Police have released images of a man who they believe may be able to assist with their investigation into a serious assault in the city centre on Sunday, 7 July
The assault on the 32-year-old man took place around 3.25am on Frederick Street. The victim was was taken to hospital for treatment.
The man police want to trace is described as a white male, in his early 20’s and of slim build with short dark hair.
He was wearing a white t-shirt with a grey jumper tied round his waist, light blue jeans and white trainers.
Detective Constable Rebecca Curtis said: “We encourage this man, anyone who may recognise him, or anyone with information about this incident to get in touch.”
Anyone who can assist is asked to contact Police Scotland via 101, quoting reference number 0669 of 7 July. Alternatively, you can contact Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 where information can be given anonymously.
Police are appealing for the public’s help to trace Wilma Cameron who has been reported missing from Armadale.
The vulnerable 79-year-old was seen in Armadale around 8.30am this morning – Sunday, 28 July, 2024.
Wilma is believed to have travelled to Edinburgh and may have been in the Waterloo Place area around 10.20am. She has connections to Aberdeen and may be trying to travel to there.
Wilma is described as 5 ft 5, of slim build with short, white hair. When last seen she was wearing a cream puffer jacket, white and grey checked trousers and carrying a green handbag.
Inspector Andy Meikle from Livingston Police Station said: “We are becoming increasingly concerned for Wilma’s welfare and it is important that we trace her.
“She has links to Aberdeen and may be using public transport to travel.
“We would urge anyone who thinks they may have seen her to please let us know.”
Anyone who has any information regarding Wilma’s whereabouts can contact Police Scotland on 101 quoting incident number PS-20240724-1268.
Culture and Communities Convener Val Walker writes about the summer festival season and finding the balance:
There’s already a fantastic buzz building across Edinburgh as the summer festival season starts to get into full swing. It’s undeniable that the festivals continue to be a central part of the fabric of our city.
They contribute year-round to our worldwide reputation as an outstanding destination and showcase our identity as a welcoming place to be, both for those of us lucky enough to live here and the millions who visit each year.
Edinburgh in August is a place like no other, with our residents and visitors enjoying access to thousands of outstanding performers and shows that we’d otherwise have to travel the world to find. From the Jazz and Blues Festival at the start of this month, through to the Fringe, Art, Film, Book, Tattoo and International festivals throughout August, we’re truly spoiled for choice here in the culture capital of the world.
Beyond the cultural benefits, it’s important also to remember just how important the festivals – and the tourism industry as whole – are to our economy. Tourism in Edinburgh sustains over 30,000 jobs, bringing in £2.7 billion worth of visitor spend each year, with the festivals alone supporting over 7,000 FTE jobs and contributing £407 million to our local economy. Beyond that, of course, it affords us, as residents, the choice of restaurants, bars, and other attractions that would simply not exist otherwise.
We do acknowledge, of course, that there is another side to this – for all the buzz we enjoy in August, it is also extremely busy – and we’re fully aware of our responsibility to manage this and find the right balance between the needs of our residents and visitors.
I was delighted, then, that following our long campaign to introduce a visitor levy, we’re now able work with the tourist industry and other partners to develop our plans, with a view to introducing a levy by early summer 2026 (following an 18-month mandatory stand still period).
This presents a major opportunity for us, generating millions of pounds in additional revenue to sustain and develop the city – just as so many other major cities already do so successfully – and to support and enhance our world class festivals. As an example, had a 5 per cent levy been in place over the weekend of Taylor Swift’s concerts, it would have generated an (estimated) additional £632,000.
With the city’s population effectively doubling during August, it’s important that we also consider short-term measures to keep the city moving. That’s why, we’ve re-introduced a series of changes in and around the Old Town, all designed to make our streets and pavements easier and safer to navigate.
With the programme launching next week, we can look forward to 18 months of community and other events, shining a light on the wonderful and often colourful history of our fantastic city, and on the people and communities who’ve helped make our city what it is today.
I do hope that, like me, you’re looking forward to another fantastic August here in Edinburgh, the best city in the world.
