The 57 Gallery, later the New 57 Gallery, was an artist-run gallery in

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

, from 1957 until 1984.

History

The gallery was founded by a group of painters, with artist Daphne Dyce Sharp turning her studio at 53 George Street into an exhibition space. The gallery was based at Rose Street from 1961 to 1974. From 1974 it was based at 29 Market Street, occupying the upper floor (while Scottish Arts Council led

Fruitmarket Gallery The Fruitmarket Gallery is a contemporary art gallery in Edinburgh, Scotland. Since its opening in 1974, the gallery has become part of the Scottish contemporary art scene. After a period of closure to undergo a significant renovation, the ga ...

occupied the lower floor).

Alexander Moffat Alexander Moffat, OBE, RSA, (born 1943) known as Sandy Moffat, is a painter, author, philosopher, and teacher. Biography Alexander Moffat OBE DLitt RSA studied at Edinburgh Art College, where he was taught by William Gillies, Robin Philipson ...

was Chairman of the Gallery from 1968 until 1978. Gareth Fisher followed him as Chairman. Among others, the gallery showed the work of

Barbara Rae Barbara Davis Rae CBE RA FRSE (born 10 December 1943) is a Scottish painter and printmaker. She is a member of the Royal Scottish Academy and the Royal Academy of Arts. Biography Rae studied painting at the Edinburgh College of Art from 1 ...

, Jock McFadyen, Eileen Lawrence,

Barry Flanagan Barry Flanagan OBE RA (11 January 1941 – 31 August 2009) was an Irish-Welsh sculptor. He is best known for his bronze statues of hares and other animals. Biography Barry Flanagan was born on 11 January 1941 in Prestatyn, North Wales. ...

, and John Houston. In 1984, the Gallery merged with the Fruitmarket Gallery, which came to occupy the whole of the building under the directorship of Mark Francis. Dissenters to this merger went on to form

Collective A collective is a group of entities that share or are motivated by at least one common issue or interest, or work together to achieve a common objective. Collectives can differ from cooperatives in that they are not necessarily focused upon an ...

in 1984, "on the basis of the original ’57 constitution", as academic Neil Mulholland has written. The archives of the 57 and New 57 Gallery are held at the

National Galleries of Scotland National Galleries of Scotland ( gd, Gailearaidhean Nàiseanta na h-Alba) is the executive non-departmental public body that controls the three national galleries of Scotland and two partner galleries, forming one of the National Collections o ...

Influence

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 15 ...

scholar, Dr. Neil Mulholland, describes succinctly the history and influence of New 57:

"One of the most significant galleries in mid 20th century Scotland had emerged a decade prior to SAC: the 57 Gallery... 57 Gallery’s constitution established a highly influential model of having an unpaid committee of six who were able to serve no more than two years as directors. They formed a committee for the contemporary visual arts and supported lay members of their organisation, who all paid a small fee to cover the ARI’s
Artist-run Initiative An artist-run space or artist-run centre (Canada) is a gallery or other facility operated or directed by artists, frequently circumventing the structures of public art centers, museums, or commercial galleries and allowing for a more experimental ...
] running costs. They were accountable to the collective’s members. To avoid conflicts of interest, the directors could not exhibit or promote their own work. This model has been copied across Scotland by
Collective A collective is a group of entities that share or are motivated by at least one common issue or interest, or work together to achieve a common objective. Collectives can differ from cooperatives in that they are not necessarily focused upon an ...
(Edinburgh),
Transmission Transmission may refer to: Medicine, science and technology * Power transmission ** Electric power transmission ** Propulsion transmission, technology allowing controlled application of power *** Automatic transmission *** Manual transmission *** ...
(Glasgow), Generator (Dundee), Embassy (Edinburgh), and it has spread to
Catalyst Catalysis () is the process of increasing the rate of a chemical reaction by adding a substance known as a catalyst (). Catalysts are not consumed in the reaction and remain unchanged after it. If the reaction is rapid and the catalyst recyc ...
(Belfast) and 126 (Galway) in Ireland. It is, by now, such an established form of collective artistic endeavour that we may call it a DIY
doxa Doxa (; from verb )Henry Liddell, Liddell, Henry George, and Robert Scott (philologist), Robert Scott. 1940.δοκέω" In ''A Greek–English Lexicon, A Greek-English Lexicon'', edited by Henry Stuart Jones, H. S. Jones and R. McKenzie. Oxford. ...
."

History

Influence

References

Further reading