through a phased manner from August.

We warmly welcome the Scottish Government’s announcement that museums and galleries can now be safely re-opened, and are very much looking forward to welcoming the public back.

We have been working hard on the plans for reopening, and the health and safety of our visitors, and the visitor experience, are at the very heart of this. The reopening of our sites requires complex logistical planning, and a gradual reopening allows us to prepare for and implement the appropriate measures that will ensure the health and safety of our visitors, volunteers and employees.

These measures will follow Government advice and include the implementation of physical distancing and PPE equipment, employee training and new temporary ticketing systems allowing visitors to book free timed slots to enjoy our sites and the national collection. We will also be working to securing the UK-wide ‘Good to Go’ accreditation.

The pandemic has been difficult and challenging for all, and we would like to express our gratitude to the public for their ongoing engagement and support through these testing times.

Whilst we gradually reopen, we will continue to support and work closely with our cultural partners. We will also continue to share Scotland’s wonderful national art collection online.

Museums and galleries play an integral role in the health and well-being of all our lives, and with our reopening, we hope our cultural organisation and collection — and that of our cultural counterparts across the country — will continue to calm, comfort, educate, spark conversations and inspire creativity.

— ENDS —

4 June 2020
The public's most-asked art questions explored in new six-part National Galleries video series

* View some of the Questions about Art videos here *

What makes a painting iconic? Who decides what art is worth? Why can’t I touch artworks when in a gallery?

Six in-depth videos will explore these and other common musings on art in Questions about Art, a brand-new, informative and unprecedented insights video series from the National Galleries of Scotland (NGS). All are explored through filmed interviews of expert analysis, archive material and animations, and never-before-seen ‘behind the scenes’ footage from within the National Galleries. The videos aim to investigate, analyse and share comprehensive insights into these questions, rather than provide definitive answers.

One video in the series is What Makes an Artwork Iconic? — now available on YouTube here — explores Ray Lichtenstein’s seminal large-scale painting In The Car (1963). The video focuses on how In The Car has become ingrained within our collective consciousness, the significance of the painting to both its own era and to art history, and how it continues to spread throughout culture even today, influencing advertisements, Snapchat filters, TV shows and the fashion industry. We explore the painting’s shifting perception from the initial controversy when it first entered Scotland’s national collection in the 1980s, to now becoming one of the Collection’s most loved artworks, and one of the most widely-recognised artworks in the world. For the first time, viewers can get a behind-the-scenes look at the Galleries’ Granton storehouse, and close ups of the painting itself.

Another video, Why can’t I touch art?, which can be viewed here, analyses the complexities around artworks being touched and how current pioneering artists are challenging the idea that art cannot be touched by incorporating the sense into their multi-sensory creations. For the first time, viewers can see our Conservation Team in action with insights into the many intricacies of preserving paintings, drawings, watercolours and other creative forms. These include some surprising details, such as how the lifespan of paper has changed considerably since the fifteenth century, meaning that countless artworks painted or drawn several hundred years ago have a much greater expected lifespan than many of those made not only in the last century, but remarkably, made today.

Other videos explore the value of art, how art records history, why there’s so few female artists and whether or not art is beneficial to your well-being. They feature a range of experts — including specialists from across the Galleries, the Deputy Director of Sotheby’s in Edinburgh and art therapist Lucy Bell.

To inform the series, NGS asked visitors for their most-common art queries in late 2019. Questionnaires were placed within our galleries, audiences could share questions through the NGS Research panel, and digital visitors could submit their queries through a Pop-up box on our website or use the #AskACurator hashtag on social media. The Galleries also utilised AnswerThePublic.com (which employs Google’s autocorrect function) to identify commonly searched questions relating to key art words. Our Security and Visitor Services team also shared the most frequently-asked art queries they receive when working in gallery spaces.

An incredible 260 questions were received in response, which were whittled down to the six queries the public were most keen to know. The questions were then divided by theme and key ones were identified using a scoring system based on frequency (ie ‘how many times has it been asked?’) and whether or not they were asked by Galleries audiences directly (doing so scored higher than those accrued through Google’s autocorrect). Soon after, six videos were produced by the Galleries’ digital team.

This new series builds upon the popularity of What is…?, our series of videos exploring of the origins of and ideas behind key art terms, such as Surrealism, Expressionism and Pop Art. Both Questions about Art and What is…? are part of the National Galleries of Scotland’s overarching vision Art for Scotland: Inspiration for the World, which aims to make both art and Scotland’s national collection accessible to everyone. This digital aspect of this vision has been built around the complete overhaul of the National Galleries website, making it easier than ever to view, read and enjoy artworks and art.

Sir John Leighton, Director-General of the National Galleries of Scotland, said: “Questions about Art is important to us not just in how these videos help make art more accessible to everyone, but in how the questions were initially collected. We wish to listen as much as we wish to inform, so we are delighted to share these fantastic insights into the public’s most sought-after queries. We hope the public absorb and engage with these videos and above all, continue to ask us questions about art and Scotland’s magnificent national art collection”.

