Focus on the arts was written from the start
The Scotsman’s relationship with the arts is most obvious in late summer, when the International Festival, the Fringe Festival, and the International Book Festival converge on Edinburgh.
This year, just like The Scotsman as we mark our 200th anniversary, the International Festival celebrates a milestone in its history, 70 years on from its first hosting in 1947. Once again, August’s cultural extravaganza will dominate the capital city, and dominate this newspaper in print and digitally.
But this title’s involvement in the arts began right at the start of our existence, and in this special souvenir supplement you will find a review of Sir Walter Scott’s novel Rob Roy, published in 1817 – the same year as The Scotsman first saw the light of day. Indeed, in its early days this newspaper was known as “The Scotsman or Edinburgh Political and Literary Journal”. In the first edition, the only advertisements permitted to disturb the lengthy musings of the journalists and contributors were for publishers.
Our relationship with the arts was further established when the newspaper’s then-owner, John Ritchie Findlay, helped to found the Scottish National Portrait Gallery by paying for its building.
The Scotsman always strives to be at the heart of the debate and discussion of the arts in Scotland, and we have always valued and cherished good writing and images to tell those stories, employing some of the finest exponents over the years. Arts coverage helped to shape and build the newspaper’s reputation, and that commitment to excellent coverage remains one of our key priorities today.
Here we offer a fascinating selection of such work from through the years: Chopin at the Hopetoun Rooms, Peploe, Muriel Spark, Sir Sean Connery, JK Rowling, Ian Rankin, Trainspotting, Black Watch and more – even Braveheart (which our critic panned).
We hope this whets your appetite as our city prepares for the global stage once again, as host to the world’s biggest arts festival.