National Galleries Scotland

The National Galleries of Scotland oversee three main galleries in Edinburgh and two partner sites across the country. The Scottish National Gallery stands on The Mound in the heart of the capital, where it opened in 1859 to display historic European art. Nearby, the Scottish National Portrait Gallery opened in 1889 to show likenesses of notable Scots from the past four centuries. The Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art began in 1959 in Inverleith House and later moved to the former John Watson’s Institution, with a second site, Modern Two, added in 1999. These galleries hold wide-ranging collections that Parliament recognised in the National Galleries of Scotland Act 1906. A board of trustees appointed by Scottish ministers manages the care, preservation and growth of the artworks. The Portrait Gallery’s building, completed in 1898, was designed to resemble a Gothic church, while the Modern galleries house works from the early 1900s to the present day. The partner galleries at Duff House and Paxton House extend the reach of the national collection into the north and borders. Visitors enter the Scottish National Gallery on The Mound to find rooms filled with masterpieces by artists such as Titian, Rembrandt and Van Gogh. The Portrait Gallery presents painted and photographic portraits of Scottish figures alongside changing exhibitions. The Modern galleries occupy landscaped grounds where Henry Moore bronzes stand beside the Dean Gallery’s sculpture court. Each site offers quiet spaces for looking, learning and enjoying art in the city’s cultural heart.