National Galleries of Scotland – The NEN

Once in a lifetime swap for Turner watercolours as Ireland’s Vaughan Bequest comes to Scotland

Turner in January: Ireland’s Vaughan Bequest

National Galleries Scotland exhibition in the Royal Scottish Academy building

1 – 31 January 2025

Admission free

Turner in January | Ireland’s Vaughan Bequest | National Galleries of Scotland

In January, National Galleries of Scotland is kicking off the 250th birthday of much-loved artist, Joseph Mallord William Turner (1775-1851), with a special celebration. From New Year’s Day, visitors to the treasured Turner in January exhibition can marvel at a new selection of over 30 watercolours that have never been seen before in Scotland, in an exchange with the National Gallery of Ireland.

Turner in January: Ireland’s Vaughan Bequest, opens at the Royal Scottish Academy building in Edinburgh on 1 January 2025. The free exhibition includes a watercolour of Edinburgh from 1801 that has never been displayed in the city before.

This once in a lifetime exhibition is a celebratory take on a keenly awaited and much-loved annual tradition that has been taking place since 1901. Renowned art collector Henry Vaughan owned over 200 drawings, watercolours and prints by Turner, which he divided in his will between galleries in Edinburgh, Dublin and London.

38 of these watercolours were given to the people of Scotland, on the condition that they are only displayed in the month of January, when light levels are at their lowest. Because of this, these works still possess a freshness and an intensity of colour, almost 200 years since they were created.

Now, in an exciting exchange, simultaneous exhibitions will see Ireland’s Vaughan Bequest make a special trip to the National Galleries of Scotland, while Scotland’s Vaughan Bequest will go on display at the National Gallery of Ireland.

Those familiar with Turner in January are sure to notice how both collections complement each other. Visitors will be able to marvel in sweeping seascapes, dramatic landscapes and spectacular cities.

The most famous British artist of the 19^th Century, Turner’s career spanned over 50 years. He experimented constantly with technique and colour, creating landscapes that still astonish today. In his younger years Turner toured Britain extensively, as war made travel to Europe impossible.

He first travelled abroad in 1802 and from 1819 onwards he undertook sketching tours abroad almost every year, visiting France, Belgium, Germany, Italy, Austria and Switzerland.

The panoramic Edinburgh from below Arthur’s Seat (1801) will be on display in the city it depicts for the first time. A moody view of Auld Reekie captured on Turner’s first visit to Edinburgh in the summer of 1801, dark storm clouds loom over Edinburgh Castle, rain pouring on the horizon as cows drink peacefully in the foreground.

When Turner first visited the Alps in 1802, the trip transformed his understanding of landscape, which was reflected in his boundary-pushing depiction of the mountains, rocks and glaciers. In The Great Fall of the Reichenbach, Switzerland (1802), Turner emphasises the sublime drama and majestic height of the 200-hundred-foot waterfall by including a tiny, ant-like figure on a rocky outcrop to indicate scale.

Both the Scottish and Irish Vaughan Bequests include expressive watercolours painted on Turner’s visit to the Aosta valley in the Alps in 1836, where the artist uses a great variety of watercolour techniques – scratching out, sponging out and working freely in wet watercolour – to depict his beloved mountains.

Venice, city of light and water, held a special fascination for Turner. His third and final visit was in August 1840, when the stormy summer weather inspired a series of tempestuous watercolours recording dramatic atmospheric effects around the city. Storm at the Mouth of the Grand Canal (1840) comes to Edinburgh from Ireland’s Vaughan Bequest.

Also on exhibition will be The Doge’s Palace and Piazzetta, Venice (1840), a golden evening view of gondolas and fishing boats clustered against the backdrop of Venice’s most celebrated buildings.

Ireland’s Vaughan Bequest includes outstanding examples of watercolours created to be engraved and published as a print series.

A highlight of the exhibition will be A Ship against the Mewstone, at the Entrance to Plymouth Sound (c.1814), from Picturesque Views on the Southern Coast of England. A Royal Navy ship is shown labouring in heavy swell at a notorious danger point on the Devon coast.

In this series, Turner aimed to record the landscape and working lives of places and people living along the south coast. In Clovelly Bay, North Devon (c.1822), another jewel-like watercolour from the same series, he shows in great detail the work of quarrying limestone.

Also on show will be A Shipwreck off Hastings (c.1825), which was probably produced for Turner’s Ports of England print series.

Turner in January: Ireland’s Vaughan Bequest truly is a first for Scotland, with most displayed in their original frames and even Henry Vaughan’s original display cabinet.

Charlotte Topsfield, exhibition curator at the National Galleries of Scotland, said: “Exchanging Vaughan Bequest Turners is an idea that Edinburgh and Dublin have been discussing for a long time.

“We are so excited to be working together on this historic swap in Turner’s anniversary year.

“It will be such a marvelous celebration for the people of Scotland to enjoy – a real once in a lifetime opportunity to commemorate a very special painter.”

Anne Hodge, exhibition curator at the National Gallery of Ireland said: “I am delighted that in January 2025 visitors to the National Galleries Scotland will be able to see Turner’s wonderfully expressive vision of a rainy Edinburgh along with all 31 watercolours that Henry Vaughan decided to leave to Dublin.

