Exhibitions
Events/Talks/Lectures
Special Events
Let's Dress Venus
Ever wondered if the people in the paintings get tired of wearing the same old things day after day? Now is your chance to create a whole new wardrobe for them under the guidance of the very imaginative French artist Catherine Durandard.
more- 3rd to 4th July 2009
- 1-4pm
Children & Families
Art Cart in July
Art activities for all the family inspired each month by different works from the collection. Supported by Friends of the National Galleries of Scotland.
more- Sunday, 5th July 2009
- 2-4pm
Talks & Lectures
Restoring for the Reich: The Conservation/Restoration Profession and the Nazi Looting Machine
Morwenna Blewett, Paintings Conservator at the Cambridge University-affiliated Ebury street studio of the Hamilton Kerr Institute, will briefly explore the context of looting during the Nazi period and then describe the role of conservators and restorers within this highly organised and ruthless programme of theft. Previously classified material will be used in addition to recently rediscovered papers and photographs.
more- Monday, 6th July 2009
- 12.45-1.30pm
Courses
Explore, Discuss, Experiment, Paint Summer School Course
A three-day course led by the very popular artist and tutor Ann McCluskey. Seeking inspiration from the Renaissance to Impressionism, the course will involve moving between the gallery and the studio, experiment with different media and create a contemporary response to what you have seen.
more- 6th to 8th July 2009
- 10.30am-4.30pm
Talks & Lectures
The Fallacy of Creativity: Speaking Up for Inspiration
The Queen's newly appointed sculptor in Scotland, Alexander Stoddart will deliver a panegyric on the lost idea of Inspiration in the modern arts. Using recent examples of his monumental statuary (James Clerk Maxwell, Adam Smith etc.) Stoddart will describe the counter-creative impulse that informs the making of large-scale, culturally connected works of art.
more- Tuesday, 7th July 2009
- 12.45-1.30pm
Special Events
Monthly Life Drawing Class July
Look at how others have portrayed the human figure, then work from a model, with guidance from award-winning artist Graham Flack.
more- Thursday, 9th July 2009
- 5.30-7.30pm
Special Events
Live Music Now: Emma Versteeg
Soprano Emma Versteeg responds to the NGS collections with a selection of music. In association with Live Music Now Scotland.
more- Thursday, 9th July 2009
- 6-6.30pm
Talks & Lectures
Gallery of Modern Art Highlights Tours July
A tour of the Gallery of Modern Art's permanent collection, focusing on key paintings. Meet at the main entrance.
more- Saturday, 11th July 2009
- 2-2.45pm & 3-3.45pm
Courses
Jewellery Making Summer School Course
A three-day course led by designer jeweller Suilven Plazalska. The course comprises of: looking at and discussing Suilven's own practice; exploring a selection of artworks from the collection for inspiration; experimenting with materials and techniques; producing a final piece or pieces. Please note the first day will be based at the GMA.
more- 13th to 15th July 2009
- 10.30am-4.30pm
Talks & Lectures
Scotland and Scottishness in Visual Culture Since 1945
The notions of what 'Scotland' is, and ideas of belonging to a 'Scottish' identity, are continually re-defined and re-negotiated. Dr Jonathan Blackwood, Duncan of Jordanstone, Dundee, begins with Scotland very much an integral part of the Union at the end of World War Two, to the present day, when the country's very position in that Union is in question. Work by artists such as Colquhoun and MacBryde, McIntosh Patrick, Sandy Moffat, Douglas Gordon and Roddy Buchanan will be considered against a developing backdrop of political and cultural debate.
more- Tuesday, 14th July 2009
- 12.45-1.30pm
Talks & Lectures
Two Venetian Male Portraits
Tricia Allerston, National Galleries of Scotland Head of Education, considers two portraits from Tintoretto's workshop, focusing on the role of portraiture in mid- to late-sixteenth-century Venice.
more- Friday, 17th July 2009
- 12.45-1.15pm
Special Events
Ensemble Hispanico Numen with Concha Jareno
An evening of Spanish music and dance. Ensemble Hispanico Numen, fuses soprano saxophone, viola and electric bass. They will be accompanied by acclaimed flamenco guitarist ‘Canito' and flamenco dancer Concha Jareno. Sponsored by the Consulate General of Spain.
more- Friday, 17th July 2009
- 8pm
Talks & Lectures
David Bomberg: A Love Affair with Spain?