— ENDS —

View some of the videos from Questions about Art video series on the Galleries’ YouTube channel here.

28 May 2020
Titian Announcement

We regret to announce that the National Galleries of Scotland exhibition Titian: Love, Desire, Death will no longer take place in Edinburgh. This exhibition was due to open in the Royal Scottish Academy building in July this year as part of an international tour in partnership with the National Gallery, London, The Prado in Madrid and the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston.

The exhibition opened in London on 16 March but closed after only 3 days due to the current lockdown and closure of the National Gallery. We have worked with our partners to consider options for re-scheduling the exhibition in Edinburgh at a later date but we have decided that this is not a viable possibility and have withdrawn from the tour. However, the exhibition will reopen in London later in the year.

Sir John Leighton commented; ‘We worked very hard with our partners to realise this important and ambitious project so it is sad for us that this cannot now be enjoyed by our public in Edinburgh. This show was originally planned as one of the highlights of our summer programme at the busiest time of the year during the Edinburgh Festival but without that context, against a backdrop of uncertainty around scheduling and visitor numbers, this project was no longer a viable proposition for us. We are however pleased to support our partners with our loans to the remainder of this tour.’

We understand that many will be disappointed and we do apologise for this unfortunate cancellation.

We will be in touch with those who had pre-booked tickets.

We are still hoping to open Ray Harryhausen: Titan of Cinema at The Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art later this year, and an opening date will be decided in line with the re-opening plan for the galleries

-ENDS-

26 May 2020
National Galleries of Scotland appoints new Director of Collection and Research

The National Galleries of Scotland (NGS) is pleased to announce the appointment of Dr Line Clausen Pedersen as our new Director of Collection and Research.

Dr Clausen Pedersen is an independent scholar and curator. From 2003 to 2019, she was employed in various curatorial roles at the Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek (NCG) in Copenhagen, most recently as Head of the Modern Collection (from 2010). The NCG is one of Denmark’s leading museums and displays a world-renowned collection of 19th-century painting and sculpture as well as Greek, Roman, and Egyptian art. In her new role at NGS, Dr Clausen Pedersen will be responsible for leading on all aspects of the development, interpretation, research and display of Scotland's national art collection. She takes over the role from Professor Christopher Breward who was recently appointed Director of the National Museum of Scotland.

Educated in Copenhagen, London, and Florence, Dr Clausen Pedersen has been responsible for numerous international exhibitions and publications including, for example, exhibitions on Bonnard, Gauguin, Degas and Man Ray. As part of the Directorate at NCG she was responsible for leading curatorial strategic development and created innovative approaches to permanent collections, including extensive new installations and co-operation across departments. In addition, she was also responsible for several significant acquisitions, fundraising, and new international institutional collaborations. Pedersen is currently working on a Getty Research project involving technical art history and cross-disciplinary research, on Degas and reproduction. She is also a curatorial consultant for a Croatian/Italian exhibition project on treasures from a Venetian 16th-century shipwreck.

Sir John Leighton, Director-General, commented: ‘We began the search for our next Director of Collection and Research last October and we are thrilled to have a new director with an international vision and reputation. Throughout her career, Line Clausen Pedersen has shown strong leadership in developing the museum craft to the highest international levels, connecting research, exhibitions, and permanent collections. We are delighted to welcome her to our Leadership Team.’

Pedersen commented: ‘The NGS is a magnificent institution that I am honoured and delighted to join. Art is a medium for our shared human condition: in times of crises such as today, being relevant is even more important. I look very much forward to working with the whole organisation to develop our shared museum craft. Building on the NGS’s strong academic, professional, and institutional credentials, I aim to enhance our visibility, locally and internationally, among the public as well as among our global peers.’

Dr Line Clausen Pedersen will take up the role of Director of Collection and Research at NGS from the 15th June.

Monday 30 March 2020
Members appointed to the National Galleries of Scotland board

The Cabinet Secretary for the Economy, Fair Work and Culture, Ms Hyslop, today announced the appointments of Rucelle Soutar, Andrew Wilson, Lynn Richmond and Chris Sibbald as Members of the National Galleries of Scotland Board.

NEWLY APPOINTED MEMBERS

Rucelle Soutar is the Chief Operating Officer at The Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo. She is a Chartered Accountant and was appointed Head of Finance at the Tattoo in 2014 before being appointed as COO in 2018. She has also held other senior financial roles in the voluntary and private sector, including Edinburgh Zoo, Valvona & Crolla and ProjectScotland. She has a breadth of commercial, audit and risk management experience, as well a keen interest in arts and culture.

Andrew Wilson is the founding Partner of strategic corporate advice company, Charlotte Street Partners. He is an economist, business analyst and public policy specialist. He is a Trustee of a number of charities, including the Edinburgh International Culture Summit, Sistema and the John Smith Centre for Public Service.

Lynn Richmond is a Partner at BTO Solicitors LLP and specialises in intellectual property and technology, data protection, freedom of information and commercial dispute resolution, advising on both contentious and non-contentious matters. Lynn was appointed Director of the Scottish Society for Computers and Law in 2007. She has a keen interest in the arts, advising and supporting not for profit arts organisations.

