Ian Hamilton Finlay's garden at Little Sparta
Ingleby GalleryThis trip, now an annual event organised by the Little Sparta Trust and Ingleby Gallery during the Edinburgh Art Festival, is a rare opportunity to visit Ian Hamilton Finlay’s garden at Little Sparta - widely held to be one of Scotland’s greatest works of art.
Little Sparta is a classical garden built in the midst of a bleak Scottish moor. It is a fusion of many of Finlay’s artistic ideas and principally of his concern with man’s relationship to nature. Over 275 works can now be found within the gardens, from vast stone carvings to tiny sculptural interventions, all of which articulate in myriad ways some of Finlay’s favourite themes: the French Revolution, Classical myth, the Second World War, and the sea and its vessels. At once profoundly serious and delightfully irreverent, Little Sparta is a complete work of art and a unique expression of one extraordinary man’s moral and philosophical position.
Please note Little Sparta is not suitable for dogs or young children and is not wheelchair accessible.
A selection of prints and editions from Finlay’s own Wild Hawthorn Press will be available to view at Ingleby Gallery throughout the Edinburgh Art Festival. The gallery has represented Ian Hamilton Finlay and his Estate since 1998.
Departs: The bus will leave promptly at 1.30pm from Ingleby Gallery, 15 Calton Road, just by exit 4 of Waverly Station.
Returns: Ingleby Gallery, 15 Calton Road at approximately 6pm
Tickets: £20 including travel and entrance to the garden.
Places are limited and booking ahead is essential, please contact Laura Robertson at the Little Sparta Trust on 07826 495677 [email protected]