Boots on Princes Street unveils fresh, new and updated look for customers
It incorporates a renewed beauty hall packed with new premium beauty and haircare brands
Reinvented healthcare area includes new private consultation rooms to offer more services
Scotland’s very first World of Hearing area opens within the store
A celebratory event is taking place this weekend, with giveaways, sampling, DJ and refreshments
Boots is today unveiling a new look, fully refurbished store on Princes Street in Edinburgh. Packed with a host of new brands, the store has been completely transformed and redesigned to create the very best shopping experience for customers.
The store refit, which was completed earlier this month, features an extensive beauty hall with new and updated beauty counters. It is also now home to 12 exciting new Premium Beauty and Haircare brands including Kylie Cosmetics, Sol de Janerio, Caudalie, Philip Kingsley, Fenty Beauty and many more, as well as all of the much-loved beauty brands that customers enjoy shopping for at Boots, such as No7, Liz Earle, Soap & Glory and Boots own brand. The store also offers five Boots Beauty Specialists that are on hand to offer beauty advice and guidance to customers.
The healthcare space in the store has also been reinvented, with a new look pharmacy. Located on the first floor, the new healthcare area includes a new dispensary and two new private consultation rooms, that will allow the store to offer more healthcare services than ever before, including covid vaccinations, chickenpox vaccinations, HPV vaccinations, NHS Pharmacy First services and Blood Pressure Checks.
Kirsten Darling, Store Manager said: “We are delighted to unveil our new and refurbished store to the local community.
“The store really is a one stop shop for health and beauty at the heart of Edinburgh, and we are so proud to continue serving the community on such an iconic and well-known street. The store has a lot of history, having originally being built in 1912, and now this refit will see us fit to serve into the future.
“We have lots of exciting new beauty brands, revamped health and beauty areas, as well as expert advice and services available. I’d like to say a huge thank you to my store team who have been amazing throughout the whole refit process and we hope customers love the new look store as much as we do.”
The store is now also home to Scotland’s first World of Hearing area, which offers customers the chance to test out a range of hearing aids for themselves in a variety of settings; by impersonating what it would sound like if they were in a busy restaurant or at a concert. This helps people living with hearing loss to experience the benefits of having a hearing aid fitted in real life situations.
The store is holding a celebration event this weekend with customers invited to visit the store throughout Friday 26th to Sunday 28th July. They can enjoy product sampling, a DJ, plus cupcakes and refreshments. The weekend event kick-starts with a ribbon cutting ceremony at 9am on Friday.
The first 200 customers to visit the store from 9am will receive an exclusive tote bag from Scottish beauty brand BYOMA, including minis of its best-sellers; the Creamy Jelly Cleanser and Moisturising Gel Cream.
Johnnie Walker x Scott Naismith will offer guests the chance to co-create their own one-of-a kind Johnnie Walker Blue Label bottle with Scottish Artist
Naismith, renowned for his bold, colourful abstractions of Scottish skies, coasts and landscapes, has a long-standing relationship with Diageo, creating works for the ‘Four Corners’ distilleries and Johnnie Walker Princes Street
The AI system has been custom trained to deliver this generative experience and features the use of cutting edge digital direct to bottle print technology
Johnnie Walker Princes Street, the World’s Leading Spirit Tourism Experience*, is inviting guests to discover Johnnie Walker x Scott Naismith, harnessing cutting-edge, purpose-built AI-technology to co-design their very own unique bottle of Johnnie Walker Blue Label.
Only available at the Edinburgh venue, the experience is set to run from August 1-31 2024, and is believed to be the first ever to combine world-class Scotch whisky, art, and AI.
The journey will invite visitors to shape their co-creation by answering simple prompts that will influence key themes in Scott Naismith’s work and ultimately their bottle design. Guests will answer up to three questions across four categories influencing the specially developed AI’s generation of colour, location, artistic style and even time of day.
This will then determine the eventual look of their one-of-a-kind bottle, which is then processed real time, colour managed and printed in a matter of minutes using cutting edge digital direct to shape print technology.
The Johnnie Walker x Scott Naismith experience will be available for a limited time, and guests will be able to access it with every purchase of Johnnie Walker Blue Label in the venue’s retail store throughout August.
The bottle design element can be complimented at no extra charge by a bookable expert-led tasting of Johnnie Walker Blue Label, as well as a guided tasting of the incredibly special limited edition Johnnie Walker Blue Label ‘Elusive Umami’, in the rooftop Explorers’ Bothy bar. In addition to stunning views, the tasting will offer guests an up-close look at some of Scott’s previous work, which was created for Johnnie Walker Princes Street’s opening.
