The Scotsman Bulletin Thursday September 21 2023 #NationalGallery

The Scotsman

Transcript

00:00 Hello and welcome to the Scotsman's Daily Bulletin for Thursday. I'm Alan Young, I'm

00:13 Deputy Editor of the Scotsman and it's going to be a little bit different today and I will

00:18 explain all in a moment but as ever we'll start with the front page. And like I think

00:27 every other paper in the country we are leading on Rishi Sunak's big announcement yesterday. It was

00:34 trailed but still there's the detail he has significantly watered down. The UK's net zero

00:43 pledges including pushing back the ban on the sale of petrol cars. Now this is a story that's

00:51 going to run and run. There's a lot of analysis coming today as well and you can see it all at

00:57 scotsman.com. Also today we have a look ahead to a big night in Europe for Rangers and Aberdeen.

01:06 And at the top of the page there a tease on the major expansion of Scotland's national galleries

01:17 on Prince's Street. We have a first glimpse of the long-awaited new exhibition spaces and

01:25 that is what we're going to hear about now. So yesterday as I mentioned our arts correspondent

01:34 Brian Ferguson had a first glimpse at this big new development and while there he spoke to the

01:40 director of the Scottish National Galleries Sir John Leighton. I'm John Leighton, Director General

01:54 of the National Gallery of Scotland. I'm standing at the entrance to our brand new galleries for

02:01 Scottish art. 150 years of the very best of Scottish art available free and accessible for

02:08 everyone. So we're coming to the finishing touches of a very big project that's been

02:14 on the go for how long? Just remind us you know how long this project's been in development and

02:19 the construction of it. So we started construction work in 2018. It's been a complicated project,

02:26 lots of engineering construction challenges to overcome but we're there and the galleries are

02:33 about to open and we're delighted with the result. We think that the art pops off the walls if you

02:39 could put it that way and that the Scottish collections have never looked better. So just

02:44 take us back to before the project started. In terms of showcasing Scottish art in this gallery

02:51 how does it compare then and now would you say? I think previously there was something of a

03:00 hierarchy or it seemed like there was a hierarchy that the important stuff was on the main floor

03:06 and the Scottish art had somehow been relegated to a rather cramped and dark basement space.

03:12 We've flipped that around so that you now come through the main entrance from Princess Street

03:17 Gardens. You're drawn up into these new I think very clean, very light-filled galleries and you've

03:26 got the wonderful display of the best of Scottish art. So we've done justice to this collection and

03:32 no longer can you say that there's a good stuff and less good stuff. Scottish art is now shown

03:39 on equal terms to the best rest of the world. And you've been able to put a lot more on display

03:44 including some things people just wouldn't have seen before. There are works that people won't

03:47 have seen before or they won't have seen in such good conditions but in some ways this is not about

03:53 the numbers it's more about the quality of the experience. We've given the art room to breathe,

03:58 you can stand back from masterpieces that you might not have seen before or you might have

04:05 appreciated before so the whole thing feels airier and it's a far better experience. Also very

04:12 important is that you can circulate more easily through the whole building. We've no more dead

04:18 ends or confusing routes. You can start going around the collection and guess what end up where

04:24 you started. No more having to retrace your steps. Behind you there that's going to be the new main

04:31 entrance to come in. Exactly. We know that the old 19th century neoclassic buildings are quite

04:39 imposing, quite intimidating. So by placing the main entrance here in the gardens we want to make

04:45 it feel more accessible, we want people to get to stroll in, feel that it's a special space,

04:51 but feel that it's inviting, feel it's a safe social space and of course it's free. What could

04:59 be better? Does it feel in a way that with this project you've got a new gallery to an extent?

05:05 It does. People may be familiar with the grand spaces where the old masters hang. This is a

05:12 different experience. It's more contemporary, it's more cleaner if you like in terms of the

05:16 architecture, but the pictures look wonderful and I think it is a whole new experience for people

05:24 right here in the centre of the nation's capital. So it may seem like an obvious question but with

05:28 the raised profile for Scottish art and the new entrance would you be hoping that

05:32 a lot more, there'll be a lot more eyes on a lot these Scottish art treasures than ever before

05:39 really? Yes, we want people to become more aware of the great tradition of Scottish art.

05:46 We want people to appreciate what I would regard as a golden period in the history of the visual

05:52 arts. People in Scotland are rightly very proud of the literary tradition, of poetry, of music,

06:00 perhaps not so aware of the visual arts. We hope that this goes some way to change that and that

06:06 people will really appreciate the likes of Phoebe Anna Trouclair, William McTaggart, the Scottish

06:12 colourists, the Glasgow boys and see them in their new natural home here at the National Gallery.

06:19 Certainly a long-awaited project but from the small glimpse that we've had it's looking

06:33 absolutely stunning. You can read all about that in today's paper and online at scotsman.com. If

06:39 you're on the site please do subscribe so you don't miss a thing and if you're out and about

06:43 as ever please pick up a copy of the paper. Bye for now.

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