GRANTON Youth is teaming up with National Galleries of Scotland for a brand new creative project for young people aged 12–18
Inspired by American artist and photographer Catherine Opie’s “To Be Seen” exhibition, we’re going to be exploring photography, identity, and creativity!
We’re looking for young people who are into art, photography, making stuff, being creative or just trying something different.
You don’t need to be an expert photographer. You don’t even need to know exactly what you want to make yet!
We’ll be experimenting with:
Portrait photography
What we choose to show / hide about ourselves
Props, clothing & fashion
Shadows & reflections
Creative writing
Identity, belonging & representation
A big group portrait
And loads of space to take things in your own direction
If this sounds like your, or someone you knows thing, DM us or email ryan@grantonyouth.com to get involved!
For the first time ever under 18’s can explore the National Galleries of Scotland’s blockbuster summer exhibition at the Royal Scottish Academy building – completely free!
Opening this weekend (Saturday 8 August), discover powerful photographic portraits by groundbreaking American artist Catherine Opie in this showstopping exhibition. Curated in collaboration with the artist, Catherine Opie: To Be Seen is Opie’s first ever solo exhibition in Scotland.
Specially adapted for the Royal Scottish Academy building in Edinburgh, To Be Seen presents a unique experience of the people, communities and stories in the art of Catherine Opie. The exhibition comes to Edinburgh from the National Portrait Gallery in London, having already received rave reviews from The Guardian and the Independent, with Time Out calling it ‘something worth celebrating’.
Explore nearly 80 vibrant portraits by Opie alongside her selection of works from Scotland’s national art collection. Displayed across seven rooms in the Royal Scottish Academy building, come face to face with Opie’s mentors and collaborators, Queer communities, children, surfers, high school footballers and political crowds as well as self-portraits of the artist.
See Opie’s work alongside a selection of 13 paintings from the national collection in arrangements prompting new narratives around ideas of identity. Join Opie as she questions ‘what is identity right now, and how do we look at it? Where and how do we belong’.
Documenting people brought together by common experiences or a shared sense of identity, Opie celebrates these communities by making them visible and offers us a platform to recognise ourselves in her exquisite and colourful images.
Thought-provoking and visually powerful, her striking work challenges who is represented in art and who remains unseen. Depicting a world made meaningful through connection, the artist says: ‘If you can walk away having a little better understanding about being human, that’s what I care about the most.’
One of the most influential artists of our time, Opie’s work is driven by the urgency to examine the ebb and flow of human culture and communities. Journey through 35 years of the artist’s work as she questions representations of home, intimacy and family, and explores politics, identity and power structures.
At the basis of her practice is her ongoing questioning of evolving ideas of community, identity and belonging. For Opie, portraiture is a radical act of representation – a desire to make the invisible visible and a gesture of belonging and resistance. Opie’s art attests to a great sense of humanity and care.
Whether as a university professor, a mother, a member of the Queer community, an American, or a world citizen, her portraits of fellow artists, friends, children and protestors draw attention to the power of visibility.
From photographs covering Barack Obama’s presidential inauguration, Tea Party rallies, and LGBTQ+ rights protests, to tender family moments and vulnerable self-portraits, Opie’s photographs collapse divisions between the personal and the political.
Experience Opie’s portraits alongside works such as Benedetto Gennari’s Elizabeth Murray, Duchess of Lauderdale and Pablo Picasso’s Mère et enfant and consider how history is recorded through portraiture.
Opie says, ‘What first drew me to photography was the idea that history was being made and language was being made through images.’ The artist has long been influenced by historic portraits, taking early inspiration from Hans Holbein the Younger. Inspired by Holbein’s precise renderings of nobility, Opie sought to give stature to her friends and challenge notions of ‘normality’.
Opie’s first major work, Being and Having (1991) is her own representation of identity challenging gender norms. Comprised of 13 closely cropped portraits of Opie and her friends enacting their masculine personas, Opie considers these her ‘own royal portraits,’ and affirms that ‘without representation, there is no visibility’.