Naismith’s striking artwork includes the stunning Scottish landscapes surrounding the four key distilleries which contribute to the world’s number one Scotch Whisky brand1; Cardhu in Speyside, Clynelish in the Highlands, Glenkinchie in the Lowlands and Caol Ila on Islay. The Johnnie Walker brand has well established connections with the artistic community itself, through partnerships with the likes of James Jean and graphic designer Kushiaania.
Johnnie Walker Princes Street keeps pushing boldly into the future of whisky experiences. Opening its doors in 2021, the highly anticipated attraction quickly became known for utilising modern technology to carve pathways for guests into whisky flavours and sharing the fascinating history of Johnnie Walker through immersive tours and tastings.
Most notably, its signature Journey of Flavour experience has successfully used innovative AI technology to map out flavour preferences for visitors based on their specific palates, helping whisky lovers and novices alike explore the versatility of Scotland’s national drink.
Working closely with Johnnie Walker Princes Street and Diageo’s Breakthrough Innovation team in partnership with full service Creative & Technology agency, Phantom, Scott Naismith is excited to be at the forefront of such a pioneering take on art and whisky.
He said: “I believe creativity takes courage and boldness in risk taking. The project at Johnnie Walker Princes Street shows this throughout and as a consequence has been an honour to be a part of.
“With a brave exploration into the cutting-edge world of AI, this latest project is bound to surprise and impress in equal measure. I am excited to be part of it and am again impressed at the continued creative vision from the team at Johnnie Walker.”
Rob Maxwell, Head of Johnnie Walker Princes Street, said: “Since opening, Johnnie Walker Princes Street has striven to become a leader in using the power of AI to personalise guests’ experiences.
“Johnnie Walker x Scott Naismith is an exciting new step in our commitment to offering those with various tastes and interests something completely different to what’s available in the whisky experience market.
“This partnership is a true one-of-a-kind, and we can’t wait to see the designs our guests will print on their bottles.”
Will Harvey, Senior Global Innovation Manager at Diageo, added:“This is the first pilot in a wider platform that the Breakthrough Innovation team is exploring, looking at how we can use AI responsibly to enable co-collaboration between fans and artists.
“Demand for personalisation shows no signs of slowing down, so we’re delighted to offer the chance to create one-of-a-kind AI-enabled designs with Scott. With Johnnie Walker Princes Street’s previous experience of using AI to enhance customer experiences, it’s the perfect place for us to launch this innovative offer to the world.”
Book the Johnnie Walker x Scott Naismith experience now to co-create a one-of-a-kind personalised bottle of Johnnie Walker Blue Label and guided tasting (£240): https://bit.ly/3W5R12v
The Johnnie Walker x Scott Naismith co-creation journey is also available as a standalone experience at Johnnie Walker Princes Street with every bottle of Johnnie Walker Blue Label purchased (£240).
Johnnie Walker Princes Street is a premier eight-floor visitor experience in Edinburgh. It is the centrepiece of Diageo’s £185 million investment in Scotch Whisky tourism.
Offering a range of immersive tours and tastings, it has received numerous accolades, including Europe’s Leading Spirit Tourism Experience 2024* and a Green Tourism Gold Award in 2023. Since opening on 6th September 2021, Johnnie Walker Princes Street has attracted guests from 130 countries, from Andorra, to Zimbabwe and everywhere in between, welcoming 359,000 visitors in 2023 alone.
As Scotland’s official Team GB Fanzone, St James Quarter is hosting a Festival of Sport to celebrate the 2024 Olympics. From screenings to interactive fitness and competitive classes, the spirit of sport will be all around the Quarter.
Inspired by the Paris 2024 Olympics, St James Quarter will invite guests to ‘get active’ from 26 July—11 August, with a whole host of sporting festivities and special guests, as it launches its ‘Festival of Sport’ right in the heart of the city.
As the official Team GB Fanzone in Scotland, the Quarter will show all the live action from the Olympics in Paris on a giant screen, delivered in partnership with Ocean Outdoor.