Chris Sibbald is a Managing Director at Finsbury, a global leader in Strategic Communications. Previously, Chris was Head of Communications at Tesco Bank and a member of the Tesco Group communications leadership team. Chris is a passionate advocate and supporter of organisations in the third sector, primarily The Prince’s Trust and The John Smith Trust Fellowship.

APPOINTMENTS

The appointments will be for four years. Rucelle Soutar and Andrew Wilson’s appointments will run from 16 March 2020 to 15 March 2024. Lynn Richmond and Chris Sibbald’s appointments will run from 1 November 2020 to 31 October 2024.

The appointments are regulated by the Ethical Standards Commissioner.

REMUNERATION

The appointments are part-time with a time commitment of six days per annum and are not remunerated.

OTHER MINISTERIAL APPOINTMENTS

Rucelle Soutar, Andrew Wilson, Lynn Richmond and Chris Sibbald do not hold any other public appointments.

POLITICAL ACTIVITY

All appointments are made on merit and political activity plays no part in the selection process. However, in accordance with the original Nolan recommendations, there is a requirement for appointees’ political activity within the last five years (if there is any to be declared) to be made public.

Andrew Wilson campaigns locally during elections for the SNP and is Chair of the SNP’s Sustainable Growth Commission.

Rucelle Soutar, Lynn Richmond and Chris Sibbald have had no political activity in the last five years.

BACKGROUND

NGS is a vibrant organisation, employing around 300 staff at its three Edinburgh sites. Its mission is to care for, develop, research and display the national collection of Scottish and international art. This includes a lively and innovative programme of activities, exhibitions, education and publications, which aims to engage, inform and inspire the broadest possible public.

Today, its mission is based on the drive to make the greatest art available, free of charge, to a wide national and international public. NGS is one of Scotland’s most popular cultural destinations, and in 2018-19, NGS welcomed over 2.7 million visitors across its gallery sites, a record figure, up on previous years. It ranks within the top thirty most visited museums anywhere in the world.

Core funded by the Scottish Government, like all public bodies, it operates within a challenging financial climate and must make the most of opportunities to continue to collaborate with other key national and international institutions from a range of sectors and to generate income from a range of sources. It operates within the context of the Scottish Government’s national outcomes and strategic objectives, including public service reform.

The organisation is governed by a Board of Trustees which is accountable to the public through Ministers and the Scottish Parliament for the discharging of the functions defined in the National Heritage (Scotland) Act 1906 (as amended in 1985) -.http://origin-www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1985/16/contents

17 March 2020
Galleries closed until further notice

Statement from Sir John Leighton, Director-General of the National Galleries of Scotland

'In order to help protect the health of our staff and visitors during this difficult time, we are closing all of our Galleries from 5pm this evening, 17 March 2020. This includes the Scottish National Gallery, Scottish National Portrait Gallery, Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art (Modern One and Modern Two). We are aware that some people have bought tickets for upcoming events and exhibitions and we will be in touch as quickly as we can with further information.

'We appreciate your support during this time and hope to see you in the not too distant future. We will post any further updates on our social media channels and website (www.nationalgalleries.org).'

Thursday 13 February 2020
MacKinnon Collection show extended due to popular demand and Scottish tour announced

Scotland’s Photograph Album: The MacKinnon Collection, the exhibition showcasing highlights of an exceptional collection of historic photographs which capture over a century of Scottish life, will see its opening time extended for another two months, due to its remarkable reception with the public.

The display, which features more than 250 photographs from the treasure trove of over 14,000 images that the BBC recently described as, “one of the most significant photography collections in decades”, has proved so immensely popular with visitors, it will now run at the Scottish National Portrait Gallery until Monday 13 April, extending well beyond its original end date of 16 February. Admission for visitors remains free throughout.

The National Library of Scotland’s concurrent MacKinnon display, At the Water’s Edge, will close as scheduled on 15 February 2020.

Further to this, the National Galleries of Scotland (NGS) and the National Library of Scotland are delighted to announce today that visitors from all across Scotland will get the chance to enjoy the MacKinnon Collection, with a national tour set to take place in three Scottish locations across the country from later this year.

Exhibitions showcasing these remarkable photographic documents of Scotland’s social and cultural history will commence in Kirkcudbright at Kirkcudbright Galleries before heading to Museum nan Eilean in Lews Castle in Stornoway on the Isle of Lewis, before culminating in Duff Hose in Banff in 2021. The nationwide tour starts in September 2020 and further information will be released in due course.

The MacKinnon Collection was jointly acquired by the National Galleries of Scotland (NGS) and the National Library of Scotland in 2018, with assistance from the National Lottery Heritage Fund, Scottish Government and Art Fund. The collection was slowly acquired by photography enthusiast Murray MacKinnon and began when he ran a successful chain of film-processing stores in the 1980s, starting from his pharmacy in Dyce, near Aberdeen. The images celebrate Scottish life and identity from the 1840s through to the 1940s and feature some of the earliest and most significant photographs not only in Scottish photography history, but in the history of photography itself.

