The National Gallery of Scotland, in Edinburgh, is the national art
gallery of Scotland. An elaborate neoclassical edifice, it stands on
The Mound, between the two sections of Edinburgh's Princes Street
Gardens. The building, which was designed by William Henry Playfair,
first opened to the public in 1859.
The National Gallery shares the Mound with the Royal Scottish Academy
Building. In 1912 both were remodelled by William Thomas Oldrieve.
When it re-opened, the gallery concentrated on building its permanent
collection of Scottish and European art for the nation.
The research facilities at the National Gallery include the Prints and
Drawings Collection of over 30,000 works on paper, from the early
Renaissance to the late nineteenth century; and the reference-only
Research Library, which is open to the general public.
The Weston Link, an underground interconnection between the two
buildings and the final phase of the Playfair Project,[2] opened
August 2004. This contains a lecture theatre, education area, shop,
restaurant and an interactive, touch-screen IT Gallery showing the
collections of the National Galleries. Between the two buildings is a
modern square, affording views of Edinburgh Castle and Princes Street.
May 2011, Photo 917