To Be Seen will span the artist’s most famous works, with Opie’s own identity also threaded through the exhibition. Works range from ennobling portraits of the artist’s LGBTQ+ friends, Baroque inspired portraits of artists, images chronicling the likes of 1990s West-Coast leather dyke scene alongside her own experiences of family life and community.
Opie says, ‘I like to think that portraiture literally creates a history of one’s community’. The exhibition’s wide-ranging portraits span intimate studio shots capturing moments of vulnerability, pride and resilience to socially engaged documentary narratives.
Born 1961 in Sandusky, Ohio – the American Midwest – Opie got her first Kodak camera at the age of 9 and remembers, ‘I photographed everything around me’. Her fascination with photography continued throughout her childhood after she moved to California at the age of 13. She fashioned her teenage years, through friendships forged by taking photographs of school plays.
Opie was later encouraged to study photography at the San Francisco Art Institute. Moving to the city she worked and lodged at the Kenmore Residence Club, coming out as a lesbian and having her first significant relationship.
Later, Opie studied for a master’s at the California Institute of the Arts, where she developed her critical approach and secured her technical knowledge. Rising to prominence in the early 1990s,
Opie has since been at the cutting edge of documentary and portrait photography. She taught at UCLA for 25 years and was the Endowed Chair, Department of Art at UCLA (2021–23), retiring in 2023. Opie currently lives and works in Los Angeles.
Catherine Opie said: ‘After my first visit to Edinburgh it is a deep privilege and honour in bringing To Be Seen to a place that immediately felt like home.
“I’m looking forward to getting to know Scotland in the exchange of ideas and humanity.’
Anne Lyden, Director General of National Galleries of Scotland, said: ‘One of the most significant artists of our time, Catherine Opie is really not to be missed this summer!
“We are so excited to be working with the National Portrait Gallery, London, to host the artist’s first ever solo exhibition in Scotland. We cannot wait to share these incredibly powerful and human portraits with the people of Edinburgh and beyond.
“Opie’s life’s work resonates with our values to offer our audiences a feeling of community, connection and fun! We hope that our visitors find these moments while they explore this wonderful exhibition by a truly groundbreaking artist.’
Catherine Opie: To Be Seen is a National Galleries Scotland exhibition taking place in the Royal Scottish Academy building, opening on 8 August 2026.
Tickets on sale now! The exhibition also forms part of the Edinburgh Art Festival, the UK’s largest annual festival of visual art, from 14 – 30 August, presenting alternative perspectives across the breadth of the city.
Catherine Opie: To Be Seen is kindly supported by the players of Postcode Lottery and Friends of the National Galleries of Scotland.
Taking over Modern Two from 1 August, Gwen John: Strange Beauties is the first major exhibition in Scotland devoted to the pioneering painter. Featuring rarely seen drawings and watercolours – many on show for the first time – it offers fresh insight into her quiet yet determined artistic vision.
Gwen John’s Young Woman with a Coral Necklace (1910-1920) will go on public display for the first time since 1964, especially for this exhibition in the Scottish capital. The striking painting once belonged to the Scottish artist and Gwen John scholar, Mary Edmond Taubman, who became fascinated with Gwen John’s work as a student while studying at Edinburgh College of Art in the early 1950s.
Taubman became the first person to conduct detailed academic research on the life and work of Gwen John, providing vital insight into what we know of her work today. Young Woman with a Coral Necklace was bought by Taubman from the artists estate, in 1968, and has been generously loaned to National Galleries Scotland by her family, in her memory.
Marking 150 years since the Welsh artist was born, Gwen John: Strange Beauties will offer a fresh new perspective on her exquisite work and lasting legacy. Experience over 200 oil paintings, watercolours, and rarely seen sketches and archive materials across two floors of Modern Two.
