Scotland

For a small country, and one whose nation school was late in developing, the history of Scotland’s visual arts is particularly rich and diverse. After The Act of Union in 1707, the newly founded image of Great Britain provoked Scotland into defining its own identity. For many Scots, The Act of Union was understood to be a negotiated partnership; the state of Britain had been created, yet Scotland kept its kirk, its law and its education system, conserving a level of national identity.

Scottish artists were, and are, a disparate lot, and although there were groups and schools and movements, there are also individuals who were fiercely independent. The ‘Scottishness’ of Scottish art is elusive, but it clearly exists in the sheer enjoyment of painting.

This winter we are bringing Scotland to London with a​ presentation​ of Scottish pictures from across the nineteenth and twentieth century, including significant works by Allan Ramsay, Sir David Wilkie Sir James Guthrie, David Roberts RA, Harrington Mann, Robert Macbryde, and Joan Eardley.