“It is a great privilege for me to have worked so closely with colleagues in Edinburgh to make this project a reality.”

Turner in January: Ireland’s Vaughan Bequest opens at the Royal Scottish Academy building on 1 January, and is free to visit.

This exhibitionhas been created in partnership with the National Gallery of Ireland. It is supported thanks to players of People’s Postcode Lottery and Sir Ewan and Lady Christine Brown.

Bloody Exciting!

OPENING SATURDAY: National Galleries of Scotland acquires bloody exciting performative artwork by Beagles and Ramsay to Celebrate 40 Years of Scotland’s Photography Collection

Celebrating 40 Years of Scotland’s Photography Collection

National Galleries Scotland: Portrait

26 October 2024 – 16 March 2025

Celebrating 40 Years of Scotland’s Photography Collection | National Galleries of Scotland

Free

This October the National Galleries of Scotland is partying like it’s 1984 with Celebrating 40 Years of Scotland’s Photography Collection, at the Portrait gallery from 26 October 2024 – 16 March 2025.

Step back in time to the 1980s when the National Galleries of Scotland officially began its world-class photography collection.

Explore over 100 art works from Scotland’s national photography collection, dating from the 1840’s to the present day in this free-to-visit exhibition.

Marvel at historic photographs, visit some famous faces and discover an exciting range photographic styles in this eclectic celebration of the nation’s photography collection.

To mark the opening of the exhibition, National Galleries of Scotland has announced the acquisition of an artwork consisting of photographs, film and performance by Glasgow-based artists Beagles and Ramsay.

Sanguis Gratia Artis (Black Pudding Self-Portrait) is a performance piece which features a black pudding self-portrait made from Beagles and Ramsay’s blood.

Exploring the boundaries of the self-portrait, a pint of blood is extracted from each artist and then used to create two black puddings. While the act of making the puddings is central to the artwork, the piece exists beyond the performance with three photographs and a film that has recorded an earlier cooking session.

Sanguis Gratia Artis, translation: blood for the sake of art,will go on display at the Portrait gallery for the first time at National Galleries of Scotland in Celebrating 40 Years of Scotland’s Photography Collection.

The display is made up of 3 photographs including of the artists, black puddings and the ingredients, alongside the recipe for making the black puddings.

Commissioned by the Henry Moore Foundation and Grizedale Arts in 2004 for the exhibition Romantic Detachment at PS1 MoMA, New York, the work was a departure from figurative self-representation. Discover how they bring this art to life in their performance in early 2025 at the Portrait gallery in Edinburgh.

John Beagles and Graham Ramsay have been collaborating since 1996, while also independently teaching at Edinburgh College of Art (Beagles) and Glasgow School of Art (Ramsay).

Working across various media from photography, sculpture and painting to performance and video, much of their work employs self-portraiture as a way to engage with issues of contemporary culture and societal anxieties. They explore subjects such as political disenfranchisement, consumerism and the cult of celebrity.

Alongside Beagles and Ramsay’s display Celebrating 40 Years of Scotland’s Photography Collection showcases the very best of Scotland’s ever growing, 55,000 artwork strong photography collection.

Marking this magnificent milestone, the exhibition reflects on all that has been accomplished in the last four decades and looks to the future.

In the 1980s recognition of photography as an artform was growing rapidly as museums and galleries around the world were looking to establish and grow their collections.

National Galleries of Scotland were no different. Having begun collecting photography in the late 19th century, it was in 1984 that the National Galleries of Scotland collection was formally established.

A world-renowned photography collection, it is regarded as one of the best in the UK. Due to its original remit to collect the very best of Scottish and international photography, the collection has developed over the last 40 years to have global reach.

This lively exhibition explores the major themes, subjects and processes from throughout the history of photography, including works by major photographers such as Julia Margaret Cameron, Robert Mapplethorpe and Annie Leibovitz.

Highlighting the enticing and universal nature of photography, the exhibition will include six themes; portraiture, landscape, documentary photography, archives, inclusion and experimentation.

Find portraits of famous Scots such as, Andy Murray, The Proclaimers, Jackie Kay and David Tennant as well as fun and vibrant portraits such as Viviane Sassen’s In Bloom.

Celebrating the connectivity and nostalgia that photographs bring to people worldwide, the exhibition looks at how this incredible artform can be traced through generations of Scottish photographers and schools of photography. Embracing the eclectic nature of photography, vibrant displays will create interesting contrasts and connections between historic and contemporary images.

Discover how the ideas and subject matters that started with David Octavius Hill and Robert Adamson in the 1840s continues to be photographed centuries later with different and modern cameras.

Take pride in the influential alumni of Scottish photography schools whose connections extend around the world, making Scotland a significant home to photography.

Explore the idea of what makes a photograph, reflecting on changing technology and taking a look at artists who are pushing the boundaries of what we might have traditionally thought of as a photograph.

Get a deeper understanding of how photographers have explored the themes of landscape and environment change including a new acquisition by American, Sant Khalsa combining photography and sculpture.

Displayed alongside early Scottish photographs by John Muir Wood, showcasing the beautiful shapes created by trees. This offers a fascinating look at how these two artists explore the same subject matter in completely different ways.