Explore Gwen John’s journey from Wales to Paris, where she developed her distinctive, contemplative style. Discover her intimate and meditative portraits, shaped by faith, French modernism and her life in the Parisian suburb of Meudon. This exhibition will be the second stop of a global tour, following a critically acclaimed run at National Museum Cardiff earlier this year, including five stars from The Guardian and The Independent.
Born in Haverfordwest, Pembrokeshire in 1876, Gwen John studied at the Slade School of Art in London, becoming one of the first generation of women to receive a formal art education, before moving to Paris in 1904 where she led a fiercely independent and creative life. From becoming a muse and model to renowned French sculptor Auguste Rodin, to modelling for Swiss artist Ottilie Roederstein, Irish sculptor Nuala O’ Donel, German artist Ida Gerhardi and Finnish artist Hilda Flodin.
She later converted to Catholicism, marrying together her faith and her artwork. Gwen John described herself as ‘a seer of strange beauties’, casting herself as a visionary with the ability to see beyond surface appearances. Her attentive way of looking at the world shaped her art, leading her to paint and draw the same subjects repeatedly, each time observing them in a new way.
Today, Gwen John is considered an independent trailblazer, who quietly yet impactfully paved the way for many women artists of the future.
Alongside significant loans will be key works by Gwen John from Scotland’s national art collection. This includes A Young Nun (about 1915-1920) which is part of a series focusing on the convent of the Dominican Sisters of Charity at Meudon, near Paris. The tonal and quietly radiant Portrait of a Girl in Grey, (about 1918 – 1923) another from Scotland’s national art collection, depicting a woman praying, will also be on display.
The exhibition will also delve into Gwen John’s artistic practice, revealing new research about Gwen John’s painting materials and methods. John’s approach to her art was almost scientific, emphasising the importance of close observation and trying to see beyond the surface of things.
The methodical and unique approach she applied to colour theory comes into play too. Gwen John developed a secret coding system for the colour mixtures and tones she used in her paintings – a code which still hasn’t been cracked to this day!
She sought to use colour to create a sense of harmony in her work. From the early 1920s the rich and vibrant colours found in Gwen John’s watercolours appear in her oil paintings, in artworks such as the ‘mulberry dress’ series.
Visitors can also find out about Gwen John’s life with a free to use audio guide and film created especially for the exhibition which discusses her artistic legacy. Archival materials such as the artist’s notebooks and sketchbooks will be also displayed in the Keiller Library in Modern Two, telling more of Gwen John’s story through objects personal to her.
This exhibition has been developed by Amgueddfa Cymru in partnership with the National Galleries of Scotland, Yale Center for British Art, and the National Museum of Women in the Arts, Washington DC.
Gwen John: Strange Beauties is yours to discover at National Galleries Scotland: Modern Two from 1 August 2026. Tickets are on sale now.
Art Matters: New Strategic Plan 2026-2030 to focus on children and young people
Free access to ticketed exhibitions for under 18s
Delivery of The Art Works building is a key priority
The National Galleries of Scotland has revealed it contributed £253million to Scotland’s economy through tourism, jobs and cultural activity in 2024/2025, according to a new independent report by BiGGAR Economics. The news comes as the organisation outlines its commitment to children and young people with the launch of its Strategic Plan 2026-2030: Art Matters. Read more about the strategy here.
The new strategy sets out the first steps in a long-term vision to transform access to Scotland’s national art collection on the path to 2050 and beyond. It’s driven by a clear ambition: to remove barriers to participation so that everyone in Scotland, regardless of age or background, can experience the benefits of art. From encouraging creativity to improving wellbeing, accessing and engaging with their national art collection is vital.
Throughout the duration of the strategy, the National Galleries of Scotland aims to increase the number of visitors aged 26 and under by 9%, recognising that early encounters with art can spark lifelong curiosity, creativity and wellbeing.
