Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art
Address: 75 Belford Road, Edinburgh, EH4 3DR
The Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art in Edinburgh is home to Scotland’s national collection of contemporary art. It is located to the west of the city in beautiful parkland near the Water of Leith, about 15 minutes walk from Princes Street. You can easily get there by a free bus which runs from the Scottish National Gallery in the city centre.
The gallery contains a Sculpture Garden and two buildings, Modern One and Modern Two. Modern One is an impressive neo-classical building, dating from 1825 and becoming part of the gallery in 1984. Modern Two dates from 1833 and has been part of the gallery since 1999. Landscape Designer Charles Jencks created the lawns in front of Modern One, inspired by chaos theory and shapes found in nature. The landscape combines artwork, garden and social space.
5 things to do at the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art
- Enjoy the gallery’s surrounding grounds, where you can discover sculpture works by major artists such as Ian Hamilton Finlay, Henry Moore and Rachel Whiteread.
- Visit Modern One to see French and Russian art from the beginning of the twentieth century. Also, cubist paintings, expressionist and modern British art, international post-war work and modern Scottish art. Plus, work from artists such as Henri Matisse, Pablo Picasso, Francis Bacon, David Hockney, Andy Warhol, Lucian Freud, Antony Gormley, Damien Hirst and Tracey Emin.
- Visit Modern Two, which houses an extensive collection of Dada and Surrealist art. The Paolozzi Gallery contains works by Scottish sculptor Eduardo Paolozzi and displays a fascinating replica of his London studio. Highlights include Paolozzi’s enormous specially commissioned sculpture Vulcan, which can be found in the Great Hall. And also Richard Wright’s Stairwell Project, a large-scale work made up of several thousand individually hand-painted forms. There is also a substantial library and archive, which is available to the public by appointment.
- See the latest in a changing programme of temporary exhibitions and displays.
- Head to Café Modern One for hot and cold dishes, coffee and baked goods. Or, Paolozzi’s Kitchen in Modern Two for Scottish/Italian-themed dining.
