Scottish National Portrait Gallery
Scottish National Portrait Gallery
1 Queen Street
Edinburgh
Lothian
EH2 1JO
Scotland
Website
www.nationalgalleries.org/visit/298-introduction
enquiries@nationalgalleries.org
Telephone
0131 332 2266
Fax
0131 343 3250
The National Galleries of Scotland looks after one of the world's finest collections of Western art ranging from the Middle Ages to the present day. These holdings include the National Collection of Scottish art which we are proud to display in an international context.
We care for, research and develop these collections and we aim to share these works of art with as wide a public as possible. Every year we welcome over a million visitors from Scotland and the rest of the world to our various Galleries sited in Edinburgh.
We have active programmes of education, outreach and special exhibitions and where possible we work with partners across Scotland to maximise the impact of our activities.
Venue Type:
Gallery
Imagining Power: The Visual Culture of the Jacobite Cause
- 1 December 2011 — 31 December 2015 *on now
The Scottish National Portrait Gallery has the most extensive and significant collection of Jacobite visual material in the world.
The term ‘Jacobite’ derives from ‘Jacobus’, the Latin form of James, and describes those who supported James VII and II, the exiled Catholic monarch of Scotland, England and Ireland, and his heirs. Jacobitism was launched as a political and ideological cause by the birth of a son to King James in 1688 and the subsequent coup d’état led by his Protestant son-in-law, William of Orange. For nearly 100 years Jacobitism was a major factor in European affairs and it was responsible for the last battles on British soil.
This fascinating display focuses on the way Jacobites presented themselves in portraiture
Suitable for
- Any age
Where
Scottish National Portrait Gallery
Admission
Free.
Website
Citizens of the World | David Hume & Allan Ramsay
- 1 December 2011 — 31 December 2015 *on now
Scotland made a remarkable contribution to the European Enlightenment of the eighteenth century with many of her citizens contributing to the ferment of ideas and shifts in attitude which transformed the world.
Two Scots, David Hume, the great philosopher, and Allan Ramsay, the outstanding painter, were at the centre of this cultural and intellectual revolution.
Suitable for
- Any age
Admission
Free.
Website
http://www.nationalgalleries.org/whatson/exhibitions/citizens-of-the-world/
Pioneers of Science
- 1 December 2011 — 31 December 2013 *on now
From portraits of John Logie Baird and Alexander Fleming to Dolly the sheep’s death mask, this unusual display charts scientific legacies and their enduring influence.
Admission
Free.
Website
http://www.nationalgalleries.org/whatson/exhibitions/pioneers-of-science/
Reformation to Revolution
- 1 December 2011 — 31 December 2016 *on now
By the close of the seventeenth century the monarchy, church and parliament had all changed drastically.
These complex changes had important cultural consequences. With religious painting no longer acceptable, there was an increase in demand for secular art forms, portraiture in particular. This coincided with a growing merchant and professional class beginning to commission works of art to display their increased ambition and economic strength.
Painted portraits were expensive, and those who acquired them came from the wealthiest levels of society, both old and new. These men and women used portraits to assert ideas of social status as well as to record an individual likeness. Their images played a significant role in the struggles for power, identity and nationhood during this period.
Suitable for
- Any age
Admission
Free.
Website
http://www.nationalgalleries.org/whatson/exhibitions/reformation-to-revolution/#.UFwkt64gzcs
The Age of Improvement
- 1 December 2011 — 31 December 2015 *on now
Between 1750 and 1850 Scotland was transformed. Commercial, industrial and agricultural improvement changed the physical appearance and the social fabric of the country. A new meritocracy emerged, whose members demanded a leading role in civil society and politics, alongside the traditional landowning elite.
These new middle-classes wished to see their own values – industriousness, self-reliance and social responsibility – asserted in their portraits, offering a moral contrast to the showy and often overpowering images of earlier times. Civic virtue and moral fibre would be judged in the faces of those who were now able to commission a likeness.
Suitable for
- Any age
Admission
Free.
Website
http://www.nationalgalleries.org/whatson/exhibitions/the-age-of-improvement/#.UFtB264gzcs
Imagining Power: The Visual Culture of the Jacobite Cause
- 1 December 2011 — 31 December 2015 *on now
The Scottish National Portrait Gallery has the most extensive and significant collection of Jacobite visual material in the world.
The term ‘Jacobite’ derives from ‘Jacobus’, the Latin form of James, and describes those who supported James VII and II, the exiled Catholic monarch of Scotland, England and Ireland, and his heirs.
Jacobitism was launched as a political and ideological cause by the birth of a son to King James in 1688 and the subsequent coup d’état led by his Protestant son-in-law, William of Orange. For nearly 100 years Jacobitism was a major factor in European affairs and it was responsible for the last battles on British soil.