Many of the first practitioners and visionaries who pushed the medium forward were based in Scotland or were inspired by Scottish subjects, and their works are on display in the exhibition. These include photographs by William Henry Fox Talbot, David Octavius Hill and Robert Adamson, Julia Margaret Cameron, Thomas Annan, Roger Fenton, George Washington Wilson, and others who created stunning images of Scotland’s people and places and established precedents for photographers worldwide.

In a recent review, The Scotsman’s art critic Duncan MacMillan hailed the MacKinnon Collection as, “an extraordinary record of Scotland’s past, from the beginnings of photography until around 1940s” and awarded five stars to both the National Galleries and National Library’s displays.

The MacKinnon Collection has begun to be digitised by both the Galleries and Library and digitisation of the entire trove of photographs will be completed in 2021.

Sir John Leighton, Director-General of the National Galleries of Scotland, said: “The MacKinnon Collection demonstrates the important role Scotland had in shaping the history of photography, and we are delighted it has proved so popular with the public. Our aim is to make these images accessible to all, so we’re equally thrilled to announce together with the National Library that the collection will be going on tour around Scotland. The MacKinnon collection is a huge resource and we will continue to digitise and share the many images from this wonderful photographic archive of Scottish life.”

Dr John Scally, National Librarian of Scotland, said: “We’ve been delighted to see the public’s interest in the MacKinnon Collection since it went on display last November at the National Library and the National Galleries of Scotland. The extended run will give even more people the opportunity to visit this absorbing show”.

Caroline Clark, Scotland Director of the National Lottery Heritage Fund, added: “These fascinating historical images, taken in the pioneering days of photography, allow us a first glimpse of our ancestors going about their daily lives. The fact that the exhibition is extending is a real testimony to the thirst people have for exploring and celebrating their heritage and I’m delighted that, with the help of funding from The National Lottery, even more people around the country will be able to explore these treasures.”

—ENDS—

Notes to Editors:

SCOTLAND’S PHOTOGRAPH ALBUM:
THE MACKINNON COLLECTION
Until 13 April 2020
Scottish National Portrait Gallery
1 Queen Street, Edinburgh, EH2 1JD
0131 624 6200 | nationalgalleries.org
Admission free

Acquired jointly with the National Library of Scotland with assistance from the National Lottery Heritage Fund, Scottish Government and Art Fund.

The National Library of Scotland

The National Library of Scotland is a major European research library and one of the world’s leading centres for the study of Scotland and the Scots – an information treasure trove for Scotland’s knowledge, history and culture.

The Library’s collections are of world-class importance. Key areas include rare books, manuscripts, photographs, maps, music, moving images, official publications, business information, science and technology, and modern and foreign collections.

The Library holds more than 30 million physical items dating back over 1000 years in addition to a growing library of e-books, e-journals and other digital material. Every week the Library collects around 5,000 new items. Most of these are received free of charge in terms of Legal Deposit legislation.

www.nls.uk / @natlibscot / facebook

National Lottery Heritage Fund

Using money raised by the National Lottery, we Inspire, lead and resource the UK’s heritage to create positive and lasting change for people and communities, now and in the future. www.heritagefund.org.uk.

Follow @HeritageFundUK on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram and use #NationalLotteryHeritageFund

Art Fund

Art Fund is the national fundraising charity for art. In the past five years alone Art Fund has given £34 million to help museums and galleries acquire works of art for their collections. It also helps museums share their collections with wider audiences by supporting a range of tours and exhibitions, and makes additional grants to support the training and professional development of curators.

Art Fund is independently funded, with the core of its income provided by 151,000 members who receive the National Art Pass and enjoy free entry to over 240 museums, galleries and historic places across the UK, as well as 50% off entry to major exhibitions and subscription to Art Quarterly magazine. In addition to grant-giving, Art Fund’s support for museums includes Art Fund Museum of the Year (won by St Fagans National History Museum near Cardiff in 2019) and a range of digital platforms.

Find out more about Art Fund and the National Art Pass at www.artfund.org

7 February 2020

Construction is continuing on the Scottish National Gallery Project to create new, world-class galleries to house the national collection of historic Scottish art.

The first phase of the Scottish National Gallery Project was completed successfully in 2019. This included a new entrance area level with East Princes Street Gardens, a beautifully refurbished café, restaurant and shop, and new landscaping and paths in East Princes Street Gardens to improve access to the gardens and the Galleries.

Work is now on-going on the next phase, to convert areas originally built in the 1970s into the new suite of galleries, alongside newly created spaces.

Director-General of the National Galleries of Scotland, John Leighton, said:

“In the course of this work it has become apparent that there are some unexpected defects within the 1970s building which sits beneath the original nineteenth-century National Gallery. These include issues with damp penetration and inadequate drainage in and around the site. We are now addressing these issues to ensure that the building is fully protected and safeguarded for the future, so that it can better withstand any future extremes of weather.

