Sir John Leighton introduces the new look National Gallery
Sir John Leighton introduces the new look National Gallery
Transcript
00:00 [Music]
00:06 I'm John Leighton, Director General of the National Gallery of Scotland.
00:10 I'm standing at the entrance to our brand new galleries for Scottish art.
00:16 150 years of the very best of Scottish art, available, free and accessible for everyone.
00:23 So we're coming to the finishing touches of a fairly big project that's been on the go for how long?
00:29 Just remind us how long this project has been in development and the construction of it.
00:33 So we started construction work in 2018.
00:37 It's been a complicated project, lots of engineering and construction challenges to overcome.
00:43 But we're there and the galleries are about to open and we're delighted with the result.
00:49 We think that the art pops off the walls, if you could put it that way, and that the Scottish collections have never looked better.
00:56 So just to take us back to before the project started, in terms of showcasing Scottish art in this gallery, how does it compare then and now, would you say?
01:08 I think previously there was something of a hierarchy, or it seemed like there was a hierarchy,
01:16 but the important stuff was on the main floor and the Scottish art had somehow been relegated to a rather cramped and dark basement space.
01:26 We've flipped that around so that you now come through the main entrance from Pritchett Street Gardens.
01:32 You're drawn up into these new, I think very clean, very light-filled galleries,
01:39 and you've got the wonderful display of the best of Scottish art.
01:43 We've done justice to this collection and no longer can you say that there's good stuff and less good stuff.
01:51 Scottish art is now shown on equal terms to the rest of the world.
01:55 And you've been able to put a lot more on display, including some things people just wouldn't have seen before.
02:00 There are works that people won't have seen before, or they won't have seen in such good conditions,
02:05 but in some ways this is about the numbers, it's more about the quality of the experience.
02:10 We've given the art room to breathe. You can stand back from masterpieces that you might not have seen before,
02:17 or you might not have appreciated before, so the whole thing feels airier and it's a far better experience.
02:24 Also very important is that you can circulate more easily through the whole building.
02:30 We've no more dead ends or confusing routes. You can start going around the collection and guess what?
02:37 End up where you started. No more having to retrace your steps.
02:42 And behind you there, that's going to be the new main entrance to come in.
02:46 Exactly. We know that the old 19th century neoclassic buildings are quite imposing, quite intimidating.
02:55 So by placing the main entrance here in the gardens, we want to make it feel more accessible.
03:00 We want people to get to stroll in, feel that it's a special space, but feel that it's inviting, feel that it's a safe social space.
03:10 And of course it's free. What could be better?
03:13 Does it feel in a way that with this project you've got a new gallery to an extent?
03:18 It does. People may be familiar with the grand spaces where the old masters hang.
03:25 This is a different experience. It's more contemporary, it's more cleaner if you like in terms of the architecture.
03:32 But the pictures look wonderful. I think it is a whole new experience for people right here in the centre of the nation's capital.
03:40 It may seem like an obvious question, but with the raised profile for Scottish art and the new entrance,
03:45 would you be hoping that there'll be a lot more eyes on these Scottish art treasures than ever before really?
03:53 Yes. We want people to become more aware of the great tradition of Scottish art.
04:00 We want people to appreciate what I would regard as a golden period in the history of the visual arts.
04:07 People in Scotland are rightly very proud of the literary tradition, of poetry, of music, perhaps not so aware of the visual arts.
04:16 We hope that this goes some way to change that and that people will really appreciate the likes of Phoebe Anna Tracquer,
04:23 William MacTaggart, the Scottish colourists, the Glasgow boys, and see them in their new natural home here at the National Gallery.
04:33 [Music plays]
04:39 [BLANK_AUDIO]