Scottish National Portrait Gallery

Surely one does not go out of one’s way to have a scone at a portrait gallery’s café? Yes one does if it is the Scottish National Portrait gallery. Surely one does not review the café instead of the gallery. Well, yes, one does.
The café is mentioned in several guidebooks and I thought it odd. But despite changing names since the guidebooks were written, it’s worth the stop.
The teas are loose and delightful. I had a ginger tea that was sublime. My companion had a berry tea that was divine. The cheese scones rank up with any I have had. They had a Black Forest bakewell slice that was outstanding.
So, say what you will about the quality of the art. Argue the decline of mankind over extraordinary tea and scones. You might not be right about the art, but you’ll be glad you had the tea.

A big, beautiful museum in a gorgeously renovated historic building: what’s not to love? The permanent collection and most of the rotating exhibitions are totally free, and there’s usually one paid exhibit on at any given time, as well.
Currently one of the free exhibitions is the BP Portrait Prize, which is always one of the highlights of the year for those of us who love contemporary portrait painting (and if you don’t, come on, why are you bothering to read a review of a portrait museum at all?).

On entering this revamped place and proceeding into the great hall… OMG the detail in the pictures and paintings are visually stunning and esoterically beautiful.
A very contemporary place, quieter than museum’s usually are, yes it’s smaller than I’d expected from the outside but makes up for it in wow factor, well worth the £80K spent on renovation fees.
Go if you like places with a medieval feel to them, history of scotland, medicine the war and the people who recorded some of the most significant historic events.
With a very busy gift shop and full to the brim bums on seats in their eatery, this was just the place to spend a few bob and actually learn something as well.
Go if you like Glasgow Gorbals, art of science and medicine Royal Navy, death masks of William Burke and associated criminals, migrated families to Scotland and art history. I last visited a few months ago now, but feel like going again?
But above all… just go for the cultural effect, or the café buzz either way you will be rewarded.

Newly refurbished (2012) the building is the star. The work is largely a bit of a jumble and the term portrait taken in it’s broadest, sense a picture of a neon lit sign is considered a portrait! Sometimes bemusing curation throws together work that just does not fit based on seemingly tenuos links.
The recent photography is by and large of a such a poor standard it requires paragraphs of explanation and calling the celebrity section Hot Scots is enough to make any self respecting viewers toes curl and that is before you see the work, the maojority of which is straight out of the Metro and simply should not be in a gallery with any stature and so it is fine here!
The bust of Sandy McCall Smith too is comically bad but the miniature of James Clerk Maxwell is nice to see although the original in George Street is far more impressive. Overall a disppointing effort sadly often laden with pretentions and lashings of pomposity. I’d rather go for a walk in the country than be proverbially insulted and spoken down to the way this gallery does.

I used to live with a girl who worked at the Scottish National Portrait Gallery and, despite her numerous offers of a visit, I never took her up on it, portraits never seemed to float my boat! Then it closed for ages while an extensive refurbishment was undertaken… and my lovely flatmate got another job!
A couple of years down the line the gallery has re-​opened, and I found myself with a free Sunday afternoon and a desire to see what this portrait malarky was all about.
Now, I obviously can’t comment on the changes that have occurred given I’m a portrait gallery newbie, but blimey did I have a great time!
When you walk into the building you arrive into the ‘Great Hall’…a beautiful open area with 2 floors of balcony running around it. There are comfy benches on which to sit while you gaze upon painted wooden panels depicting Scottish figures through the ages and Coats of Arms of the major towns and cities of Scotland. On the dark blue ceiling were scatterings of golden stars… very pretty and it took quite a wee while to drag myself away to see the rest of the gallery.
It’s best to start from the top in here, and the gallery is laid out in time-​line starting with the ‘Reformation’ and concluding with ‘New Scots’. There are many interesting sections which included ‘Science and Art’, ‘Landscapes’ and ‘Migration’.
As you wind your way through, there is a mix of traditional portrait paintings (with prints, sketches and literature) along with newer mediums (in context!) of photography and digital media. There are loads of interactive features and I had great fun with these.
There was also an event for children running today ‘Portrait Detectives’, which seemed to involve them dressing up like Sherlock Holmes and searching the gallery for clues (which unlocked boxes hidden about!). The kids seemed to be loving it and it was great to see them enjoying the art as well!
In addition to the family events, the gallery have also produced a series of ‘Trails’ which involve searching out art of a particular theme… my favourite ‘Trail’ Title was ‘Fur Coat an’ Nae Knickers’. Will have to work through the trails the next time I visit! :)
Other gems included the old library with it’s collection of death-​masks (including those of the infamous Burke and Hare), and a photographic exhibition of the streets and closes of Glasgow in the late 1800’s.
At the bottom, there is a lovely café with lots of tasty looking produce and many gorgeous and interesting things in the gift shop.
I loved this gallery and will hopefully pay many more visits in the future… even if it is simply to sit in the Great Hall for a moment and gaze at the stars!

I’m a little bit disappointed this gallery (one of the many forming the National Galleries of Scotland) is closed. It’s supposed to have a whole range of portraits of famous Scots. I must admit I was especially interested to visit when I read there was a portrait of Billy Connolly!
They’re planning to reopen in the fall of 2011, so until then review pending!

The Portrait gallery is another free gallery situated in an ornately carved large red sandstone building off York Place in the centre of Edinburgh. It is very easy to visit and is in 5 minutes walking distance of Prices Street. The building itself is interesting and pretty, but frankly the collection itself often leaves a lot to be desired. Endless rows of powdered wigs and boring old aristocrats, honestly I cannot muster any enthusiasm for these pictures. Occasionally they’ll have a few intriguing exhibits, so check the website, you might be lucky. I have seen maybe 3 paintings that have really struck me on my visits to this gallery, but that just isn’t enough for me to recommend this to you. The café is pleasant and perhaps the nicest part of the gallery.

There is often a good exhibition on here and it is a pleasant gallery to view works within. It is a bit on the old side but if you like a bit of old fashioned interior then this might just be your cup of tea! It is also central, just behind Princes Street so it’s no big effort to go and have a look.

The Scottish National Portrait gallery is a place that pays homage to both Scottish nationalism and painters. It is a jam-​packed filled place that has numerous portraits of the Royal families, present and past, as well as Scottish heroes– like Robert Louis Stephenson. There is a nice blaconey level with lovely busts– some of the best I’ve seen– of Scottish forefathers– and interestingly some foremothers too. The hallways also have some interesting busts also. The feel of the place is baroque and ancestral– if you’re into modern art– as I am– this is a bit cloying, and if you’re claustrophobic steer clear. It has no clean lines, whatsoever, no space of which to stand back and get persepective. Weirdly, there are also 1970’s era couches in the center of the rooms. They seem like inadvertant avant-​garde art pieces in and of themselves. This will appeal to those who have a deep interest in Scottish history and traditional portraiture. It would be a good place to take a tradional elderly relative– this is an art gallery in the fashion that seems to have gone out of date. This is not the place for those not interested in those things– and who in fact, are glad that this particular style of art gallery died out in the eighties.