National Gallery of Scotland Modern One
The National Gallery of Scotland Modern One, with its renowned collection of more than 5,000 items dating from the late 19th century to the present day, is housed in the former Watson’s Institution Building which was designed, in the Greek Doric style, by William Burn (1789-1870) and completed in 1825 as the John Watson School for Fatherless Children of the Professional Classes. Its five-bay Neo-Classical frontage has a grand, six-columned portico.
The five-bay Neo-Classical frontage
In 1979, the building, with its classrooms and dormitories, was bought by the Crown Estates Commissioners and was successfully adapted, to its new function, from 1981 to 1984. In 2011, its name was changed to Modern One. Operated by National Galleries Scotland, it is twinned with National Gallery of Scotland Modern Two which lies on the opposite side of Belford Road.
Check out “National Gallery of Scotland Modern Two“
The museum lobby
International post-war work features art by Francis Bacon, David Hockney, Andy Warhol, Joan Eardley and Alan Davie, with more recent works by artists including Douglas Gordon, Antony Gormley, Robert Priseman and Tracey Emin and an outstanding collection of modern Scottish art.
Ah Kong – Ghost (Rae-Yen Song, 2022)
It presents works from the collection as well as a program of changing exhibitions. The early part of the collection features important Surrealist and German Expressionist art from the beginning of the twentieth century, with paintings by Giacometti, Hockney, Henri Matisse and Pablo Picasso.
Lee Miller (Pablo Picasso, 1937, oil on canvas)
Also included are works by André Derain and Pierre Bonnard, cubist paintings, holdings of expressionist and modern British art, and 20th century Scottish Colourists Samuel John Peploe, John Duncan Fergusson, Francis Cadell and Leslie Hunter.
Glacier Chasm (Wilhelmina Barns-Graham, 1951, oil on canvas)
The collection also includes ARTIST ROOMS, a collection of modern and contemporary art acquired for the nation by National Galleries Scotland and Tate with support from the National Heritage Memorial Fund, the Art Fund and the Scottish and British Governments.
?I Am Your Conduit (2014, thread embedded in handmade cotton paper)
The growing collection includes works by major international artists including Andy Warhol, Louise Bourgeois, Robert Mapplethorpe and Damien Hirst. The collection includes the larger of Roy Lichtenstein‘s In the Car pieces. The displays change on a regular basis.
Self-Portrait (Robert Mapplethorpe, 1980)
In 2002, the lawn to the front of Modern One was re-landscaped to a dramatic, award-winning (it won the prestigious Gulbenkian Prize in 2004) design by architectural historian Charles Jencks (b. 1939) entitled Landform Ueda, an eye-catching work or art in their own right.
Grace Jones (Robert Mapplethorpe, 1984, gelatin silver print on paper)
This sinuous series of grass-covered stepped terraces that rises to form a serpentine mound, with three pools of water occupying crescent-shaped hollows in between. It also includes the remains of an 18th century windmill.
Tightrope Walker (Paul Klee, 1923, color lithograph on paper) (Copy)
Two Figures (Natalia Goncharova, ca. 1910-20, pencil and crayon on paper)
The sculpture park includes bronze works such as Personnage (1978) and Femme (Woman) (1970) by Joan Miro; Conversation with Magic Stones (1973) by Barbara Hepworth; and Reclining Figure (1951) by Henry Moore; among others.
Conversation with Magic Stones (Barbara Hepworth, 1973, bronze)
Reclining Figure (Henry Moore, 1951, bronze)
The Neo-Classical façade of Modern One is home to Martin Creed‘s Work No. 975, EVERYTHING IS GOING TO BE ALRIGHT. Modern One backs on to the Water of Leith river and walkway, which can be accessed by a long flight of steep steps behind the Gallery.
Landform Ueda (Charles Jencks)
Personnage (Joan Miro)
National Gallery of Scotland Modern One: 73 and 75 Belford Road, Edinburgh EH4 3DR, Scotland, United Kingdom. Tel: +44 131 624 6200. E-mail: enquiries@nationalgalleries.org. Website: www.nationalgalleries.org. Open daily, 10 AM to 5 PM. Admission is free.