Discover works by revered international photographers, with exceptional photographs from the ARTIST ROOMS collection, jointly owned by the National Galleries of Scotland and Tate.

The exhibition draws a selection of works by globally renowned artists, such as Robert Mapplethorpe and Diane Arbus. This will also be the first time the National Galleries of Scotland has shown work from the ARTIST ROOMS collection by Don McCullin, one of the world’s greatest photojournalists.

Scotland is known as a centre for documentary photography and the exhibition will celebrate this with a medley of the best documentary photographers who have made work in Scotland.

Weaving in some old favourites and new acquisitions this will highlight photographers such as Alfred Eisenstaedt, Eve Arnold, David Hurn, Joseph Mackenzie and Bert Hardy. A wall of Hill & Adamson’s Newhaven fisherwomen will mark an important moment in the development of documentary photography not just in Scotland but in the history of the medium.

Looking to the next 40 years, the exhibition also focuses on acquisitions from the last decade which address issues such as equality, inclusion and diversity. National Galleries of Scotland actively seek opportunities to broaden representation across the collection and the exhibition highlights this as a priority area for collecting in the future.

Representation of female photographers has been a recent priority, with work by artists including Chrystel Lebas, Wendy McMurdo, Chloe Dewe Mathews and Arpita Shah entering the collection.

Anne Lyden, Director-General at the National Galleries of Scotland, said: ‘Photography is a cornerstone of the National Galleries of Scotland, accounting for almost half of the entire collection.

“It is with great delight that we celebrate the medium with this impressive and engaging exhibition drawn entirely from the vast holdings of the nation’s collection.

“Over the course of the last forty years many photographers, collectors, donors, curators, and enthusiasts have contributed to this important world-class collection which belongs to the people of Scotland.

“We are excited to celebrate this anniversary with our visitors through such a dynamic display.’

Louise Pearson, Photography Curator at the National Galleries of Scotland, said: ‘The 40th anniversary is the perfect moment to draw from the full breadth of Scotland’s photography collection.

“This vibrant and fun exhibition includes photographs of famous Scots and works by photographers who have become household names.

“It opens many possibilities in making connections across our country’s photography collection, sharing highlights as well as celebrating lesser-known works.

“We want visitors to join us in celebrating the collection and take pride in Scotland’s contribution to photography worldwide.’

This exhibition is funded by The Morton Charitable Trust and the players of People’s Postcode Lottery

National Galleries of Scotland acquire two paintings by trailblazing artist Everlyn Nicodemus

Prepare to be inspired at National Galleries Scotland: Modern One, as Everlyn Nicodemus opens her first retrospective this Saturday

Spanning the gallery’s entire ground floor, Everlyn Nicodemus opens on 19 October 2024 until 25 May 2025, and is free for everyone to enjoy.

Experience Everlyn’s joyful, defiant and searingly honest artworks, with over 80 drawings, collages, paintings and textiles from over 40 years of her career, from 1980 through to the present day.

Following a 25-year break from the medium of painting, Everlyn Nicodemus will unveil a series of new artworks created especially for the exhibition.

To mark the opening of the exhibition, the National Galleries of Scotland has announced the acquisition of two powerful works by Everlyn Nicodemus. The Wedding 45 (1991) is from Everlyn’s largest body of work – an intricate and symbolic group of over 80 paintings produced in the 1990s.

The series was created during her recovery from a mental health breakdown, which the artist now understands to be linked to post-traumatic stress disorder, diagnosed some years later. The Wedding 45represents a resilient return to life, in all its beauty, difficulty and complexity. The faceless female body has returned to a position of strength and empowerment, with an equal relationship to the world around her.

A second work, Eva(1981) has also been gifted to Scotland’s national collection by Everlyn Nicodemus and Richard Saltoun Gallery, ensuring the artist’s legacy will continue long after the exhibition has finished.

Painted when Everlyn was living in Stockholm, Evadepicts the Old Testament figure of Eve (Eva in Swedish), pregnant and standing on a large red apple, with a bite taken out of it.

Her pregnancy and the apple both indicate that this work depicts her after Adam and Eve’s expulsion from the Garden of Eden for consuming the forbidden fruit of the tree of knowledge.

The painting’s themes of pregnancy and birth, the Biblical focus on sin, and Eve’s victimisation are linked to the artist’s memories, from growing up in Tanzania, of the stigma that surrounded pregnancy outside of marriage.

As in many cultures, she recalls that young women were blamed for their unwanted early pregnancies, even when the result of rape. Eva is a painting that proudly declares the artist’s unwavering support for global reproductive rights.

Championing a belief that creativity is a form of healing, Everlyn’s work engages with themes including the global oppression of women, the enduring impact of racism and the artist’s own personal trauma and recovery.

Visitors to Everlyn Nicodemus will marvel at her bold and courageous use of colour, form, light and shade, inviting them to explore and question their understanding of identity, belonging and faith.

This stirring exhibition was made possible because Everlyn was the recipient of the prestigious Freelands Award in 2022. Presented by Freelands Foundation, the annual prize is gifted in support of women artists underrepresented in their field.

