National Galleries of Scotland  Winter 2008/2009   Exhibitions

28 October 2008

BANK OF SCOTLAND total ART GERHARD RICHTER

8 November 2008 - 4 January 2009.  National Gallery Complex.  Admission £6/ £4.  Under 22s free.

Gerhard Richter is one of the most influential artists living today.  This is the first major retrospective to be held in Britain since 1991 and the first ever in Scotland.  Drawn from a small, select number of private collections, the exhibition provides an unrivalled overview of the artist's career from 1963 to the recent past.  This is a rare opportunity to see in-depth the work of one of today's great artists.

Exhibition organised in co-operation with the Frieder Burda Museum, Baden-Baden.

Credit:  Gerhard Richter, Kerze, 1982 © Gerhard Richter

Photo: Frieder Burda Collection, Baden-Baden

THE INTIMATE PORTRAIT: DRAWINGS, MINIATURES AND PASTELS FROM RAMSAY TO LAWRENCE

Until 1 February 2009.  Scottish National Portrait Gallery. Admission free.

This is the first ever major exhibition held in Britain to focus on the more intimate types of Georgian and Regency portraiture. While oil paintings and sculpture dominated the public arena for portraiture, more private portraits were being created for domestic consumption and display.  Nearly two hundred works, drawn from the collections of the National Galleries of Scotland and the British Museum are on display in this stunning exhibition.

Sponsored by Artemis

Credit: Sir Thomas Lawrence, Mary Hamilton, 1789 © The British Museum

Published with the assistance of the National Heritage Memorial Fund, The Art Fund, British Museum Friends and the Patrons of Old Master Drawings

THE ISLANDERS: AN INTRODUCTION

BY CHARLES AVERY

29 November 2008 - 15 February 2009.  Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art.  Admission free.

This exhibition is a remarkable introduction to the art of the young Scottish-born artist Charles Avery, who in his ongoing Islanders project describes in drawing, painting, sculpture and text the topology and cosmology of an imaginary island.  Inspired by his upbringing on the island of Mull, The Islanders: An Introduction brings together previously exhibited and new works, including the Scottish premier of the sculptural installation The Plane of the Gods.

Exhibition supported by Friends of the National Galleries of Scotland and Patrons of the National Galleries of Scotland

Credit: Charles Avery, Untitled (Heidless Macgregor's Bar), 2006 (detail)

Courtesy of the artist and doggerfisher gallery, Edinburgh. Collection of Hamilton Corporate Finance Limited

TURNER IN JANUARY: THE VAUGHAN BEQUEST

1-31 January.  National Gallery Complex.  Admission free.

Welcome the New Year with a wonderful Scottish tradition: the annual display of Turner watercolours.  These works bequeathed by Henry Vaughan, span Turner's long career, from his early topographical wash drawings to the atmospheric sketches of Continental Europe from the 1830s and 40's.  Vaughan stipulated in his bequest that these delicate watercolours should only be shown in January when natural daylight is at its weakest, so they will not fade.  This limited exposure has resulted in the works retaining their natural brilliance and luminous colours.

Next year will see the major exhibition Turner and Italy at the National Gallery Complex which will open on the 26 March 2009.

Sponsored by Artemis

Credit: Joseph Mallord William Turner, The Piazzetta, Venice 1840 © National Gallery of Scotland Henry Vaughan Bequest 1900

FOUR SCOTTISH PAINTERS: BARNS-GRAHAM, BELLANY, DAVIE AND REDPATH

Until 31 January 2009.  Dean Gallery.  Admission free.

The display of works from the Gallery of Modern Art's permanent collection concentrates on four Scottish artists of the post-Second World War period: Wilhelmina Barns-Graham, John Bellany, Alan Davie and Anne Redpath.  All four painters have had a significant impact on their own and following generations.