It will do this through:
Free entry to ticketed exhibitions for children and young people under 18, kicking off with Gwen John: Strange Beauties and Catherine Opie: To Be Seen. The rest of the galleries are already free to come and enjoy, ensuring cost is not a barrier to participation
A revised schools offer to connect more learners with the collection
Strengthening the families programme to support early engagement
The National Galleries of Scotland has three galleries in Edinburgh – the National, Modern and Portrait. In 2025/2026 they welcomed over 2.6million visitors, making them Scotland’s second most popular free attraction.
Discover treasures from Botticelli to Titian, the very best modern and contemporary art from Joan Eardley and Jasleen Kaur, famous faces and contemporary portraits of pop culture icons, and the largest collection of Scottish art in the world.
As an integral part of Edinburgh’s visitor proposition the National Galleries of Scotland are part of the foundations of Scotland’s tourism sector. Identified as a key motivator for almost two thirds of those visiting Edinburgh and almost half of those visiting Scotland, according to the report.
As well as conserving and researching the national collection, the National Galleries of Scotland is committed to reaching the widest possible audience through an active programme, including partnerships across Scotland, the UK and abroad, as well as online.
Key to the delivery of the Strategic Plan is The Art Works, a major project to build a new free-to-visit home in north Edinburgh for over 130,000 artworks, complementing those on display in the National, Portrait and Modern galleries or out on loan.
It’s a critical strategic enabler that will transform how Scotland’s art collection is experienced, shared and enjoyed, and support the National Galleries of Scotland to care for, preserve and share the nation’s art.
It will also make it easier for art to be loaned to local galleries across Scotland, the wider United Kingdom and internationally.
The National Galleries of Scotland’s ambition is that every child in Scotland will have the opportunity to interact with their nation’s art, by visiting The Art Works, seeing it online, in education or through loans in their local community. The Scottish Government has committed £56million over three years to help the National Galleries of Scotland to create The Art Works.
To deliver this incredible new building the National Galleries of Scotland will need to reprioritise some other areas of work. Its summer exhibition at the Royal Scottish Academy building will move to a biennial schedule, following this summer’s Catherine Opie: To Be Seen the next exhibition planned to take place in 2028. This shift will enable the National Galleries of Scotland colleagues to prioritise The Art Works and to focus on bringing it to life.
Following opening of The Art Works the National Galleries of Scotland will look to its next capital project to renovate the Mound Level galleries at the National.
Art Matters also reaffirms the National Galleries of Scotland’s ongoing commitment to anti-oppression and anti-ableism, ensuring that its spaces, programmes and workforce continue to be inclusive and representative. This work will be embedded across all areas of activity, from how art is displayed and interpreted, to how audiences and communities are engaged.
The strategy is underpinned by growing evidence of the powerful role art plays in supporting health and wellbeing. 84% of visitors to the National Galleries of Scotland report that their visit has a positive impact on their wellbeing.
This aligns with emerging global research, including a recent study from University College London showing that regular engagement with arts and culture can have measurable biological benefits. In 2024/25, the health and wellbeing benefits generated by the National Galleries of Scotland were valued at £31.8million, the report states.
Anne Lyden, Director-General at the National Galleries of Scotland, said: “Art matters because it has the power to change lives. Our new strategy sets out how we will increase access to Scotland’s national art collection over the next four years so that more people, and particularly children and young people, can enjoy the benefits art brings.
“These are our first steps towards 2050. By focusing on children and young people, removing barriers and investing in the future, we can ensure that art continues to enrich lives across Scotland. The impact of art goes far beyond the gallery walls, it supports mental and physical health, fosters connection and contributes to public wellbeing. Art matters for us to have a healthy and thriving society.
“Our priority is the creation and opening of The Art Works building. This vital investment will enable everything that follows.
It is the foundation for how we will care for the collection, expand access and share Scotland’s art for generations to come.”
Art Matters represents a significant milestone in a longer journey for the National Galleries of Scotland.
