Scottish National Portrait Gallery

Come face to face with the people who shaped Scotland’s past, present and future at the Scottish National Portrait Gallery.

  • Open daily, 10am-5pm
  • Free admission | Charge for some exhibitions

Getting here

Located in the city centre on Queen Street, the Scottish National Portrait Gallery is easy to access.

Scottish National Portrait Gallery
  • Open daily, 10am-5pm
Address: 1 Queen Street, Edinburgh, EH2 1JD

Gallery & grounds

The Scottish National Portrait Gallery is one of Edinburgh’s most remarkable buildings – a great red sandstone neo-gothic palace which sits proudly on the city’s skyline. The Gallery was designed by Sir Robert Rowand Anderson as a shrine for Scotland’s heroes and heroines. It opened to the public in 1889 as the world’s first purpose-built portrait gallery.

An elaborate decorative scheme, both inside and out, with its glittering friezes, evocative murals and extensive sculptural embellishment, make it a very special experience.

Learn more about the history and architecture of the building

Level 2 of the Portrait Gallery

The Library and Print Room

Displays at the Gallery explore different aspects of the story of Scotland and her people, told through a wealth of imagery including portraits of famous historical figures such as Mary Queen of Scots, Prince Charles Edward Stuart and Robert Burns, through to more recent pioneers in science, sport and the arts. See these fantastic displays in beautifully refurbished spaces, from the suite of grand top-lit galleries to smaller intimate rooms, and discover the Photography Gallery, and the atmospheric Victorian Library. The displays change on a regular basis, so there is always something new to see.

The Great Hall

Running along the first-floor ambulatory of the Great Hall is a painted frieze by the nineteenth-century artist William Hole. In reverse chronological order it depicts famous people from Scottish history including Robert Burns, Bonnie Prince Charlie, Mary Queen of Scots and many more. 

Highlighted artworks

If you are coming as a group of 10 or more we offer a highlights tour of the collection. Book a group visit now

A selection of some of the best-loved works currently on display at the Gallery. 

Robert Burns, 1759 - 1796. Poet Alexander Nasmyth
Mary of Guise, 1515 - 1560. Queen of James V Corneille de Lyon
Alan Cumming, b.1965. Actor Christian Hook
Sir Walter Scott, 1771 - 1832. Novelist and poet Sir Henry Raeburn
Brain of the Artist Angela Palmer
Anne Forbes, 1745 - 1834. Artist David Allan
Two Newhaven fishwives, perhaps Mrs Elizabeth (Johnstone) Hall on the right David Octavius Hill & Robert Adamson
Dr Winifred Rushforth, 1885 - 1983. Psycho-analyst Victoria Crowe
Margaret Oliver Brown, 1912 - 1990 (verso: Studies of Two Female Heads) Margaret Oliver Brown

Accessibility & facilities

  • Information desk
  • Wifi
  • Wheelchair access
  • Hearing loop
  • Accessible toilets
  • Wheelchairs available
  • Public toilets
  • Lockers (£1/£2)
  • Baby changing facilities
  • Buggy park
  • Seating throughout
  • Bike rack

In order to protect our vulnerable works of art from any kind of accidental damage we kindly ask all visitors to either carry their rucksack/backpack by hand or place it in a locker.

Floor plans

Research

Photography collection

The photography collection contains over 40,000 works including the largest collection of Hill & Adamson anywhere in the world.

Portraiture prints

The portraiture prints and drawings collection consists of 20,000 prints and around 2,000 drawings and watercolours dating from the 16th century to the present day.

Portraiture archive

The portraiture archive holds artist and sitter files from the sixteenth century onwards.

Miniatures & medallions

The Scottish National Portrait Gallery cares for the national collection of 400 portrait miniatures.

Cafés & restaurants

Café Portrait

Opening times 7 days a week, 10am - 4.30pm +44 (0)131 624 6421

Round off your trip to the Portrait Gallery with a visit to Café Portrait, where you can take a break from sightseeing and enjoy a delicious lunch or coffee and cake in impressive surroundings.

Serving a delicious menu of flavourful soups, hot and cold main dishes, classic recipes with a contemporary twist, tasty & colourful salads, heavenly home-baking and a decadent afternoon tea for two priced at only £30. Our team are self-confessed foodies and use their passion for food to source the very best of local, organic ingredients and fresh seasonal produce.

All of our food is prepared from scratch in our kitchen, that’s why it tastes so good. You can choose from a wide variety of gluten and dairy free dishes.

Book a table

Shops

Our shop sells ranges of handmade jewellery, crafts, ceramics and limited editions from Scottish artists and makers. So whether you’re looking for prints or posters, books or bags, we have everything from the traditional to the alternative.

Online shop