An artist, writer and curator, Everlyn Nicodemus was born in Marangu, Kilimanjaro, Tanzania in 1954. Living and working across Europe since the mid-1970s, Everlyn has made Edinburgh her home for the last fifteen years.

Throughout her career, she has taken an active involvement in community life, using her gift of expression to highlight the shared oppression of women. Her pioneering scholarship on African modern art and trauma studies has also informed her practice.

Since the 1980s, Everlyn has made paintings, collages and works on paper that explore violence against women, personal trauma and the isolation and dehumanisation of living within structural racism.

Everlyn Nicodemus will chart her career from those early days, with works including her very first painting, After the Birth (1980). At over two metres in length, this oil on bark cloth painting shows a large-scale image of a mother and child, brought to life through swirling black and white lines against a rich terracotta background.

The mother figure is seen protectively placed over the child; however, her face is covered by her hands, her body hunched in a state of recovery. This scene evokes deep emotions such as uncertainty and isolation; the often-unspoken elements of motherhood. Even in her earliest work, Everlyn’s skill as a visual storyteller is clear, compassionately highlighting women’s shared experiences and struggles.

From her earliest work to the newest, the exciting debut of Everlyn’s new series Lazarus Jacaranda (2022–24) will form a key element of this exhibition, signifying an end to the artist’s 25-year hiatus from painting.

While not directly referencing the biblical character in the series’ title, the paintings consider themes of cyclical life and Everlyn’s belief that ‘art is resurrection’. Female figures, both archetypes and named individuals, are shown in relaxed and restful poses, their feet supported by flowers and petals that spring powerfully to life.

These paintings have much in common with Everlyn’s earlier artworks, from the colour palette and confident celebration of the female body seen in Silent Strength (1989–90), to the botanical elements present in The Wedding (1990–94). This marks a resurrection of Everlyn’s own work from the past, influencing her present practice.

This long overdue retrospective focussing on the life and work of Everlyn Nicodemus is a celebration of the compassion, creativity and care which she has led with throughout her 40 years as an artist. Everlyn Nicodemus is waiting to be discovered by new audiences at Modern One this winter.

Everlyn Nicodemus said: “This exhibition feels like the most important moment in my career, spanning over 40 years of my work. It’s especially meaningful to me that it’s happening here in Edinburgh, a place that truly feels like my home. Having lived as a nomad all my life, this is the first place where I’ve been able to live and create in one space that is both my home and my studio.

“It’s a rare and unique experience for any artist, and especially for a Black African woman artist, to witness a retrospective of their own, and of this scale, so I feel incredibly lucky. This exhibition is a journey through my whole artistic life, and I hope it resonates deeply with those who experience it.”

Anne Lyden, Director-General of the National Galleries of Scotland said: “It is a great privilege to host the first ever retrospective of visionary artist Everlyn Nicodemus at Modern One this year.

“Everlyn’s exceptional artwork harnesses her incredible ability to communicate the most complex subjects with unwavering compassion. Her work serves to empower and inspire, but also sensitively demonstrates the therapeutic and healing powers of creativity.

“This exhibition also marks Everlyn’s return to painting after a 25-year break with the unveiling of a new series of work which we are excited to share with our audiences for the first time. We are thrilled to bring this exhibition to the people of Scotland and celebrate Everlyn’s remarkable career in the city she calls home.”

Stephanie Straine, Senior Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art at the National Galleries of Scotland said:“We’re so excited that Everlyn’s exhibition has opened here in Edinburgh, allowing visitors to encounter Everlyn’s astonishing creative practice of many decades.

“I feel truly honoured to have had the opportunity to work closely with the artist over the past three years to develop her exhibition and its accompanying publication.

“It’s been a privilege to be a part of this incredibly rewarding collaborative process that has time and again emphasised Everlyn’s rigorous scholarship, commitment to and celebration of art making, and deeply empathetic perspective on the complexities of our shared humanity.”

Visitors to Everlyn Nicodemus can enjoy a free audio tour as part of their experience. Led by Everlyn herself, listeners will be guided around the exhibition as she highlights selected works and delves deeper into her inspirations, experiences and creative process.

Everlyn Nicodemus is accompanied by a generously illustrated catalogue, featuring a new interview with the artist by Perrin Lathrop (Assistant Curator of African Art at Princeton University Art Museum).

The book also includes essays from Professor Eddie Chambers (David Bruton, Jr. Centennial Professorship in Art History at the University of Texas at Austin), Catherine de Zegher (curator, modern and contemporary art historian), and Stephanie Straine (curator of the exhibition at the National Galleries of Scotland).

Everlyn Nicodemus is yours to discover for free at National Galleries Scotland: Modern One from Saturday 19 October 2024. Find out more Everlyn Nicodemus | National Galleries of Scotland. An adaptation of the exhibition will be presented at WIELS, Brussels in autumn 2025.

Celebrating 40 Years of Scotland’s Photography

This October the National Galleries of Scotland is partying like it’s 1984 with Celebrating 40 Years of Scotland’s Photography Collection, at the Portrait gallery from 26 October 2024 – 16 March 2025.

Step back in time to the 1980s when the National Galleries of Scotland officially began its world-class photography collection. Explore over 100 art works from Scotland’s national photography collection, dating from the 1840’s to the present day in this free-to-visit exhibition.