It lays the groundwork for a future where every child and young person in Scotland can build a meaningful relationship with their national art collection. By investing in access, participation and infrastructure now, the National Galleries of Scotland is positioning itself to deliver lasting cultural, social and wellbeing impact for decades to come.
Live Music Now Scotland will join this year’s Festival of Europe Scotland with a special performance at National Galleries Scotland: National, presented in partnership with Live Music Now Vienna.
Taking place on 7 May 2026 (18:00–18:30), the concert features Duo Winter–Djurdjevic — flautist Anna Winter and guitarist Mihajlo Djurdjević — in a programme celebrating European composers of the 18th and 19th centuries.
This event forms part of an ongoing international exchange between Live Music Now organisations, creating opportunities for emerging musicians to share their work across borders and connect with new audiences through live performance. It also builds on Live Music Now Scotland’s continuing partnership with the National Galleries of Scotland, which this year is celebrating 85 years of musical performances in the galleries.
Rooted in the vision of founder Yehudi Menuhin, Live Music Now supports musicians at the start of their careers while bringing high-quality live music into communities and settings where it can have real impact.
Jude Anderson, Chief Executive, Live Music Now Scotland, said: “At this concert we will be treated to some brilliantly talented musicians in a programme celebrating European artists; it is a real pleasure to be presenting in partnership with the Festival of Europe.
“Artists hold such an important role in our society, exploring new ways of thinking while providing moments for joy, peace and togetherness.’
Set within the informal surroundings of the National gallery, the performance invites audiences to experience live music in a relaxed and welcoming way — offering a moment to pause, listen, and connect through a shared cultural experience.
This event is supported by the NGS Foundation and the Festival of Europe (Scotland). Elaine Ballantyne, the festival’s Trustee and Director, said: ‘Scotland has a rich heritage of European connections and the Festival of Europe (Scotland) is delighted to support Live Music Now and the National Galleries of Scotland in furthering new European opportunities for young musicians.
“We very much look forward to the Duo Winter–Djurdjevic concert on the opening of our 2026 Festival programme on 7 May.”
Event details Duo Winter–Djurdjevic will perform a varied programme of chamber music by European composers of the 18th and 19th centuries. Date: 7 May 2026 Time: 18:00–18:30 Location: National Galleries Scotland: National, The Mound, Edinburgh Admission: Free – booking required via the National Galleries of Scotland
Commemorating one year since the passing of celebrated Scottish painter Jack Vettriano, National Galleries of Scotland has announced it is to showcase two works by the artist.
Celebrating the life and prolific career of Vettriano, the artist’s estate will loan two self-portraits Portrait of the Artist and Homage to Fontana? over a six-year period. Portrait of the Artist will go on display on the one-year anniversary of his passing on 1 March 2026, at National Galleries Scotland: Portrait.
Free to visit, the painting will stay on display until early 2029 when it will then be swapped with Homage to Fontana?.
A self-taught painter, Vettriano was loved at home in Scotland and internationally for his evocative and timeless works that continue to captivate and inspire. His career made a huge contribution to the Scottish arts and culture scene and even broke records in the UK and Scotland.
In 2004 his painting The Singing Butler achieved a record price for a Scottish painting sold at auction and went on to become the best-selling art print in the UK. The work even inspired Banksy, whose reimagining of the painting sold in March 2025 for £4.3million. Vettriano is internationally recognised, with the likes of Jack Nicholson, Sir Alex Ferguson and Sir Tim Rice among collectors of his work.
Portrait of the Artist, painted in 1993, is an early self-portrait by Vettriano and was painted a year after The Singing Butler. It depicts the artist taking a break from painting at his Edinburgh flat where he had a studio. A dramatic depiction of light and shade sets the scene for a moment of contemplation. The artist’s paint-splattered clothes emphasise the task at hand.
The cinematic Homage to Fontana? was painted later in 1999. The title and slashes in the painted canvas reference the Argentine-Italian artist Lucio Fontana (1899–1968) whose slashed canvases of the 1950s and 60s blurred the distinction between two and three dimensions to create ‘an infinite dimension’.
