National Galleries Scotland: Modern One
Open now, Free to visit
A landmark collection of over 50 artworks has been acquired for the nation, adding major paintings and drawings by Scottish and British artists to Scotland’s national art collection.
Explore a selection of over 20 of these captivating works on display now and free to visit at National Galleries Scotland: Modern One. The display spotlights pioneering artists who studied and taught at Scotland’s art schools in the early 20th Century, such as William McCance, James Cowie, Edward Baird and William Crosbie.
This major acquisition of 58 beautiful and compelling paintings and drawings, transforms the nation’s art collection, helping better represent the work of modern Scottish artists and demonstrating the important role of Scotland’s art schools.
Including works by several Aberdeen and Glasgow-trained artists, this significant collection tells stories about the creative communities around the country. The collection also features significant works by British artists such as Cecil Collins and John Tunnard, both of whom were associated with the surrealist movement.
Assembled over many years by private collector, Charlie Nairn, the artworks were generously allocated through the HM Government Acceptance in Lieu scheme, administered by Arts Council England. The initiative enables owners to transfer important works of art into public ownership in place of tax.
The selection on display at Modern One offers an exciting look at a variety of stylistic approaches, from the precise realism of James Cowie’s portraiture, the dream-like imagery of William McCance and William Crosbie’s exploration of modernist forms. Together, these works provide insights into the local and international contexts for Scottish art during the first decades of the 20th century.
Discover poignant portraits such as James Cowie’s The Reader. Painted in the early 1920s this is a rare surviving record of Cowie’s first wife, Nancy Buchanan. Friends remembered her as a quiet, gentle person, characteristics Cowie reflected in his tender portrayal. It shows Cowie’s earlier, more fluid painting style, before he honed a sharp, linear technique.
Cowie and Buchanan had married in 1918 and their daughter, Ruth, whose striking portrait by Cowie also hangs in the display, was born in 1923. Having studied at the Glasgow School of Art, Cowie was an admirer of the French painter Nicholas Poussin and Pre-Raphaelite painters and advocated classical values of self-restraint and objectivity. He developed a meticulous way of working and believed that art was a product of thought and reason.
The newly acquired artworks also explore the impact of Surrealism and other avant-garde movements, and the wider context of the mid-twentieth century, on British artists. In William Crosbie‘s Design for Life (Cats Cradle), 1944, the artist has portrayed himself balancing geometric forms suspended on strings. They spell ‘J M’, for the surrealist painter Joan Miró, whose work Crosbie greatly admired.
Crosbie later explained to Charlie Nairn that the painting explored the challenge of grasping for order amidst the chaos and tragedy of the Second World War. Crosbie found order – a ‘design for living’ – in the work of Miró, and in art in general.
After graduating from the Glasgow School of Art, Crosbie had spent two years studying art in Paris in the late 1930s. His mysterious Self-portrait as a Cello, also acquired through this important Acceptance in Lieu allocation, is also currently on show at Modern One on the upper floor, as part of a special display dedicated to Scotland’s surrealist art collection, alongside works by Joan Miró, Salvador Dalí and Dorothea Tanning.
Charlie Nairn, collector, said: ‘It’s a delight to know that these paintings and drawings, which I’ve known for so many years are now being looked after by the National Galleries of Scotland for the benefit of the public.
“My love of art began early and developed through encounters with some terrific artists and individuals, both abroad and here in Scotland. Although I’d originally been drawn to European modernism, I was encouraged to look at the work of those closer to home by the photographer Oscar Marzaroli, who I worked for as camera-assistant, and particularly his wife, the sculptor Anne Marzaroli, who taught at the Glasgow School of Art.
“Their enthusiastic championing of Scottish artists was instrumental in this group of works coming together. Seeing some of these drawings and paintings now on display at Modern One has been a great pleasure. I hope many people will have a chance to enjoy them, and will discover these important Scottish artists for themselves.’
Lucy Askew, Head of Modern & Contemporary art and Chief Curator at the National Galleries of Scotland said: ‘This extraordinary gift to the people of Scotland significantly enhances how we can show and share the work of an important group of artists.
“We are incredibly grateful to HM Government and to Charlie Nairn for enabling these wonderful works to join the national art collection here in Scotland where they can be enjoyed by visitors and contribute to further research into modern Scottish and British history of art.’
Dawn Airey, Chair, Arts Council England, said: ‘Giving back to the public through Acceptance in Lieu is one of the most valuable offers that can be made to the nation.
“This allocation includes decades of meticulously collected paintings and drawings which, taken together, trace the evolution of Scottish art and the international influences that shaped it.
“With more than 50 culturally important works now secured for the public to enjoy, this is a lasting legacy that Charlie Nairn can be proud to have created.’