In order to accommodate this extra work we have therefore revised our timescales for the project. We are now aiming to complete works on the new Gardens Level Galleries by the end of 2021, when we will be showcasing a brand new-space for our fantastic collection of Scottish art.

In the meantime, the Scottish National Gallery remains fully open to the public who can also enjoy the new restaurant, café and much larger shop. Disruption to visitors and the public during this construction phase will be kept to a minimum.

We look forward to unveiling our exciting new galleries which will be home to the world’s greatest collection of Scottish art, including some works that will be displayed for the very first time.”

Notes to Editors

The scope of the new displays will encompass the work of early 20^th-century artists such as Charles Rennie Mackintosh, Stanley Cursiter, Phyllis Mary Bone and the Scottish Colourists S J Peploe and F C B Cadell.

Specific activities on completion of the project include a dedicated family day one day a week, more volunteers in the galleries to connect visitors with our new offer and new audience-focused interpretation.

A fly-through animation of the Scottish National Gallery Project is available to view here

Read more on the Scottish National Gallery Project changes on our website here.

30 January 2020

An extraordinary painting of one of Scotland’s best-loved sporting icons, Doddie Weir, OBE, has gone on display at the Scottish National Portrait Gallery (SNPG) to mark the beginning of the Six Nations rugby championship this weekend. The portrait will be shown in the Great Hall for the duration of the rugby championship, after which it will feature in The Modern Portrait, an exhibition which includes portraits of notable Scottish figures such as Alan Cumming, Susie Wolff, Ewen Bremner and Tilda Swinton.

Standing at 6' 6", Weir is one of rugby’s most recognisable personalities, known for playing the position of lock for Stewart’s Melville RFC, Melrose RFC, Newcastle Falcons and the Border Reivers. He earned 61 caps for Scotland between 1990 and 2000, played in three World Cups and was selected for the British and Irish Lions tour of South Africa in 1997. He also played six times for the Barbarians and was famously described by the legendary commentator Bill McLaren whilst on a forward run for Scotland, as being ‘on the charge like a mad giraffe’.

Renowned for his extraordinary good humour and tartan suits he also became an acclaimed public speaker. Following his retirement from rugby, Weir remained a familiar face on TV as a commentator for his beloved sport.

In 2016 Weir was diagnosed with Motor Neuron Disease (MND). A year later he set up the My Name’5 Doddie Foundation, which raises funds to aid research into the causes of MND, investigate potential cures and make grants to individuals suffering from MND to enable them to live as fulfilled a life as possible. In its first two years, the Foundation has invested almost £4million into MND research projects and helped hundreds of families living with the disease. In 2018 The Doddie Weir Cup was established to bring awareness to the disease and is played for annually between Scotland and Wales rugby teams.

Born in Glasgow in 1961, the painter, Gerard M. Burns graduated from Glasgow School of Art in 1983 with a degree in Fine Art. Drawing and painting have been his passion since childhood. He shared this enthusiasm throughout his teaching career, later leaving a successful post as principal of art at St Aloysius College, Glasgow to pursue his painting full time. Since 1999 this commitment has resulted in his current standing as one of Scotland’s most respected artists.

In 2016, Burns’ portrait of author Denise Mina entered the National Galleries of Scotland (NGS) collection and is on display at SNPG as part of The Modern Portrait exhibition.

The portrait of Weir was auctioned in 2019 and raised over £80,000 for the Foundation and the buyers gifted it to them with a note saying: ‘To Doddie with love from your rugby friends in Hong Kong, to always remember the Daft Yin’s passion and inspiration in seeking a cure for MND’. The artwork will be accompanied by a plaque naming all those who made contributions during the auction of the painting.

On loan to the NGS from the Weir Family, the portrait by Gerard M Burns shows Weir in the Scottish Borders, where he grew up as part of a farming family, with the Eildon Hills behind him. In this portrait he wears one of his famous suits in the Doddie’5 tartan.

Doddie Weir, OBE, said: "It is a great honour to have Gerard's painting on display at the Scottish National Portrait Gallery, among so many notable and notorious Scots. I have had a great deal of fun in Hong Kong over the years and the support of the Scottish and rugby communities there has been incredible since I shared my diagnosis. I would like to thank everyone involved for their contribution and especially Gerard for doing such a fine job with the limited source material! And a big thank you to the National Galleries of Scotland for including the painting in their fine collection.”

John Leighton, Director-General at the NGS, said: “Doddie is an extraordinary person and an iconic figure in sporting history. The work that the My Name’5 Doddie Foundation is achieving is monumental and I am thrilled to have his portrait hanging in our Great Hall for the duration of the Six Nations rugby championship.”

Painter, Gerard M. Burns spoke about the portrait, saying: “I felt strongly from the very beginning that this painting should show some of Doddie’s inner strength, that to make something too trivial would have been completely wrong given the circumstances of his life at this point.”