Marvel at historic photographs, visit some famous faces and discover an exciting range of what makes a photograph in this eclectic celebration of the nation’s photography collection.

Celebrating 40 Years of Scotland’s Photography Collection marks this magnificent milestone, reflecting on all that has been accomplished in the last four decades and looking to the future. In the 1980s recognition of photography as an artform was growing rapidly as museums and galleries around the world were looking to establish and grow their collections.

A world-renowned photography collection it is regarded as one of the best in the UK, its breadth and quality matches those of London institutions such as the V&A and National Portrait Gallery, London. Due to its original remit to collect the very best of Scottish and international photography, the collection has developed over the last 40 years to have global reach.

Now over 55,000 artworks strong the ever-growing collection is showcased in this lively exhibition which explores the major themes, subjects and processes from throughout the history of photography. Including works by major photographers such as Julia Margaret Cameron, Robert Mapplethorpe and Annie Leibovitz.

Highlighting the enticing and universal nature of photography, the exhibition will include six themes; portraiture, landscape, documentary photography, archives, inclusion and experimentation.

Find portraits of famous Scots such as, Andy Murray, The Proclaimers, Jackie Kay and David Tennant as well as fun and vibrant portraits such as Viviane Sassen’s In Bloom.

A newly acquired work consisting of photographs, film and performance by Glasgow-based artists Beagles & Ramsay will be on display for the first time.

The Sanguis Gratia Artis (Black Pudding Self-Portrait), is a performance piece alongside photographs where the artists make black pudding out of their own blood to explore the boundaries of the self-portrait.

Embracing the eclectic nature of photography, vibrant displays will create interesting contrasts and connections between historic and contemporary images. Discover how the ideas and subject matters that started with David Octavius Hill and Robert Adamson in the 1840s continues to be photographed centuries apart with different and modern cameras.

Take pride in the influential alumni of Scottish photography schools whose connections extend around the world, making Scotland a significant home to photography.

About the exhibition

National Galleries Scotland: Portrait

26 October 2024 – 16 March 2025

Celebrating 40 Years of Scotland’s Photography Collection | National Galleries of Scotland

Free

Tomorrow: Granton Heritage Walk and National Galleries of Scotland combi-visit

SATURDAY 21 SEPTEMBER 11.30am – 2.30pm

Next weekend!

From medieval times through the industrial age and into the future, this mini tour highlights Granton’s heritage.

Spanning quarrying to castles and electric cars, Granton has been at the forefront of bringing innovation and wealth to Edinburgh. While most of its industries have now vanished, we hope to keep its heritage alive in describing what was once a hive of activity.

Participants will also visit the National Galleries repository as part of Doors Open Day and explore the theme of ‘Routes, Networks and Connections’.

The outdoor walk will commence at 11.30am at Madelvic House and will end at 13.00pm at the National Galleries of Scotland’s Granton repository (the Art Centre). Participants will then visit the indoor heritage exhibition provided by granton:hub’s history group, followed by the indoor artworks visit which will start at 13:15pm.

Please note: this tour includes 2 visits, between 11.30-13.00 and 13.15 -14.30pm and breaks will be provided. Participants are asked to attend both events.

This walk is in collaboration with the National Galleries Scotland 2024 Doors Open Day.

Please arrive at granton:hub at around 11.25am, before the start of the tour.

For details on the NGS visit please check this website:

https://www.nationalgalleries.org/…/granton-art-centre…

The tour will have a maximum capacity of 15. We charge a small fee in aid of future developments of the granton archive.

We do not offer a refund but you can re-allocate your ticket to someone else.

Book here: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/…/granton-heritage-walk…

Tomorrow: Community celebration at Muirhouse Neighbourhood Garden

MONDAY 16th SEPTEMBER from 3 – 5pm

Step back in time and celebrate 40 Years of Scotland’s Photography Collection

Celebrating 40 Years of Scotland’s Photography Collection

National Galleries Scotland: Portrait

26 October 2024 – 16 March 2025

Celebrating 40 Years of Scotland’s Photography Collection | National Galleries of Scotland

Free

Marvel at historic photographs, visit some famous faces and discover an exciting range of what makes a photograph in this eclectic celebration of the nation’s photography collection.

Celebrating 40 Years of Scotland’s Photography Collection marks this magnificent milestone, reflecting on all that has been accomplished in the last four decades and looking to the future. In the 1980s recognition of photography as an artform was growing rapidly as museums and galleries around the world were looking to establish and grow their collections.

Due to its original remit to collect the very best of Scottish and international photography, the collection has developed over the last 40 years to have global reach.

Now over 55,000 artworks strong the ever-growing collection is showcased in this lively exhibition which explores the major themes, subjects and processes from throughout the history of photography.

Including works by major photographers such as Julia Margaret Cameron, Robert Mapplethorpe and Annie Leibovitz. Highlighting the enticing and universal nature of photography, the exhibition will include six themes; portraiture, landscape, documentary photography, archives, inclusion and experimentation.

Find portraits of famous Scots such as, Andy Murray, The Proclaimers, Jackie Kay and David Tennant as well as fun and vibrant portraits such as Viviane Sassen’s In Bloom.