Spectators can visit the Fanzone on Level 5 to cheer on their favourite athletes from the comfort of the Quarter’s rooftop bar, with captivating views of Edinburgh’s historic Calton Hill.
The official Team GB mascot Pride the Lion will join in the fun, heading to the Quarter to celebrate with sporting fans on 30th July.
Guests will also have the chance to meet and greet Olympic athletes, with Badminton player Kirsty Gilmour, who is competing in this year’s games, visiting the Fanzone on 7thAugust, and Joel Fearon, who competes in Athletics (Sprint) and Bobsleigh on 8th August.
As part of the two-week-long Festival of Sport, St James Quarter, in partnership with Edinburgh Leisure, is hosting a range of free fitness activities for all guests inspired by the UK’s success at the Olympics.
From Pilates to Body Combat, Hatton Boxing to Musical Theatre Fitness, there’s something for everyone to get into the spirit of the Games, including family-friendly classes.
In addition, with breakdancing making its Olympic debut, B-Boys will ‘pop and lock’ around the Quarter, rocking live battles on Register Square and offering guests the opportunity to give it a spin. There will also be football freestyling exhibitions to wow sporting fans.
Picture – Chris Watt Photography
07887554193
info@chriswatt.com
www.chriswatt.com
During the two-week Festival of Sport, the St James Quarter team, along with invited guests will be gearing up and ‘cycling’ to Paris in the heart of the Galleria, to raise money for the Quarter’s charity partners Health in Mind and Edinburgh Women’s Aid.
Home to over 80 brands from luxury boutiques to high-street stores, plus an enticing mix of restaurants and bars, St James Quarter is the perfect place to shop, dine, play and stay this summer.
Picture – Chris Watt Photography
07887554193
info@chriswatt.com
www.chriswatt.com
To keep up to date with events happening throughout the Quarter, visit the St James Quarter website or download the St James Quarter App.
A very short walk from both Princes Street and Charlotte Square in the heart of the capital, The Resident Edinburgh combines the heartfelt hospitality The Resident is known for with a distinct Scottish warmth, evoking the brand’s connections with Scotland.
The Resident Edinburgh will be open to guests from 1st September 2024, with rooms available to book now.
All 164 rooms and suites are designed for the home from home experience with mini-kitchens in every room and great natural light. Guest rooms have been specially crafted anticipating a slightly longer guest stay. Overall, the hotel has a cultured thoughtful elegance befitting the prime location and the world destination status of Scotland’s capital city.
From Double Rooms to Junior Suites averaging between 17 and 35-metres-squared, the stylish rooms offer a range of breathtaking views including Edinburgh’s skyline, Edinburgh Castle and exceptional views north over the Firth of Forth.
Amenities have been carefully selected and include everything from a personal Nespresso coffee machine with complimentary capsules, GHD hairdryers for the dressing and vanity area; Molton Brown bathroom products in the stylish en-suites; a dining/working area beside the full height windows.
The Resident has the latest easy to use in room tech and free Wi-Fi solutions for simple streaming from your own devices to minimum 50” UHD TVs. The beds are bespoke designed for The Resident with multi pocket springs and luxurious mattress toppers, Twin, King, or Super King.
Heartfelt hospitality is the ethos of The Resident Edinburgh’s guest experience. Each team member will be a “Resident Insider”, meaning they will be equipped with insider city knowledge so they can be tapped into for local advice, allowing guests to fully immerse themselves in what Edinburgh has to offer.
The personal touch is what The Resident is renowned for, every evening hosting an hour of early drinks for guests. This social pause gives guests and the teams an opportunity to connect with each other and receive recommendations straight from the knowledgeable Resident Edinburgh team, all while enjoying drinks and snacks from local suppliers, including Stewart Brewery and Quirky Chocolate or Wines from Justerini & Brooks. Guest events will showcase local artisan producers and give deeper insight to Edinburgh’s culture and Arts scene.
The hotel will partner and support businesses around the city, providing guests with exclusive offers for local restaurants, bars and gyms to ensure they have access to the best venues in Edinburgh. The breakfast partner, The West End Brasserie, will offer a full breakfast offering for guests to go to. The other partners include; Cairngorm coffee, Dulse, Kyloe and attractions such as the Royal Yacht Britannia, The Real Mary King’s Close and Pickering’s at Summerhall.