—ENDS—

Notes to Editors

The portrait of Doddie Weir, OBE by Gerard M. Burns is on display in the Great Hall at the SNPG now. Following the Six Nations rugby championship (Saturday 1^st February – Saturday 14^th March) the portrait will feature in The Modern Portrait exhibition at the SNPG.

Weir's autobiography My Name'5 Doddie was published in 2018 and has been nominated for the Heineken rugby book of the year 2019: 'a brilliant, emotional and compelling read from one of Scotland’s best‑loved sporting icons’.

The BBC documentary Doddie Weir: One More Try was released in December 2019. It follows fellow Scottish rugby legend John Beattie who has followed Doddie and his family over the past two years, gaining a unique insight into the life and mission of the man behind the famous tartan suit. Watch it here: bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m000c2c6/doddie-weir-one-more-try

My Name’5 Doddie Foundation website can be found here: myname5doddie.co.uk/

Gerard M. Burns’s website can be found here: gerardmburns.com/

6 January 2020

DRINKING THE RAIN
Friday 10 January – Sunday 2 February 2020
Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art (Modern One)
75 Belford Road, Edinburgh, EH4 3DR
0131 624 6200 | nationalgalleries.org
Admission FREE
#ScotModern

After nearly six years, Pig Rock Bothy (the wooden structure alongside the path up to the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art One (SNGMA)) is moving on from the grounds in March 2020. It will eventually be relocated to Assynt in the North West Highlands of Scotland, the landscape that inspired its design and purpose.

The new and final exhibition will display material from recent Bothy Project residencies at Sweeney’s Bothy on the Island of Eigg and Inshriach Bothy in the Cairngorms National Park. Including work by: Siân Robinson Davies; This Way - Emily Macaulay and Felicity Rowley; Ashanti Harris; Lydia Honeybone; James N. Hutchinson and Sarah Rose.

Bothy Project was commissioned to create Pig Rock Bothy as part of GENERATION in 2014 – an exhibition celebrating 25 years of contemporary art in Scotland. It was made as a collaboration between artists, Bobby Niven and Laura Aldridge, and architect Iain MacLeod, in response to the landscape and community in Assynt. The structure was conceived as part of a network of residency bothies by Bothy Project, on the Island of Eigg and in the Cairngorms National Park. Pig Rock Bothy, at Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art One, acted as a temporary venue for talks, performances and events.

Since 2014 it has hosted an experimental and collaborative programme, including exhibitions with Torsten Lauschmann, Stacey Tyrell with Mother Tongue and David Faithfull; performances by Calvin Laing & Stephanie Mann and Rhubaba Choir; projects with Atlas Arts, Action for Children and Artlink; and residencies with creative arts courses including Edinburgh College, Edinburgh College of Art and The Glasgow School of Art. This year, Pig Rock Bothy hosted HappyHere, a participatory, immersive light installation, which used colour and light to visualise thoughts and feelings.

Simon Groom, Director of Modern and Contemporary Art at NGS, said: ‘We’ve loved being home to the Pig Rock Bothy – hand-built to a design by architect Iain MacLeod & artists Bobby Niven and Laura Aldridge - whose leaning end gable has become an iconic sight in its own right. It has given us the opportunity to showcase the creativity of organisations and individuals from across the whole of Scotland in a variety of different art forms. The initial plan was for it to stay with us for just a year and, given our commitment to continually evolve our art programme, it is timely for it to move onto the next stage in it journey.’

David Cook, Chair, Bothy Project board said: ‘Artists Bobby Niven and Laura Aldridge, and architect Iain MacLeod were delighted to work with the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art One to realise Pig Rock Bothy, bringing a sense of Assynt to Scotland’s central belt, and adding this ambitious structure, to the Bothy Project’s network of bothies on the Isle of Eigg and Cairngorms National Park. After nearly six years of activity Pig Rock Bothy at Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art One it will begin its journey to Assynt, the area that inspired it and where we are working with The Assynt Foundation.’

Thanks to Hope Scott Trust and William Grant Foundation for supporting residencies and MAP Magazine for publishing new writing.

Notes to Editors

Saturday 18 January 2020 (2-5pm) – Take Yourself Out Of Your Usual Structure with Anna McLauchlan plus artists James N. Hutchinson and Sarah Rose, who will be exploring the themes of their Inshriach Bothy inspired writing. Find the event via this link.

Friday 31 January 2020 (5.30-7.30pm) – To See and Know More where writer Maria Fusco will present work in relation to her residency at Sweeney’s Bothy on Eigg. Find the event via this link.

More information on The Bothy Project can be found via this link.

The exhibition page can be found via this link.

11 December 2019

Experience the dazzling and fascinating life of King James VI & I

Bright Star: The Art and Life of King James VI & I
20 June 2020 – 21 November 2020
Scottish National Portrait Gallery 1 Queen Street, Edinburgh, EH2 1JD
0131 624 6200 | nationalgalleries.org Tickets: £14-£12
Supported by the Friends of the National Galleries of Scotland and Players of People’s Postcode Lottery.

