The City Art Centre is part of the

Museums & Galleries Edinburgh A museum ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or institution that Preservation (library and archival science), cares for and displays a collection (artwork), collection of artifacts and other objects of artistic, culture, cultu ...

, which sits under the Culture directorate of the

City of Edinburgh Council The City of Edinburgh Council is the local government authority for the city of Edinburgh, capital of Scotland. With a population of in mid-2019, it is the second most populous local authority area in Scotland. In its current form, the counci ...

. The City Art Centre has a collection which include historic and modern Scottish painting and photography, as well as contemporary art and craft. It is an exhibition based venue with no permanent displays. The City Art Centre is home to the City of Edinburgh's Recognised collection of Scottish Art. Edinburgh's fine art collection is approximately 4,800 pieces of Scottish work in a variety of mediums. Artists such

Fergusson Fergusson may refer to: Places *County of Fergusson, South Australia, Australia *Fergusson Island, off the coast of New Guinea *Fergusson Glacier, Wilson Hills, Antarctica *Nacimiento-Fergusson Road, the only road across the Santa Lucia Range in t ...

, Eardley, Paolozzi are represented in the collection as well as many other Edinburgh-based and Scottish artists. Artists are represented dating from the 17th century to the present day.

History

In 1971 the City Art Centre was housed in the former Royal High School. In 1975 the reform of the Scottish local government brought the City Museums and the City Art Centre together the new council directorate of the Recreation Department. The City Art Centre was then rehoused to its current Market Street location in 1980. The current City Art Centre building dates from 1899 to 1902 and was the work of Dunn and Findlay. Built as an extension to the

Scotsman The Scots ( sco, Scots Fowk; gd, Albannaich) are an ethnic group and nation native to Scotland. Historically, they emerged in the early Middle Ages from an amalgamation of two Celtic-speaking peoples, the Picts and Gaels, who founded t ...

newspaper office, it later became part of the city's wholesale fruit and vegetable market. Designed as a nine-storey iron-framed warehouse, it is clad in stone to create a restrained Beaux Arts facade. It has public galleries on 6 floors. The original conversion of the building in 1980 was undertaken by the City Architect's Department under the direction of the then City Architect, Brian Annable, and it garnered a RIBA Award for Architecture in 1983. In the 1990s more space was created by extending into the upper floors. Natural materials and neutral colours are used throughout the interior to create flexible contemporary exhibition spaces.

Collections

In 1961 Miss Jean Watson, an Edinburgh resident, at first gave and then later bequeathed money to create a collection of Scottish Art for the City of Edinburgh. The fund is administered by the City Council and is still in use today. Soon after Miss Watson gave her initial sum of money, a Committee was formed to administer the funds. One of their first decisions was to commission a bronze bust of Miss Watson herself from a sculptor,

Eric Schilsky Eric Schilsky, RA (born Eric Clare Telford Schilsky; October 1898 in Southampton, Hampshire, England; died 29 March 1974, Edinburgh) was a sculptor. Schooled in Geneva, and at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris, he studied sculpture under Hava ...

. From the outset, the Committee opted to purchase contemporary works of art by Scottish artists or artists based in Scotland. One of their first purchases was Obsession by

John Bellany John Bellany (18 June 1942 – 28 August 2013) was a Scottish people, Scottish painter. Early life Bellany was born in Port Seton. His father and grandfather were fishermen in Port Seton and Eyemouth near Edinburgh. During the early 1960 ...

. Since then, more than 900 paintings, drawings, sculpture, photographs and prints have been added. Works by contemporary artists such as Moyna Flannigan,

Calum Colvin Calum Colvin (born Glasgow, 1961) is a Scottish artist whose work combines photography, painting, and installation, and often deals with issues of Scottish identity and culture and with the history of art. He has had solo exhibitions at the Scott ...

Peter Howson Peter Howson OBE (born 27 March 1958) is a Scottish painter. He was a British official war artist in 1993 during the Bosnian War. Early life Peter Howson was born in London of Scottish parents and moved with his family to Prestwick, A ...

and Dame

Elizabeth Blackadder Dame Elizabeth Violet Blackadder, Mrs Houston, (24 September 1931 – 23 August 2021) was a Scottish painter and printmaker. She was the first woman to be elected to both the Royal Scottish Academy and the Royal Academy. In 1962 she began ...

have all been acquired with Bequest Funds. In 1964 more than 300 of the works owned by the Scottish Modern Arts Association were donated to the City of Edinburgh during the dissolution of the Scottish Modern Arts Association. These are now housed in the City Art Centre. The

Scottish Arts Council The Scottish Arts Council ( gd, Comhairle Ealain na h-Alba, sco, Scots Airts Cooncil) was a Scottish public body responsible for the funding, development and promotion of the arts in Scotland. The Council primarily distributed funding from the ...

began collecting in 1951, with a focus on the purchase of artworks by contemporary Scottish based artists. In the mid-1990s the Scottish Arts Council took the decision to distribute its collection of approximately 2,000 works by contemporary Scottish artists to museums and galleries throughout Scotland. Institutions were given the opportunity to view the collection and submit proposals for acquisition, the City Art Centre applied and in 1998 received 123 works of art. Through the National Collecting Scheme for Scotland, six major museums and art galleries, including the City Art Centre, have been able to acquire new works by contemporary artists. The Scheme has been in operation since 2003, and was established to assist museums and galleries throughout Scotland purchase work by contemporary artists and craft makers. To avoid duplication, each member gallery is invited to collect within a broad theme. In recognition of Edinburgh's

World Heritage Site A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...

Status, the City Art Centre is acquiring works all of which have an urban or architectural theme. Since the scheme began, the City Art Centre have acquired a variety of work including film, photography and installation. Artists now represented include Toby Paterson, Christine Borland, Graham Fagen,

Rosalind Nashashibi Layla Rosalind Nashashibi (born 1973) is a Palestinian-English artist based in London. Nashashibi works mainly with 16 mm film but also makes paintings and prints. Her work often deals with everyday observations merged with mythological elemen ...

, Nathan Coley and Rose Frain. In collaboration with Edinburgh Libraries, the Museums & Galleries Edinburgh show their collection on Capital Collections. Capital Collections is an image library which allows a selection of collections to be viewed.

References

{{Coord, 55.9510, -3.1893, type:landmark_region:GB, display=title Art museums and galleries in Edinburgh Arts organisations based in Scotland Arts centres in Scotland Culture in Edinburgh Tourist attractions in Edinburgh