The Resident Edinburgh is aware of the cultural and arts appeal of the City to its visitors. The library lounge will host a curated book collection of fascination and relevance to the city, as well as its culture.
The hotel owners, Mactaggart Family and Partners have commissioned Art for the public spaces from Emily Beamish of Dacre Fine Art, featuring local artists Katy Eccles, Hatti Pattisson and Poppy Cyster. The Resident will be the perfect spot to relax with friends for a quiet glass of wine, or a specially selected whisky.
The hotel has a variety of quiet niches to retreat for work or leisure. Whether a long day of exploring the city, or returning to the hotel after a day of work, the warmth of The Resident Edinburgh’s team will be there for you.
The Resident Edinburgh’s interior design takes inspiration from local surroundings and the designers have placed emphasis on sourcing items to fully capture the vibrant character of Edinburgh. Furnishings have been carefully handpicked and fabric elements in the rooms and lounge areas have been sourced from well-regarded Glasgow-based, Timorous Beasties.
The hotel’s interior colour palette draws subtly on national references; the pale blue of the Saltire flag, the soft hues of the Craigleith sandstone, the earthy tones of the countryside visible from the rooms and finally the smoky browns that allude to the city’s affectionate nickname of ‘Auld Reekie’.
David JM Orr, CEO of Resident Hotels Ltd, said: “The Resident Edinburgh marks a significant milestone for The Resident brand, many of us in the business and especially our ownership have cherished, deep Scottish roots and a great affinity for Edinburgh and its cultural affluence.
The Resident Edinburgh brings a new offering to the visitor for the City, a slightly longer stay with the guest and our teams at the centre. The Resident has an enviable track record at ensuring the visitor whether on business or leisure can experience a home from home, living like a local but with a very light touch.
The Resident teams’ advocacy of businesses, attractions, artisans and institutions within the city will be fulsome as our mission to showcase the entrepreneur chefs’ restaurants and bars throughout the city.
“The guest experience is at the centre of our operation, and we have carefully curated a hotel that is inspired by Edinburgh, Scotland and the people who live here. We are delighted to be able to offer a personal experience for any guest that enters The Resident Edinburgh and equip them with insider knowledge, so they can feel like a resident in Scotland’s vibrant capital.
“I’m looking forward to welcoming guests from September; the afterglow of the Festival will be a perfect time to visit a city that has proven increasingly to appeal throughout the year.”
Gillian Mylles, General Manager of The Resident Edinburgh, said:“I am so excited to be bringing The Resident experience to Edinburgh. The attention to detail in The Resident Edinburgh is impressive.
“Amenities and services have been diligently considered to offer an exceptional experience for guests in an idyllic setting. We will be welcoming guests from all around the world, each visiting the capital for a variety of different reasons, and we have made sure we can cater to any potential need.
“The Resident Edinburgh will be a comforting home away from home. Guests will be able to get involved in the Edinburgh community, learn insider tips from the very best and also have the chance to socialise with other guests. I’m looking forward to our doors opening in September and meeting Edinburgh’s current and new residents”.
The Resident Edinburgh has seen the redevelopment of a 1960’s building, repurposing the former 1963 HM Revenue and Customs office for a use for at least the next 60 years. An innovative glass recycling solution by Arup is a first in a hotel project in the UK; 10 tonnes of glass from the building’s façade were returned to glass manufacturer, NSG Pilkington, which resulted in savings of 12 tonnes of virgin raw materials and more than 5 tonnes of CO2 emissions were avoided during new glass manufacture.
The hotel will open from the 1st September 2024, and reservations can be made directly on the hotel’s website. By becoming a member, guests can enjoy 15% off booking and other benefits. Sign up in one simple step by visiting: https://www.residenthotels.com/registration/.
The Resident Edinburgh joins five existing The Resident properties located in prime locations in London and Liverpool, with planning permission approved for The Resident Farringdon, London. The Resident Covent Garden and The Resident Liverpool have both been ranked as #1 in their respective cities on Tripadvisor, cementing the fact that the brand has guest experience at its heart and will be bringing this elevated offering to Scotland.
The Usher Hall in Edinburgh is delighted to announce a series of eight breathtaking, intimate performance films recorded throughout Scotland’s only 5 star concert hall.