A newly acquired work consisting of photographs, film and performance by Glasgow-based artists Beagles & Ramsay will be on display for the first time.

The Sanguis Gratia Artis (Black Pudding Self-Portrait), is a performance piece alongside photographs where the artists make black pudding out of their own blood to explore the boundaries of the self-portrait.

Embracing the eclectic nature of photography, vibrant displays will create interesting contrasts and connections between historic and contemporary images.

Discover how the ideas and subject matters that started with David Octavius Hill and Robert Adamson in the 1840s continues to be photographed centuries apart with different and modern cameras.

Take pride in the influential alumni of Scottish photography schools whose connections extend around the world, making Scotland a significant home to photography.

Get a deeper understanding of how photographers have explored the themes of landscape and environment change including a new acquisition by American, Sant Khalsa combining photography and sculpture.

Discover works by revered international photographers, with exceptional photographs from the ARTIST ROOMS collection, jointly owned by the National Galleries of Scotland and Tate.

The exhibition draws a selection of works by globally renowned artists, such as Robert Mapplethorpe and Diane Arbus.

This will also be the first time the National Galleries of Scotland has shown work from the ARTIST ROOMS collection by Don McCullin, one of the world’s greatest photojournalists.

Scotland is known as a centre for documentary photography and the exhibition will celebrate this with a medley of the best documentary photographers who have made work in Scotland.

Weaving in some old favourites and new acquisitions this will highlight photographers such as Alfred Eisenstaedt, Eve Arnold, David Hurn, Joseph Mackenzie and Bert Hardy.

A wall of Hill & Adamson’s fisherwomen will mark an important moment in the development of documentary photography not just in Scotland but in the history of the medium.

In the years immediately following its establishment, National Galleries of Scotland received a number of significant bequests which quickly grew the collection.

The exhibition will explore some of these major archives, such as The Riddell collection which joined the collection in 1985, ARTIST ROOMS, established in 2008 and jointly owned by the National Galleries of Scotland and Tate, and the MacKinnon Collection that was jointly acquired with the National Library of Scotland in 2018.

Throughout the decades, the collection continues to grow and each year new additions are made, with an increasing focus on equality, diversity and inclusion.

Looking to the next 40 years, the exhibition also focuses on acquisitions from the last decade which address issues such as equality, inclusion and diversity.

National Galleries of Scotland actively seek opportunities to broaden representation across the collection and the exhibition highlights this as a priority area for collecting in the future.

Representation of female photographers has been a recent priority, with work by artists including Chrystel Lebas, Wendy McMurdo, Chloe Dewe Mathews and Arpita Shah entering the collection.

Anne Lyden, Director-General at the National Galleries of Scotland, said: ‘Photography is a cornerstone of the National Galleries of Scotland, accounting for almost half of the entire collection.

” It is with great delight that we celebrate the medium with this impressive and engaging exhibition drawn entirely from the vast holdings of the nation’s collection.

“We are excited to celebrate this anniversary with our visitors through such a dynamic display.’

Louise Pearson, Photography Curator at the National Galleries of Scotland, said: ‘The 40th anniversary is the perfect moment to draw from the full breadth of Scotland’s photography collection.

“This vibrant and fun exhibition includes photographs of famous Scots and works by photographers who have become household names. It opens many possibilities in making connections across our country’s photography collection, sharing highlights as well as celebrating lesser-known works.

“We want visitors to join us in celebrating the collection and take pride in Scotland’s contribution to photography worldwide.’

This exhibition is funded by The Morton Charitable Trust and the players of the People’s Postcode Lottery.

Join National Galleries of Scotland for a packed three months of events

National Galleries of Scotland announces a packed three months of events across the National, Modern and Portrait galleries in Edinburgh. Whether taking a deep dive into the exhibitions with talks, tours and music or being inspired to create your own art at the workshops, there is something for everyone to discover.

With summer blockbuster An Irish Impressionist: Lavery on Location open from 20 July, there are plenty of opportunities to delve further into the glamorous sun, sea and society of the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Join talks live from the Hawthornden Lecture Theatre at the National or stream on YouTube as you take a trip through the extraordinary life of the Belfast-born artist, Sir John Lavery.

Be whisked away to the French artists’ colony of Grez-sur-Loing as co-curator Professor Frances Fowle explores Sir John Lavery’s time in France alongside the likes of Robert Louis Stevenson on Wednesday 31 July.

Or join assistant curator Freya Spoor on Tuesday 17 September to learn more of his connections to Scotland from schooldays in Ayrshire to his role in the pioneering group of artists known as the Glasgow Boys.

Dip your toes in the glamour of a lost era and explore the high fashion depicted in Lavery’s paintings with Dr Sally-Anne Huxtable (Associate Professor, London Metropolitan University and Chair, Design History Society) on Friday 4 October.

Be immersed in the sights and sounds of Lavery’s wonderful world with a specially commissioned music performance inspired by the artist’s work. Renowned musician and composer/arranger Martin Kershaw will premiere the music alongside Kershaw on saxophones, Paul Harrison (piano), Graeme Stephen (guitar) and David Bowden (bass) on Thursday 24 October.

