Taking in the scenery, culture and art is to traverse through time itself.

Edinburgh is home to some of the most wondrous gallery spaces and exhibitions in the U.K., from the renowned Modern I and II nestled near Dean Village to the National Gallery and Portrait Gallery. Columnist for Houghton and Mackay, Emily-Rose, tours these local galleries’ current exhibitions amidst gorgeous local scenery.

Art shapes who we are; it represents cultures, epochs and episodes in the lives of everyday people as well as monarchs, politicians and the high class elite. It showcases saints, rogues, sinners, blasphemers and thieves. Art portrays truth, lies, stories, hopes, dreams and fears. It is a luxury to be surrounded by incredible beauty and form.

Edinburgh is home to exhibitions from artists working locally, nationally and across the globe. These artists have experimented with a multitude of mediums and grappled with the philosophical and psychological questions that have plagued us for centuries. There are many ways to reach the picturesque Modern I; the walk itself is a wonderful excursion, passing through the quaint district of Stockbridge and then following the Water of Leith Walkway to Dean Village.

You can instantly notice the wonderful architecture of the grand pillars in front of the building, and a vast expanse of well-maintained grassy space below decorated with features from landscape architect Charles Jencks.

Modern I houses contemporary art; current exhibitions include work by Scottish artist Bruce McLean: ‘I want my crown’, in time for his 80th birthday. His work spans many mediums, including sculpture, print-making, film and photography. This is one of the free exhibitions open to the public to view. His work highlights the role of the artist; and of art in our society today: what is art’s purpose? How does art fit into our ever-changing society? There’s a huge video installation of McLean dancing to Kevin Coyne’s ‘I want my Crown’ (1973), hence the title of his show. You can also find McLean in conversation with Sophia Yadong Hao on the 19^th November 2024.

Other exhibitions at Modern I include an exhibition of Tanzanian-born Everlyn Nicodemus celebrating her forty years as an artist (showing until February 2025), and a changing display ‘conversations with the collection’, sharing the stories of many local artists including Eileen Agar, Helen Frankenthaler and Remedios Valo as well as well-known artists such as Jackson Pollock, Tracey Emin and Anish Kapoor.

If we amble across to Modern II, only a five minute walk across the road, art enthusiasts will find another striking building, with many intriguing grass sculptures reminiscent of the sculptures at Jupiter Artland, a wonderful space worth a visit if you’re in the Edinburgh vicinity. Current exhibitions include the impactful ‘Women in Revolt’, which explores women’s role in art and activism since the 1970’s with work from artists including Nina Edge, Gina Birch, and Rita McGurn, showing until January 2025.

Another alluring exhibition is ‘Paolozzi’s studio’, a recreation of the pop artist Eduardo Luigi Paolozzi’s home studio in Chelsea, London. The viewer is offered a sneak-peak into the artist’s working environment which he himself had donated. Clay moulds, scalpels, palette knives, paintbrushes and old books adorn the space. We experience a unique encounter with the artist; we are invited into his personal space. It was important for me to spend a lot of time here, imagining what it may be like to live as an artist, constantly producing work and experimenting with ideas.

Not too far away from these delights, we take a stroll across to Edinburgh’s National Portrait Gallery at York Place. Here we have the ‘heroes and heroines – idealism and achievement in the Victorian age’ with portraits of Robert Carlyle, Charles Rennie Mackintosh and Andrew Carnegie among other famous writers, poets, philanthropists and historians.

There is also an exhibition on the Jacobites including a portrayal of the Battle of Culloden, the Battle of Glenshiel (1719) and portraits of the sons of King James VII and II. There’s a further room with the exhibition: ‘the king’s last day – the execution of King Charles I’, with a powerful and bloody painting of his execution in 1649 after the civil war.

Our final destination of this art tour is Edinburgh’s National Gallery, home to classical, modern and Renaissance art. Here the viewer can find work from artists including the Impressionists such as Monet, Cézanne and Van Gogh, Renaissance artists such as Hugo van der Goes, Jacopo Bassano and Paolo Veronese and Scottish artists including William McTaggart, Sir David Wilkie and Sir Henry Raeburn. A slight move from the more outlandish styles in the Modern galleries, we see familiar landscapes and household scenes, enabling us to feel a connection to an era we have never experienced with our naked eye.

Whether we attend museums for a dose of culture, the aesthetics or for a sense of collective understanding, there is always something new to be learned and pleasure to be gained. Even if you aren’t an art enthusiast or educator, we can all feel moved by the powerful depictions of our history and to deepen our awareness of famous events, leaders and cultural icons. Many of these spaces also have wonderful shops and restaurants to simply while away some time with a delicious espresso, or to choose a striking print to take home, bringing the art to your very own walls.