Vettriano invites us to follow his act of contemplation in relation to what lies beneath the surface and beyond. The painting returned to Edinburgh in July 2025 after its inclusion in a Vettriano exhibition at the Palazzo Pallavicini in Bologna and is the largest of three versions of this composition.
Born Jack Hoggan, Vettriano grew up in the coastal mining village of Methil in Fife. After leaving school at 15, he followed his father down the mine, working as an apprentice engineer.
He later moved on to white-collar jobs in management services, taking up painting as a hobby in the 1970s when a girlfriend bought him a set of watercolours for his birthday.
From then on, Vettriano spent much of his spare time teaching himself to paint.
He learned by copying Old Masters, Impressionists, Surrealists and a plethora of Scottish artists, taking inspiration from studying the collection at Kirkcaldy Galleries. It was his experience living near Leven Beach which prompted him to make the decision: ‘I’m going to set some paintings on beaches.’
A figurative painter, Vettriano described his work as ‘more or less autobiographical.’ He worked from photographs of scenes he staged with models in his studio.
His paintings evoke the nostalgia of the 1940s and 50s and were often set, in the artist’s own words, in ‘sombre and sordid interiors’. Vettriano’s dramatic use of light and shade is a distinctive element of his work and heightens the stories of love, sex and betrayal in his paintings.
In the late 1980s he moved to Edinburgh and took his mother’s last name, Vettriano. The artist’s breakthrough came in 1988 when he submitted two works to the Royal Scottish Academy’s Annual Exhibition, with both works selling within the first day.
Subsequently he was courted by several galleries, with his first solo exhibition in Edinburgh in 1992. Soon, his works began to gather international acclaim, leading to exhibitions in London, Hong Kong, Johannesburg and New York.
The first major retrospective of his work was at Kelvingrove Art Gallery in 2013 and featured Homage to Fontanna?. The exhibition was record-breaking, attracting more than 136,000 visitors over its five-month run.
Imogen Gibbon, Head of Portraiture & Photography & Chief Curator at the National Galleries Scotland, said: ‘‘We’re thrilled to be welcoming visitors to the Portrait gallery to come and see Portrait of the Artist – by Jack Vettriano. It feels particularly significant that we are able to showcase a self-portrait to celebrate Vettriano’s contribution to Scottish culture on the anniversary of his death.
“This portrait and the subsequent work Homage to Fontana? will take their place on loan in The Modern Portrait display amongst the many other contemporary portraits of Scots who have made an impact at home in Scotland and internationally.
“National Galleries of Scotland extend our thanks to the artists estate, who came to us with this idea and supported us to make it happen’.”
Carolyn Osborne, Director, Jack Vettriano Publishing Limited, said: ‘Jack was known as The People’s Painter and it’s entirely fitting that the public will be able to see one of his paintings in such a beautiful setting within a mile of where it was painted.’
Scotland’s world class collection of surrealist art is back home in Modern One and free to visit from 17 December 2025. Embrace the strange and explore one of the most important and comprehensive holdings of surrealist art in the world, all belonging to the people of Scotland!
Encounter art by leading figures such as Salvador Dalí, Dorothea Tanning, Max Ernst, René Magritte and Toyen. Step inside the minds behind one of the most radical and influential artistic and literary movements of the 20th century. With over 40 works on display over two rooms, find bizarre creatures and weird machines, eerie landscapes and curious spaces. These uncanny compositions juxtapose the familiar with the peculiar, challenging reality and exploring the potential of the mind.
For the first time ever, visitors will be able to discover two works by Remedios Varo and Leonora Carringtonin the same space since the works were acquired Encounter (Encuentro) (1959) by Varo and Portrait of Max Ernst by Carrington.
