Edinburgh – Ben Hills-Jones

The Scottish National Gallery

The Scottish National Gallery is housed in an imposing neoclassical building in The Mound in central Edinburgh. It’s free to enter but currently you have to book a timed entry slot. It seems like there is large development project happening to expand the gallery. This, along with the COVID pandemic, means that there is a considerable amount of art not on display.

There is a very nice shop attached and a cafe with some great food too.

Despite being limited in the number of artworks on display, the range is wide, from 14th century religious masterpieces to post impressionist works by Van Gogh. I enjoyed the gallery, looking forward to visiting again when the entire development project is complete.

The Adoration of the Kings with Saints Ursula and Catherine of Alexandria by Vitale da Bologna, 1350

The Madonna of the Yarnwinder, by Leonardo Da Vinci, 1501

Madonna and Child by Master of the Embroided Foliage, late 15th century

The Virgin and Child with Two Angels by the Ferrarase School, 1470

The Monarch of the Glen by Edwin Landseer, 1851

Lady Agnew of Lochnaw by John Singer Sargent, 1892

Montagne Sainte Victoire by Paul Cezanne, 1890

Orchard in Blossom, Vincent Van Gogh, 1888

The Scottish National Portrait Gallery

The Scottish National Portrait Gallery is in Edinburgh on Queen Street. Free to enter and similar to all other galleries, entry is by timed ticket only currently. The building is in an impressive red sandstone gothic revival building. The central hall contains a collection of beautiful friezes depicting scenes from Scottish history as well as a painted ceiling depicting the constellations. The artworks range over hundreds of years and contain more modern portraits of contemporary Scottish figures such as Annie Lennox and Alan Cummings.

The shop did not appear to be open but the cafe was open and was pretty decent.

Muriel Gray by Iain Clark 2005 — Muriel Gray by Iain Clark, 2005

Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art

There are two modern galleries in the city, Modern 1 and Modern 2. They are two impressive neo-classical buildings in the west of the city, opposite each other. The buildings are surrounded by lovely parkland with shady trees to sit under.

Modern 1 is the main gallery, modern 2 is for temporary exhibitions. Modern 1 also has a lovey cafe with a garden too. Both are free to enter but currently you have to book a timed ticket.

I spent about an hour in the gallery. Not a huge collection but interesting in its interpretation of what modern art means. It included some art from the early 20th century which I really liked, particularly the Scottish Colourists works.