Scottish Art
A favourite haunt of mine is the National Gallery, situated on the Mound in Edinburgh. It comes under the umbrella of the National Galleries of Scotland, which include the National, Modern One, Modern Two and the Portrait. It is free entry and has a fantastic range of paintings featuring many world famous artists. The gallery has a dedicated section on Scottish art. This had been closed before the pandemic while it had a major overhaul and refit. I recall going along on a regular basis only to find the opening date still hadn’t been announced. Then the pandemic struck and work stopped. It opened last year and I finally managed to make that long awaited visit. Since then I’ve been several times and made another trip again last week.
They have done a fantastic job setting this up. What was previously a smaller, and what I felt cramped space which badly needed modernising – unlike the rest of the gallery – is now a light, bright, vastly extended exhibition space, finally doing justice to the pieces in the collection. Every time I’ve been along it’s always busy and it’s great to see so many folk from around the world taking time to appreciate what is on show.
Highlights for me include the image I have used with this post called The Monarch of the Glen by Sir Edwin Landseer from about 1851. It has been widely reproduced and is easily one of the most famous and recognisable paintings. A Lady in Grey by Sir Daniel Macnee 1859 is a painting I hadn’t seen for many years, so it was like meeting an old friend again. The Spell 1864 by Sir William Fettes Douglas features two sorcerers attempting to raise the spirits of the dead. Fantastic detail and very creepy. I was delighted to see a painting from 1825 by Alexander Nasmyth entitled Princes Street with the Commencement of the Building of the Royal Institution. A fascinating glimpse into what Edinburgh looked like two hundred years ago. The official website has a link to a short video on YouTube which provides a flavour of how the new gallery looks. If you watch to the end you will see The Monarch of the Glen!
The Fiction Factory 