Varo and Carrington were amongst many creatives and intellectuals who fled Europe during the Second World War. Both artists eventually settled in Mexico City, where they became friends and collaborators. They profoundly influenced each other’s work and remained close until Varo passed away suddenly in 1963.
Having been on tour for the last two years, visitors can once again explore the collection at its home in Scotland.
The nation’s collection of Surrealism is one of the most important in the world, largely thanks to the acquisition of two major private collections in the 1990s. The first collection arrived between 1994 and 1995 with the purchase of a selection of paintings, sculptures, works on paper, rare books and manuscripts from the collection of Sir Roland Penrose.
Artist, writer and patron, Penrose encountered Surrealism in Paris in the mid–1920s. His collection reflects the artists he met, the friendships he made, and his deep fascination with surrealist art and ways of thinking.
A short time later, in 1995, Gabrielle Keiller donated her collection of surrealist art to the National Galleries of Scotland. This features a comprehensive library and archive that consisted of over 1,000 books, periodicals, catalogues and other archival items which are housed in the Keiller Library at Modern Two, which is also free to visit.
Since then, this incredible collection has continued to grow, exploring Surrealism as an international phenomenon that spanned decades and stretched across continents. The display gives an insight into Surrealism not only as a movement, but also as a mindset, and one with enduring cultural significance.
Surrealism (meaning ‘beyond realism’ in French) was founded in 1924, with the publication of the first Surrealist Manifesto It evolved from the anti-art Dada movement, which formed during the First World War.
Like the dadaists, the surrealists rejected the ordinary and embraced the strange, using their art to question the state of the world at a time of great social, economic and political upheaval. Surrealist artists were united by ideology rather than by a particular style or medium.
Influenced by the psychoanalytical writings of Sigmund Freud, they attempted to reach beyond reality and immerse themselves in dreamworlds. Some even developed new ‘automatic’ techniques that relied on chance effects. These were believed to produce uninhibited, visionary signs and symbols, free from the constraints of rational thinking.
Tor Scott, Assistant Curator at National Galleries of Scotland, said:“We are delighted to be welcoming this incredible collection back to Modern One after its successful international tour.
“The National Galleries of Scotland boasts one of the most comprehensive holdings of surrealist art in the world, and it is always so popular with our visitors. Whether people have existing knowledge of Surrealism or are seeing these works for the first time, there is something about the dreamlike, uncanny and bizarre that always captures people’s attention.
“The display includes paintings by international artists such as Remedios Varo and Max Ernst, as well as works by English and Scottish artists like Edith Rimmington and Edwin Lucas, exploring the far-reaching impact of this radical movement.”
The surrealist collection is on display at National Galleries Scotland: Modern One. Visit for free from 17 December 2025.
To celebrate World Ice Skating Day today (14 December), the National Galleries of Scotland got their skates on to recreate one of the most iconic paintings from Scotland’s collection, Sir Henry Raeburn’s Skating Minister.
Teaming up with Edinburgh’s Christmas, seven skating ministers took to the ice rink on George Street to imitate the world-famous painting.
Painted around 1795, the artwork is actually named Reverend Robert Walker (1755 – 1808) Skating on Duddingston Loch, but has become fondly referred to as the Skating Minister. Since it was purchased on behalf of the people of Scotland in 1949, millions of visitors have flocked to National Galleries Scotland: National in Edinburgh to see the iconic painting on display for free.
Visit the Skating Minister at the National this Christmas to re-create the stance in front of the man himself or feel inspired to take to the ice at Edinburgh’s Christmas ice rink on George Street.
Following the incredible success of last year’s blockbuster exchange with the National Gallery of Ireland, Scotland’s own much-loved Turners are back in Edinburgh for 2026!
Bring in the new year with the eagerly awaited return of Turner in January at the National Galleries of Scotland. Featuring 38 watercolours by renowned artist Joseph Mallord William Turner, the highly anticipated free annual display will take pride of place in room 21 in National Galleries Scotland: National in Edinburgh from 1 – 31 January 2026.