Suitable for
- Any age
Admission
Free.
Website
George Jamesone: Scotland's First Portrait Painter
- 1 December 2011 — 31 December 2013 *on now
He was the first great native-born artist in a profession dominated by foreigners.
Born in Aberdeen, Jamesone served his apprenticeship in Edinburgh as a painter of decorative interiors before returning to his native city and setting up a studio. In Aberdeen and Edinburgh Jamesone painted people from various walks of life: aristocrats, academics, lawyers and merchants.
Jamesone also completed major commissions, including an entire series of portraits of friends and family for his important patron Sir Colin Campbell, and a set of Scottish monarchs, painted for Charles I’s official entry into Edinburgh in 1633.
Suitable for
- Any age
Admission
Free.
Website
The Modern Scot
- 1 December 2011 — 31 December 2013 *on now
During the period of recovery and reassessment after the First World War (1914 – 1918), artists faced the problem of finding a means of creative expression appropriate for a radically altered society.
Featuring such celebrated figures as Hugh MacDiamid and JD Fergusson, this display takes a closer look at the creative men and women who championed a progressive national culture and made Scotland’s distinctive voice heard.
Suitable for
- Any age
Admission
Free.
Website
http://www.nationalgalleries.org/whatson/exhibitions/the-modern-scot/#.UFswlK4gzcs
Out of the Shadow: Women of Ninteenth Century Scotland
- 1 December 2011 — 31 December 2013 *on now
These women were mostly the exception to a general rule, unusual in their achievements at a time when most women enjoyed few rights and freedoms and had limited expectations beyond the domestic sphere.
A consideration of these individuals allows us to explore some of the important advances in women’s rights made during the nineteenth century.
Suitable for
- Any age
- Family friendly
Admission
Free
Website
Blazing with Crimson | Tartan Portraits
- 1 December 2012 — 31 December 2013 *on now
This display explores what these distinctive garments and this highly recognisable textile meant to six different people who were painted between 1680 and 1780.
The Scottish National Portrait Gallery would like to thank Sabhal Mòr Ostaig The National Centre for Gaelic Language and Culture for their assistance with this display.
Suitable for
- Any age
Admission
Free.
Website
http://www.nationalgalleries.org/whatson/exhibitions/blazing-with-crimson/#.UFsyz64gzcs
Playing for Scotland | The Making of Modern Sport
- 1 December 2012 — 31 December 2014 *on now
From football to fishing, canoeing to curling, hunting to hockey, this sporting revolution is illustrated through paintings, photographs and prints and a specially-commissioned film.
Suitable for
- Any age
Admission
Free.
Website
http://www.nationalgalleries.org/whatson/exhibitions/playing-for-scotland/#.UFsu9a4gzcs
Citizens of the World | David Hume & Allan Ramsay
- 1 December 2011 — 31 December 2015 *on now
Two Scots, David Hume, the great philosopher, and Allan Ramsay, the outstanding painter, were at the centre of this cultural and intellectual revolution. This display explores their world, their friends, their families and their patrons.
Suitable for
- Any age
Admission
Free.
Website
http://www.nationalgalleries.org/whatson/exhibitions/citizens-of-the-world/#.UFstAK4gzcs
Minette | The Life and Letters of a Stuart Princess
- 19 January 2013 — 5 January 2014 *on now
Smuggled from England at the age of two, Henriette Anne was brought up at the French court where she married Philippe, Duke of Orléans, the brother of Louis XIV.
Famed for her charming nature, impeccable manners and keen interest in the arts, she also possessed a flair for politics and played a key role in negotiating a secret alliance between the French and English monarchs.
Suitable for
- Any age
Admission
Free
Website
http://www.nationalgalleries.org/whatson/exhibitions/minette
Tickling Jock | Comedy Greats from Sir Harry Lauder to Billy Connolly
- 23 February 2013 — 25 May 2014 *on now
We turn the spotlight on performers who have generated laughter at home and abroad – a list of comedy greats that runs from variety stars of the music hall, stage, gramophone and radio to comedians and actors who have made audiences fall about with laughter on the big and small screens.
With legends such as Rikki Fulton, Jack Milroy Sir Stanley Baxter and Una Mclean rubbing shoulders with Ivor Cutler, Ronnie Corbett, Lulu, and of course Billy Connolly. Enter our ‘On Air’ booths to listen and watch comedy clips and become a Tickling Jock yourself by leaving your own recording of a comedy performance.
Suitable for
- Any age
Where
Scottish National Portrait Gallery
Admission
Free.
Website
http://www.nationalgalleries.org/whatson/exhibitions/
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