Be inspired by stories of collaboration, creativity and rebellion in Women in Revolt! Art and Activism in the UK 1970-1990 at Modern Two.

Join curator and researcher Alice Correia as she chairs a discussion with featured Women in Revolt! artists Nina Edge and Pratibha Parmar. Women in Revolt! Representing South Asian Women in Britain can be watched via the livestream on YouTube or join in person at the Hawthornden at the National.

On 27 August Women in Revolt: From Matisse to Think Pink explores the work of Liz Rideal with the artist herself. Rideal will make connections between her own use of collage and Matisse’sJazz images.

Discover images and voices from Scotland’s mining communities with Before and After Coal at the Portrait and discover more about the history and lasting impact of coal through talks and music events.

Dr Ewan Gibbs (University of Glasgow) and Dr Catherine Mills (University of Stirling) will consider post-1980s shifts in coal production for electricity generation, and the creation of the mining landscapes eco-museum in Beyond Coal on 3 September.

Older kids Friday after school art session at The National Galleries of Scotland.

Or in an exciting crossover between exhibitions artists Nicky Bird (Before & After Coal) and Rosy Martin (Women in Revolt!) discuss the significance of the early 1980s in It’s About Time on Tuesday 10 September. Looking at featured works in each of the shows, they dive into the themes of activism and visibility, notions of solidarity alongside the implications of becoming ‘living history’.

Or for something more musical celebrate the final day of the Before and After Coal exhibition on Sunday 15 September with a performance by the Newtongrange Silver Band founded in 1892 and is closely linked with the coal mining industry.

Explore the fascinating exhibitions at the National Galleries of Scotland across all four galleries. Learn about the inspiring 40-year career of Edinburgh-based artist Everlyn Nicodemus in an opening talk for her retrospective at Modern One on Friday 18 October.

Celebrate the incredible 40 years since National Galleries of Scotland began collecting photography, looking at the national photography collection in the context of the 1980s. Be inspired by the works of Bruce McLean and try your hand at creating your own art at The Drawing Room on 11 September.

Experience your national collection and learn more about the incredible art belonging to the people of Scotland.

Discover the latest acquisition to be added to the collection, The Lilac Sun Bonnet by Bessie MacNicol and discover more about this pioneering artist in a talk on Tuesday 8 October. Get to know the artworks and themes in the new Scottish galleries at the National in the Scottish Art in Focus tours which take place every month on Saturday afternoon.

Learn more about the changing landscape of Edinburgh and Scotland and the people who made it all happen. For those wanting a more detailed look into Edinburgh’s evolving cityscape and how it captivated the imagination of artists, join the Inside Out: Edinburgh Old and New Walking Tour.

Be immersed in the magical free live music events all while soaking up the beautiful art and surroundings of the Portrait and National gallery. With a performance from the award-winning trio Atelier Ensemble on Thursday 5 September, they will play timeless classics and uncover lesser-known compositions. On 3 October, Isla Ratcliff & Evie Waddell perform unique arrangements of Scottish traditional music, combining Scots and Gaelic songs, fiddle, piano, stepdance and BSL.

There are free family activities for all ages and stages to enjoy, as well accessible events for visitors with specific access needs. Weekly Family Friday events let your children’s imaginations run wild. With mornings dedicated to little ones expect interesting textures, lights, sounds and sensory art-fun.

Later in the afternoon older kids can get involved in the trails, new play activities and, of course, hands-on making with artists. Sensory-Friendly Sundays for families with children with additional support needs ensure a quiet, comfortable space is available at all times.

For adults, discover fascinating audio-described and deaf led British Sign Language tours for visitors with a visual impairment.

With events for exhibitions including Lavery on Location, Woman in Revolt!, Do Ho Suh, Vermeer. With the opportunity to meet other people, see artworks in the gallery and take part in creative activities. All with access to a comfortable quiet space.

To find events or discover more visit: What’s on | National Galleries of Scotland

Opens tomorrow: Take a voyage of discovery with Glasgow Boy Sir John Lavery

An Irish Impressionist: Lavery on Location

National Galleries of Scotland exhibition at the Royal Scottish Academy building

20 July–27 October 2024

Admission £5 – £19

An Irish Impressionist | Lavery on Location | National Galleries of Scotland

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.

Tickets are on sale now Book tickets | National Galleries of Scotland.

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.

For more information and to buy tickets visit An Irish Impressionist | Lavery on Location | National Galleries of Scotland.

National Galleries of Scotland prepares for a sensational year of art for everyone in 2025

Be immersed in Andy Goldsworthy: Fifty Years

Travel back in time to The World of King James VI and I

Celebrate 250 years of JMW Turner in Turner in January: The Vaughan Bequest from the National Gallery of Ireland

Take to the skies with Alfred Buckham: Daredevil Photographer

Discover magnificent works from ARTIST ROOMS

Mark the centenary of Scottish artist Ian Hamilton Finlay

Explore the imaginative creations of young people in Your Art World

National Galleries of Scotland announces an unmissable programme of free and ticketed exhibitions set to take over the National, Portrait and Modern galleries in Edinburgh throughout 2025.

