Let In Edinburgh

Home to Scotland’s outstanding national collection of modern and contemporary art, the Modern Art Galleries include the Gallery of Modern Art and the nearby Dean Gallery.

Both Galleries are set in extensive parkland, where visitors can discover sculpture works by important artists like Ian Hamilton Finlay, Henry Moore, Rachel Whiteread and Barbara Hepworth. The lawn to the front of the Gallery of Modern Art was re-landscaped in 2002 to a design by Charles Jencks. This dramatic work, or ‘landform’, comprises a stepped, serpentine mound reflected in three crescent-shaped pools of water.

The Gallery of Modern Art shows special exhibitions and works from c.1900 to the present day, while the Dean Gallery shows works from the Gallery’s internationally renowned Dada and Surrealist collection alongside pieces by Eduardo Paolozzi.

The Collection

Gallery of Modern Art
The first floor is most often used for special exhibitions and smaller, temporary displays. Works from the Gallery’s collection, augmented by special loans, are presented on the second floor. The early part of the collection features French and Russian art from the beginning of the twentieth century, Cubist paintings and superb holdings of Expressionist and modern British art. Special highlights include paintings by Matisse and Picasso.

The Gallery also has an outstanding collection of international post-war work and the most important and extensive collection of modern Scottish art. The post-war collection features art by Francis Bacon, David Hockney, Andy Warhol and Lucian Freud, with more recent works by artists including Antony Gormley, Gilbert & George, Damien Hirst and Tracey Emin.