TREASURED TRIPTYCH

Choosing 100 masterpieces to feature in the National Galleries of Scotland’s latest book has provided a stunning glimpse into the capital’s three national exhibition spaces and the stunning collections that they house

100 masterpieces in residence in Scotland’s national galleries

We are all well aware that bigger is not always better. Scotland and her compact capital city prove this point with aplomb. With this in mind, judging the country’s collection of art purely on its volume would be wrong. There are larger collections of art in the grand spaces and museums of Europe which dwarf those held in the National Galleries of Scotland, but the quality and range of major works that Scotland’s National Galleries house more than makes up for their small number.

The original National Gallery of Scotland opened in 1859. It was later joined by the Scottish National Portrait Gallery and then in the 20th century by the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art. Despite being spread across the city, being run by their own trustees and director, and retaining their own history and identity, the galleries are a triptych in their creative expression of the history of art.

100 Masterpieces is a new booked published by the galleries to showcase a small selection of the 100,000 items that make up their impressive collection. Choosing just 100 pieces from the miniatures, medals, largescale paintings, drawings, prints and contemporary installations housed across the three spaces must have been a daunting task for director general Sir John Leighton, but the result is undoubtedly an impressive cross-section of international and Scottish work.

In this feature we have had to narrow that selection down yet further and that was far from an easy task. The works pictured on these pages – and indeed in 100 Masterpieces – are indicative of the special character of the collection and a tantalising taster of the stunning works of art that are appreciated by almost two million visitors to the capital’s galleries every year. And with access to online exhibitions and touring programmes for those further afield, there’s every opportunity to appreciate one of the world’s finest collections of masterpieces.

Left: Ghost of a Genius (Gespenst eines Genies),

1922 by Paul Klee, housed in The Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art. Klee meticulously recorded each of his works, this one being the 10th work that he began in 1922. It was created, along with some 100,000 other works of art, during the 10 years that Klee spent as a teacher at the Bauhaus School of Architecture and Design in Germany.

‘The quality and range of major works more than makes up for their small number’