Spain played a dramatic and decisive role in work of David Bomberg, transforming him into one of Britain's outstanding landscape painters. After visiting Toledo in 1929, he explored Cuenca, Ronda and the Asturias Mountains before returning to Ronda in his final years, when he produced a sequence of impassioned, eloquent masterpieces. A talk by Richard Cork, award-winning art historian, critic, broadcaster and exhibition curator to open The Discovery of Spain exhibition.
more- Saturday, 18th July 2009
- 2-3pm
Children & Families
Bags of Art in July
Collect a bag of new activities from the Art Station at the top of the stairs to help your family explore the collection and create your own artwork. Supported by Friends of the National Galleries of Scotland.
more- Sunday, 19th July 2009
- 2-4pm
Talks & Lectures
Prejudice and Parsimony: Early Acquisitions of Modern French Paintings at the National Gallery of Scotland
Rescheduled from the 5 May. Frances Fowle, Senior Curator at the National Gallery, discusses the Gallery's early purchases and bequests of nineteenth-century French art, including the ones that got away! The talk reveals that decisions were often based not only on contemporary taste, but on financial constraints, a lack of connoisseurship and a deeply-entrenched conservatism.
more- Monday, 20th July 2009
- 12.45-1.30pm
Children & Families
Summer School - How Do You Make Powerful Art?
During this summer school we will investigate art from Raphael to Damien Hirst, looking at why artists make art. We will try new ways of making art, drawing on personal experiences and knowledge, to create art that is unique to us. We will create a group exhibition at the end of sessions.
more- 20th to 24th July 2009
- 10am-4pm (Excluding Sat & Sun)
Talks & Lectures
The Discovery of Spain: Curator's Tour
Christopher Baker, Chief Curator at the National Gallery, gives an introduction and tour of this major exhibition celebrating Spanish culture, as seen through the eyes of British artists and collectors.
more- Tuesday, 21st July 2009
- 12.45-1.30pm
Special Events
La Folía - Instrumental Music in the Age of Velázquez
A special performance by Spanish Baroque Ensemble, La Folía, who will be performing instrumental music from the age of Velázquez including works by Francisco Correa de Arauxo, Enrique Botelero, Dario Castello and Andrea Falconiero. Sponsored by the Spanish Ministry of Culture and the Consulate General of Spain in Edinburgh.
more- Wednesday, 22nd July 2009
- 7.30-8.30pm
Special Events
Live Music Now: Andrew Robinson
Andrew Robinson performs a programme of flamenco guitar music inspired by The Discovery of Spain exhibition.
more- Thursday, 23rd July 2009
- 6-6.30pm
Special Events
National Gallery Highlights July Tour
National Gallery Highlights tour including the Titian paintings Diana and Actaeon and Diana and Callisto and other parts of The Bridgewater Collection.
more- Saturday, 25th July 2009
- 2-2.45pm & 3-3.45pm
Children & Families
Summer School - How Do You Make Powerful Art?
During this summer school we will investigate art from Raphael to Damien Hirst, looking at why artists make art. We will try new ways of making art, drawing on personal experiences and knowledge, to create art that is unique to us. We will create a group exhibition at the end of sessions.
more- 27th to 31st July 2009
- 10am-4pm (Excluding Sat & Sun)
Talks & Lectures
The Cult of Velázquez
James McNeill Whistler revolutionized British art, elevating dark tonal values and fluid brushwork above the detailed realism of previous decades. Inspired by Velázquez, he established a new canon for progressive painting, inspiring artists as diverse as Millais, Sargent and Pryde. A talk by Dr Joanna Meacock, Research Associate, Whistler Etchings Project, History of Art Department, University of Glasgow.
more- Tuesday, 28th July 2009
- 12.45-1.30pm
Talks & Lectures
The Spanish Portfolio of David Roberts
Susanna Kerr, former Senior Curator at the Scottish National Portrait Gallery, will discuss how the pioneering Spanish journeys of David Roberts both inspired the artist and seized the imagination of nineteenth-century Britain.
more- Friday, 31st July 2009
- 12.45-1.30pm
Children & Families
El Estudio Español
Explore The Discovery of Spain exhibition then come downstairs to El Estudio Español and try: making clay tiles; helping to create a huge Spanish archway; constructing mini-stage sets; drawing in reverse; printing and collaging a portrait and much much more! There are friendly artists there to help. Children under 12 must be accompanied by an adult.
more- 1st to 31st August 2009
- 2-4.30pm
Talks & Lectures
The Bunk Collages of Eduardo Paolozzi
Eduardo Paolozzi's series of Bunk collages is often seen as a herald of Pop art, yet it is also deeply controversial and frequently misunderstood. Dr John-Paul Stonard, art historian and contributing editor for The Burlington Magazine, recounts the fascinating story behind its creation and subsequent interpretation.
more- Monday, 3rd August 2009
- 12.45-1.30pm