From striking installations in Andy Goldsworthy: Fifty Years to time travelling into The World of King James VI and I, taking to the skies with Alfred Buckham: Daredevil Photographer, a celebration of 250 years of JMW Turner with Turner in January: The Vaughan Bequest from the National Gallery of Ireland and more.

There will be a sensational array of art to enjoy in the Scottish capital next year. Ticketed exhibitions can be booked online now What’s on | National Galleries of Scotland

From 26 July until 2 November 2025, immerse yourself in a major large-scale exhibition by Andy Goldsworthy. Andy Goldsworthy: Fifty Years will take over the upper and lower galleries in the Royal Scottish Academy building for the summer.

Based in Scotland, Goldsworthy (born 1956) is internationally famous for his extraordinary work with natural materials.

The exhibition will span five decades of creation with over 200 works including photographs, sculptures, and expansive new installations. Goldsworthy will also create several major new works onsite at the Royal Scottish Academy building especially for Andy Goldsworthy: Fifty Years.

This spectacular summer exhibition is sure to be one of the most talked-about of the year – and it is showing only in Edinburgh.

Next spring at the Portrait, travel back in time and be immersed in The World of King James VI and I. Son of Mary, Queen of Scots, successor to Elizabeth I and the first monarch to rule over Scotland, England and Ireland, get to know King James (1566 – 1625) and step into the world in which he lived, ruled and changed forever.

Marking the 400-year anniversary of King James’s death, this exhibition will chart his remarkable reign through stories of friendship, family, feuds and ambition.

Drawing on themes with contemporary relevance, including national identity, queer history, belief and spirituality, The World of King James VI and I will be an enriching journey through the complex life of a King who changed the shape of the United Kingdom.

Over 100 objects will be on display, including ornate paintings, dazzling jewels, lavish designs and important loans from galleries across the UK, celebrating craft and visual art from the 16th and 17th centuries.

From 26 April – 14 September 2025 come and be fully immersed in the sights, sounds (and even smells) of the period, connecting the people of the past with the people of today. Tickets are on sale now.

In 2025 the National Galleries of Scotland will commemorate the 250th birthday of beloved British artist JMW Turner (1775 – 1851) with a once in a lifetime, free exhibition. For the first time, visitors will be able to marvel at over 30 Turner watercolours from Dublin.

Turner in January: The Vaughan Bequest from the National Gallery of Ireland at the Royal Scottish Academy building will be one-off special take on the keenly awaited and much-loved annual tradition.

Spanning the breadth of Turner’s career, visitors can roam through sweeping seascapes, dramatic landscapes and spectacular cities, many displayed in their original frames.

As part of this special partnership, the Turner works from the Scottish national collection will go on display at the National Gallery of Ireland allowing visitors in both Scotland and Ireland to connect with works from the Henry Vaughan Bequest they don’t often get to see.

There will be two new and exciting exhibitions making their way to the Modern in 2025. From next summer you can explore your collection at Modern One with a series of new displays showcasing magnificent and diverse works of 20th and 21st century art belonging to the people of Scotland.

Your World celebration day at the National Galleries.

This includes an opportunity to see compelling works from your ARTIST ROOMS collection, cared for jointly by the National Galleries of Scotland and Tate. Explore this exhibition of the nation’s superb contemporary and modern collection from 12 July 2025.

The centenary of revered Scottish artist Ian Hamilton Finlay (1925 – 2006) will also be marked in a new free display of his work at Modern Two from 8 March to 26 May 2025.

A visionary in his craft, Ian Hamilton Finlay harnessed the power of collaboration throughout his career, drawing on the expertise of fellow makers and creators to bring his artistic visions to life.

Hailed as a poet, sculptor, printmaker, gardener and provocateur, his practice covered a wide range of media, reflected in this display through over 30 sculptures, installations and prints as well as extensive archival materials, all from Scotland’s national collection.

Moving into the autumn at the Portrait, take to the skies and see the world from above the clouds through the remarkable work of Alfred Buckham: Daredevil Photographer.

A trailblazer in his field, Buckham (1879 – 1956) soared above the realms of what was thought to be possible in 20th century photography and aviation.

From 18 October 2025 – 19 April 2026, meet the man behind some of the most iconic aerial photographs, marvel at the death-defying lengths he took to capture the perfect image and explore how his innovative techniques paved the way for modern technologies such as Photoshop and AI.

Explore the imaginative Your Art World exhibition at the National, showcasing the inspirational new works of young artists from all over Scotland aged 3 – 18-year-olds. The exhibition is a celebration of what happens when young people are encouraged to be wildly creative.

Discover installations from school and community groups who have worked alongside the National Galleries of Scotland. Or even view the creations of the young people in your own life. With the opportunity to upload artwork online via the website, anyone aged 3-18 can see their own digital submissions on screen in the gallery. Immerse yourself in the imagination of these young artists from 10 May to 2 November 2025.

Anne Lyden, Director-General at the National Galleries of Scotland said “We’re really excited to announce our 2025 public programme, which is packed full of fantastic exhibitions.

“Breathtaking installations at the Royal Scottish Academy, soaring above the clouds at the Portrait gallery, and modern and contemporary highlights from your national collection at the Moderns.

“Whether you want to be inspired, find a moment of calm or share a joyful experience with friends – there’s so much to discover at the National Galleries of Scotland.”