Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art

The Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art is part of the National Galleries of Scotland, which are based in Edinburgh. The National Gallery of Modern Art houses the national collection of modern and contemporary art dating from about 1900 to the present day. It comprises two buildings which face each other: Modern One and Modern Two on Belford Road, to the west of the city centre.The National Gallery has a collection of more than 6000 paintings, sculptures, installations, video work, prints and drawings and also stages major exhibitions.Inverleith HouseThe first Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art opened in the August 1960 in Inverleith House, a Georgian building set in the middle of Edinburgh’s Royal Botanic Garden. In 1984 the National Gallery moved to Belford Road, and Inverleith House became a contemporary art gallery, curated by the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, also featuring exhibitions of works and specimens from its historic collections.Modern OneIn 1984 the National Gallery moved to the former premises of the John Watson's Institution, a large neo-classical building designed by William Burn in 1825 as a refuge for fatherless children.Works from the collection are presented here as well as a programme of changing exhibitions. The early part of the collection features European art from the beginning of the twentieth century, including work by André Derain and Pierre Bonnard, cubist paintings and holdings of expressionist and modern British art. Special highlights include paintings by Henri Matisse and Pablo Picasso and the Scottish Colourists Samuel John Peploe, John Duncan Fergusson, Francis Cadell and Leslie Hunter.