A major exhibition exploring the extraordinary life of King James VI & I (1566-1625) will be one of the headline shows in the National Galleries of Scotland (NGS) summer 2020 programme.
This is the first exhibition in over 40 years devoted to the man who united the crowns of Scotland and England in 1603 and was the son of Mary Queen of Scots.

Bright Star: The Art and Life of King James VI & I will uncover a wealth of artistic and cultural riches of the Jacobean period. It will feature an extraordinary variety of artworks and objects such as paintings, dress and textiles, miniatures, drawings, books, manuscripts and jewellery. These include highlights from the famous Cheapside Hoard, an accumulation of jewellery from the late 16th and early 17th centuries, discovered in London in 1912, which have not been on display in Scotland for over 40 years. The exhibition will bring together outstanding works by artists such as Sir Peter Paul Rubens (1577-1640), Nicholas Hilliard (1547-1619) and Inigo Jones (1573-1652), and will include significant loans from public and private collections, including the Victoria & Albert Museum, Tate, Blair Castle, the National Portrait Gallery, London and National Museums Scotland and works lent by Her Majesty The Queen from the Royal Collection.

James was the only son of Mary Queen of Scots (1542-1587), one of the most notorious and romantic figures in Scottish history. He was crowned when only a year old, during a period of great unrest and uncertainty which followed the death of his parents. The exhibition will begin by focussing on James’ turbulent childhood and youth, and will move through the defining moments of his life, including his coming of age; his marriage to Anna of Denmark (1574-1619), the birth (and deaths) of his children, the Union of the Crowns, when he proclaimed himself ‘King of Great Britain’; and the move of his family and court to London. The key moments presented within the exhibition provide a rich historical context for contemporary debate.

A prolific scholar and author, James was highly cultured and known for writing about many subjects, including government, witchcraft and tobacco. His court, both in Scotland and London, became a great centre for creative and artistic innovation and renowned as a centre for literature and entertainment.

Speaking about the exhibition, Christopher Baker, Director of European and Scottish Art and Portraiture at the NGS, said: “Visitors to this important exhibition will be immersed in the visually dazzling culture of the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries – a time when many questions we are now concerned with, such as what sort of government is legitimate, were being first asked. James’ court was sophisticated and European in outlook and ‘Bright Star: The Art and Life of King James’ will reveal its full splendour. ”

Kate Anderson, Senior Curator, European & Scottish Art and Portraiture said: “The objects in this exhibition not only shed light on the fascinating life of James VI & I, his family and members of his court, but are unique and exquisite works of art made by highly skilled artists and craftspeople. Highlights include a miniature portrait of Queen Anna of Denmark set in a diamond and enamel case made by the Edinburgh goldsmith George Heriot, and the brilliantly coloured drawings of costume for court masques designed by Inigo Jones.
When James arrived in London in May 1603 he was met by the lawyer and orator Richard Martin who proclaimed that James was the ‘Bright Star of the North’, alluding to both the King’s homeland of Scotland and the optimism associated with his future reign.”

-ENDS-
Notes to Editors:

The exhibition will be accompanied by a sumptuous and authoritative catalogue, Art & Court of James VI & I: Bright Star of the North, published by the NGS and available for £30.00. It includes contributions from a number of key scholars and features over 120 colour illustrations.

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11 December 2019

National Galleries of Scotland announces a season of wonder with its 2020 summer programme

The National Galleries of Scotland (NGS) announced today a season of wonder with an extraordinary programme of ticketed and free exhibitions for its 2020 summer programme across all three gallery sites in Edinburgh.

Highlights of the season include the first exhibition in over 40 years devoted to exploring the fascinating life of King James VI & I; the once-in-a-lifetime reunion of five of Titian’s greatest works, together for the first time since 1704; and a ground-breaking display celebrating the career of special effects superstar Ray Harryhausen in the largest and widest-ranging exhibition of his work ever seen.

RAY HARRYHAUSEN: TITAN OF CINEMA
23 May 2020 – 25 Oct 2020
Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art (Modern Two)
73 Belford Road, Edinburgh, EH4 3DS
0131 624 6200 | nationalgalleries.org
Tickets: £14-12 (Concessions available)
Free for our Friends
#Harryhausen100

Next summer, the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art (SNGMA) will host the largest and widest-ranging exhibition ever seen of the work of cinema titan Ray Harryhausen (1920-2013).

In collaboration with The Ray and Diana Harryhausen Foundation, the NGS will unveil iconic original models and the matchless archive of the pioneering legend, who elevated stop-motion animation to an art form during the 1950s to 1980s. Harryhausen’s movies, such as Clash of the Titans and Mighty Joe Young, inspired a whole generation of the world’s greatest moviemakers, including Steven Spielberg, George Lucas, Peter Jackson and Guillermo del Toro, and his impact on modern cinema is without parallel. Spielberg, Lucas and Jackson credit Harryhausen’s art as the direct inspiration for their careers, and for the creation of Jurassic Park, Star Wars and Lord of the Rings respectively.

