Edinburgh Art Festival

El Greco, Lady in a Fur Wrap, © Culture and Sport Glasgow (Museums)
The Stirling Maxwell Collection, Pollok House

National Gallery Complex - The Discovery of Spain
This summer’s major exhibition at the National Gallery Complex is The Discovery of Spain – an extensive show that fills the entire upper level of the Royal Scottish Academy building with masterpieces by Spanish painters such as El Greco, Goya and Picasso. It also explores the work of notable British artists, such as Sir David Wilkie and Arthur Melville, who were captivated and inspired by Spain.

The National Gallery Complex also houses the national collection of fine art from the early Renaissance to the end of the 19th century. See masterpieces by Raphael, Titian, Monet, Degas, Rembrandt and Van Gogh, among others.

Also Showing:

Raphael to Renoir
5 June–6 September,
National Gallery Complex.
Admission £4/3

Damien Hirst, Away from the Flock, 1994 © Damien Hirst, All rights reserved, DACS 2009

Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art - ARTIST ROOMS
The Modern Art Galleries, situated in idyllic parkland in the west of the city, comprise the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art and the Dean Gallery.

The main displays at the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art are drawn from the ARTIST ROOMS collection of over 700 works, recently acquired jointly by the National Galleries of Scotland and Tate, through the very generous donation of Anthony d’Offay. At the heart of the collection is the concept of individual rooms devoted to particular artists, so that their work can be seen in depth. Highlights in the opening displays include Vija Celmins’ delicate images of seas, deserts and the nights sky, Francesca Woodman’s intimate and moving surrealist influenced photographs, and an extensive display of work by Damien Hirst, including the iconic Away from the Flock.

A further room opens on 6 August especially for the Festival dedicated to the work of the influential American abstract artist Agnes Martin.

Greg Creek, Edinburgh Drawing: Chatter Shapes

Dean Gallery - The Enlightenments
The 2009 Edinburgh International Festival takes as its inspiration the 18th century Scottish Enlightenment. The Edinburgh International Festival’s Visual Arts programme, The Enlightenments, consists of a series of individual projects, commissions and installations in various locations across Edinburgh.

The exhibition at the Dean Gallery will include works by acclaimed international contemporary artists including Tacita Dean, Greg Creek, Gabrielle de Vietri, Nathan Coley, Joshua Mosley and Lee Mingwei.

The Dean Gallery and the Gallery of Modern Art are set in extensive parkland, where visitors can discover works by important artists such as Ian Hamilton Finlay, Henry Moore, Rachel Whiteread and Barbara Hepworth, together with Charles Jencks’ awardwinning Landform. These stunning green spaces in the heart of the city make the perfect setting for a picnic or a relaxing stroll.

Fraser Gray, Scuff © the artist

Scottish National Portrait Gallery - Rough Cut Nation
Rough Cut Nation at The Scottish National Portrait Gallery will see some 12 young artists inspired by street art and graffiti culture, present their remixed version of Scottish history, painted, pasted and projected directly onto the walls of the evocative empty space produced by the Gallery’s current closure for redevelopment.