With a dynamic and diverse lineup traversing genres including indie, folk, pop and hip-hop set to drop over the coming two months, kicking off the series today is Glasgow based rapper Bemz, streaming exclusively on The Usher Hall’s YouTube channel here.
The mini concerts will feature Bemz, Hamish Hawk, Kathryn Joseph, Lizzie Reid, SILVI, Fergus McCreadie, Anna B Savage and VLURE performing from hidden corners of the beautiful venue, giving viewers access to spaces that have never witnessed a live performance before.
Councillor Val Walker, Culture and Communities Convener, comments: “It is a huge joy to launch Tremolo, which will give Scotland’s most exciting talent the chance to perform and showcase work in the same venue where so many legendary musicians have played, such as Adele, The Killers and Paloma Faith.
“The series is a fantastic opportunity to show the Usher Hall in a fresh light. Our new digital programme is eclectic and dynamic with artists spanning a wide range of genres, from folk and jazz to rap and indie. I’d like to thank Creative Scotland and all other partners who have contributed to this project.
“We’re confident that this fantastic new project will leave the audiences of Edinburgh and beyond coming back for more!”
Bemz, is one of several artists helping to further establish Scotland as a bona fide hotbed for Black music, while also proving that rap’s cultural reach stretches way beyond London and the English borders. Bemz’ strengths lie in the honesty within his music.
Indie folk singer-songwriter Kathryn Joseph transports listeners with beguiling soundscapes of piano, harmonium and voice; a visceral, often melancholy blend of poetry and wistful refrains, conjuring up cinematic visions of Scottish landscapes and raw emotions.
Rule breaking Glasgow five piece VLURE blur the lines between live electronics, jarring guitars and the performance sensibilities of their post-punk contemporaries. Synth laden hooks and heavy club influenced rhythms find their way twisting around emotionally confronting lyrics.
Lizzie Reid is one of Scotland’s most promising talents. An emotionally raw songwriter, Reid’s songs explore themes of love, loss, identity and modern life, drawing comparisons to contemporaries like Laura Marling, Angel Olsen and Julia Jacklin.
Parliamentary and Scottish Jazz Awards Album of the Year winner Fergus McCreadie is a composer of elegant, nuanced, and captivating Jazz music as well as a pianist and improviser of exceptional ability and originality.
SILVI‘s music could easily be filed alongside Lana Del Rey’s epic approach to songwriting but also the brooding style of Two Feet or Bishop Briggs. Her incredible single “Burning” was crowned ‘Song Of The Year’ at the Weekender Awards last year.
Edinburgh singer-songwriter Hamish Hawk, twice nominated for the Scottish Album of the Year Award, creates musical portraits as vivid in lyric as they are in melody. His music is packed with characters, incident, emotion, and tunes to hang your coat on.
Vulnerability and curiosity have consistently been operative words to describe Anna B Savage’s work and on her second album, in|FLUX, she ruminates on the complexities and variables of humanity, the pain or pleasure of love, loss and earthly connection, capturing it all in devastating, elating and powerful ways.
Tremolo isn’t just a series of concerts; it’s a statement of support for artists, a celebration of the Usher Hall, and a dynamic addition to Edinburgh’s cultural calendar.
Viewers are sure to discover their favourite new artists in an iconic venue without even having to leave the house!
Indulge your wanderlust at the National Galleries of Scotland’s summer exhibition, An Irish Impressionist: Lavery on Location, opening this Saturday (20 July) at the Royal Scottish Academy building in Edinburgh.
Dip your toes in the sun, sea and society of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, viewed through over 90 works by renowned Glasgow Boy, Sir John Lavery. Lavery on Location brings together an array of the Irish impressionists most notable paintings, including many works not usually seen by the public and nearly 20 paintings exclusively on display in Edinburgh.
Take a trip through the extraordinary life of the Belfast-born artist, Lavery (1856-1941), from Scotland to New York via Paris and Morocco. Lavery never travelled without his painting kit, and An Irish Impressionist: Lavery on Location explores some of the locations he visited and was inspired to paint.
Move through the exhibition to experience the glamour of a lost era, with visits to the races, tennis matches and the golf course, or simply relaxing on warm days with Lavery’s family and friends.