Newly-restored models from movies such as Jason and the Argonauts and his Sinbad series, as well as previously unseen material from Harryhausen’s all-encompassing collection, will go on display in an immersive exhibition quite unlike anything the Gallery has ever hosted before, from 23 May 2020.

ARRIVALS | NEW ACQUISITIONS FROM PABLO PICASSO TO JENNY SAVILLE
Summer 2020
Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art (Modern One)
75 Belford Road, Edinburgh EH4 3DR
0131 624 6200 | nationalgalleries.org
Admission Free
#OurNewArrivals

Next year will bring a fascinating showcase of our most recent acquisitions to the SNGMA. This exhibition will offer a stunning range of modern and contemporary work including painting, sculptures, films and more by artists such as Damien Hirst, Jenny Saville and Pablo Picasso. Take a look at the latest additions to the national collection in a unique and stunning display.

BRIGHT STAR: THE ART AND LIFE OF KING JAMES VI AND I
20 June 2020 – 21 November 2020
Scottish National Portrait Gallery
1 Queen Street, Edinburgh, EH2 1JD
0131 624 6200 | nationalgalleries.org
Tickets: £14-£12 (Concessions available)
#JamesBrightStar

A major exhibition exploring the extraordinary life of King James VI & I (1566-1625) will be the first exhibition in over 40 years devoted to the man who united the crowns of Scotland and England in 1603 and who was the son of Mary, Queen of Scots.

Bright Star: The Art and Life of King James VI & I will uncover a wealth of artistic and cultural riches of the Jacobean period. It will feature an extraordinary variety of artworks and objects such as paintings, dress and textiles, miniatures, drawings, books, manuscripts and jewellery. These include highlights from the famous Cheapside Hoard, an accumulation of jewellery from the late 16^th and early 17^th centuries, discovered in London in 1912, which have not been on display in Scotland for over 40 years.

The exhibition will bring together outstanding works by artists such as Sir Peter Paul Rubens (1577-1640), Nicholas Hilliard (1547-1619) and Inigo Jones (1573-1652), and will include significant loans from public and private collections, including the Victoria & Albert Museum, Tate, Blair Castle, the National Portrait Gallery, London and National Museums Scotland and works lent by Her Majesty The Queen from the Royal Collection.

TITIAN: LOVE, DESIRE, DEATH
11 July 2020 – 27 September 2020
Royal Scottish Academy
The Mound, Edinburgh, EH2 2EL
0131 624 6200 | nationalgalleries.org
Tickets: £15-£10 (Concessions available)
#LoveTitian

Five of the greatest paintings in the world, from Titian’s epic series of large-scale mythological paintings known as the ‘poesie’, will be brought together for the first time in over 300 years in an exhibition jointly organized by the National Gallery in London, the NGS, the Museo Nacional del Prado in Madrid and the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston.

Titian’s poesie is one of most significant groups of paintings of the high Renaissance. Painted between 1551-62 at the request of Philip II of Spain, these rich, exquisite paintings are among the most original visual interpretations of Classical myths and are key works in the history of European painting.

Titian: Love, Desire, Death will reunite Danaë (1551–3, The Wellington Collection, Apsley House); Venus and Adonis (1554, Prado, Madrid); Diana and Actaeon (1556-9) and Diana and Callisto (1556-9), jointly owned by the National Gallery and the National Galleries of Scotland; and the newly conserved Rape of Europa (1562) from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston.

The history and significance of Titian’s ‘poetry in painting’ will be conveyed through exciting interpretations and unique exploratory insights on the Venetian master’s technique, and will be accompanied by both portraits and translations of Ovid’s Metamorphosis, the book which Titian based most of the works upon.

This once-in-a-lifetime exhibition will first be shown in London, then travelling to the Royal Scottish Academy for the summer, before leaving for Spain in late 2020. The worldwide tour will culminate in Boston in February 2021.

TEMPLES TO TENEMENTS: PHOTOGRAPHS OF ARCHITECTURE
25 July 2020 – 10 January 2021
Scottish National Portrait Gallery
1 Queen Street, Edinburgh, EH2 1JD
0131 624 6200 | nationalgalleries.org
Admission Free
#TemplesToTenements

Following the successful launch of Scotland’s Photograph Album: The MacKinnon Collection this winter, NGS will continue to explore the rich history of photography in a new exhibition dedicated to architecture. Temples to Tenements: Photographs of Architecture, which opens in July 2020 at the Scottish National Portrait Gallery, will be the fourth instalment of a popular series of free exhibitions which use a central theme in the history of photography to explore the richness of the NGS collection.

Architecture is a record of human life past, present and predicted future. From early photographic experiments to the manipulation of digital images, the built environment is one of the most enduring themes in the story of photography. Temples to Tenements explores the world around us through the work of photographers as diverse as David Octavius Hill & Robert Adamson, Thomas Annan, Andreas Gursky and Chris Leslie.

—ENDS—

Notes to Editors:

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11 December 2019 - Experience the dazzling and fascinating life of King James VI & I

11 December 2019 - National Galleries of Scotland announces a season of wonder with its 2020 summer programme

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