Last year saw thousands of visitors flocking to the National Galleries of Scotland to marvel at a once in a lifetime exchange of Turner watercolours from the Henry Vaughan Bequest with the National Gallery of Ireland, honouring the 250th anniversary of the artist’s birth. January 2026 will mark the triumphant return of Scotland’s Turners to Edinburgh, giving avid fans and newfound admirers the chance to spend time with some of the most treasured works from the Scottish national collection.
Turner in January is a beloved tradition for many people in Scotland. It signals the dawning of the New Year, and as we leave behind the darkest days of winter, the bright vitality of Turner’s work is exactly what we need.
Scotland’s famous collection of Turner watercolours was left to the nation by the great art collector Henry Vaughan in 1900. Following Vaughan’s strict guidelines, they have only ever been displayed during the month of January, when natural light levels are at their lowest. Because of this, these watercolours still possess a freshness and an intensity of colour almost 200 years since they were originally created.
This mesmerising exhibition demonstrates the extraordinary range of Turner’s work in watercolour, including atmospheric early drawings, experimental colour studies for prints and book illustrations and exhibition showstoppers.
Born in London in 1775, Turner’s combination of exceptional talent, intellectual curiosity and and relentless hard work resulted in watercolours which capture the sublime beauty of nature and encourage us to look again at the world around us.
In a career spanning 50 years, he developed new ways of painting in watercolour and revolutionised ideas of what could be achieved in the medium. Experimenting with an array of techniques and colour, Turner created works which continue to captivate and excite audiences today.
Turner in January invites visitors on an exciting, colourful journey, leaving behind January blues in favor of Turner’s views of the world, via moody landscapes, impressive city views and dramatic seascapes.
Travel across Britain, Europe and beyond through a dazzling array of artwork including scenes of the Himalayas, Venice and the Swiss Alps, to places a little closer to home, from a tempestuous view of Loch Coruisk on the Isle of Skye all the way down to serene Melrose in the Scottish Borders.
This year Turner in January will also feature the picturesque watercolour Virginia Water (about 1829),on long term loan to the National Galleries of Scotland and displayed for the first time since 2020.
The work shows a royal fishing expedition on Virginia Water, the artificial lake created as a royal pleasure ground in Windsor Great Park, with King George IV’s newly built ‘Chinese’ Fishing Temple in the background. In the foreground a pair of royal swans seem to be chasing away mallard ducks, a visual pun on Turner’s middle name.
Visitors will be able to immerse themselves further into the world of Turner through a Smartify audio highlights guide, returning for 2026.
Free to use on mobile devices, this audio guided tour will give fresh insights into the artwork on display, expanding Turner’s ideas and inspirations and adding another layer to the Turner in January experience.
Summer 2026 will also offer an additional opportunity to enjoy Turner’s work at the National Galleries of Scotland. Join us for an unmissable chance to see one of the artist’s most iconic paintings, Norham Castle, Sunrise, (c. 1845), which will be displayed for free at the National for the very first time as part of a special loan from Tate.
The National Galleries of Sctoland
Charlotte Topsfield, Senior Curator of British Drawings and Prints at National Galleries of Scotland said: “After a year of celebrations for Turner’s 250th birthday and the huge excitement of the exchange with the National Gallery of Ireland in January 2025, we are so pleased to be showing Scotland’s Vaughan Turners and honouring Henry Vaughan’s bequest once again.
“We hope visitors will enjoy seeing familiar friends and find new inspiration in Turner’s glorious colour and light.”
Turner in January has been gratefully supported by the players of the People’s Postcode Lottery and the Postcode Culture Trust. Turner in January is a free National Galleries of Scotland exhibition opening to the public at 12pm on Thursday 1 January 2026.
Portrait photography
Props, clothing & fashion
Shadows & reflections
Creative writing
Identity, belonging & representation
A big group portrait
And loads of space to take things in your own direction