See sumptuous portraits, impressionistic landscapes and idyllic scenes of leisure against a backdrop of Tangier, St Jean de Luz, Palm Springs and the Venice Lido. Be whisked away to Switzerland, Spain, Ireland and Italy, as well as to cities such as Glasgow, Seville, Monte Carlo and New York.
Indulge in beautiful seascapes of Tangier from the Ulster Museum, as well as spectacular portraits such as Idonia in Morocco from Glasgow Museums and Hazel in Black and Gold from the Laing Art Gallery.
From the highly finished to the swift impressionist sketch and a uniquely personal style, the range of subjects on show is staggering.
Born in Belfast, where his father ran a small wine and spirits shop in North Queen Street, Lavery was orphaned at the age of three, and moved to his uncle’s farm at Moira before being sent as a ten-year-old to a distant relative in Saltcoats, Ayrshire. He first ran away to Glasgow at the age of 15 and went on to take early morning and evening drawing lessons at the Haldane Academy, completing his training at the Académie Julian in Paris.
Along with a number of his fellow Scottish students Lavery worked at the colony of Grez-sur-Loing, near Fontainebleau, which will be the focus of the first room of An Irish Impressionist: Lavery on Location. Then, back in Scotland in 1885 he became one of the leaders of the much-loved group of artists known as the Glasgow Boys. The Glasgow Boys rebelled against the stuffy Edinburgh-based art establishment and challenged the Academy’s emphasis on historical painting. Instead, their subjects were drawn from everyday life, often painted outdoors.
Lavery quickly attained an international reputation in his early 30s when he received a gold medal at the Paris Salon, the most prestigious art exhibition in the world at the time. Enjoying great success after his move to London in 1896, Lavery combined his talents as a portrait painter with an interest in contemporary events and was later knighted in 1918.
As his style developed Lavery began to share some of the principal tenets of Impressionism. The movement was developed in France in the nineteenth century and is based on the practice of painting outdoors and on the spot. Using lively brushstrokes, these artists often produced works of art rapidly in a single sitting. Like Lavery, the Impressionists were interested in capturing the changing effects of light, frequently exploring this through landscape scenes painted in the open air.
With seven themed rooms, An Irish Impressionist: Lavery on Location will allow visitors to immerse themselves in Lavery’s oil sketches for the Glasgow International Exhibition of 1888, where he had his big break and was commissioned to paint the State Visit of Her Majesty, Queen Victoria.
Journey through Lavery’s travels in North Africa, with mesmerising paintings of snake charmers and camps on his adventures to Fez. For over twenty years, his villa in Tangier, surrounded by beautiful gardens, would become a winter retreat.
Then experience Lavery’s time as an Official War Artist with scenes in hospitals, submarine pens and air raids during World War I. In the final room you can experience the luxurious lifestyle of post-war society, including visiting the Henley Regatta and racing at Ascot.
Lavery experienced enormous social, political and technological change during his lifetime, yet, despite his travels and worldly experience, Lavery’s connections to home – to Scotland and Ireland – remained strong throughout his long career.
Senior Curator Prof. Frances Fowle said: ‘Lavery was a versatile painter who was equally at home in Scotland, North Africa and the French Riviera.“His paintings offer, on the one hand, a nostalgic glimpse of a bygone era and, on the other, a modern world of sunshine and leisure.
“Technically he was a true impressionist, intent on capturing a particular moment or atmospheric effect – perhaps night falling on Tangier, or early morning light, dancing on the crest of a wave.”
Guest Curator Kenneth McConkey said: ‘In a career that spanned over sixty years, Lavery’s output was immense. He saw carthorses become ‘horse-power’, windjammers transform into steamers, and flying machines reborn as air liners.
“Against a backdrop of immense social and political change, in the land of his birth, he witnessed the first cracks in the British Imperial entablature. Visual reporting skills, perfected in Scotland, took him to extraordinary situations and while his works develop in fascinating ways, their basic premises – setting down what was before him – remained constant.
“The same remarkable hand that brought us a Dutch Cocoa House in 1888 takes us to a tea-table in Palm Springs in 1938.”
This exhibition is organised by the National Gallery of Ireland, Dublin, in collaboration with National Museums NI and the National Galleries of Scotland.
