Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art

I’ve been going back and forth on my rating for the Gallery of Modern Art… here’s why:
I live reasonably close to this space… a quick fifteen-​minute walk means that I can stroll the grounds on a nice day, plunk down and grab a cup of coffee or wander through to see what’s new. Though I’m not sure of their wifi situation, I can see this gallery and its cafes fast becoming a permanent staple in my summer when I need an out of the home office day. The shop, though small, holds some interesting little treasures and their illustration library gives me bookworm goals.
BUT… as a destination gallery, I’m not sure it holds up to its rivals in town. If you’re traveling further than my little walk, I could see this gallery being a bit of a disappointment as it’s quite small. The grounds are worth the look (especially if you can time it in and around sunset) and the place is well curated… just sparse. I also find it a bit frustrating that you often lose an entire floor to a ticketed exhibition. I understand the need for occasional ticketed events, but it would be nice to have their marketing material reflect that before arriving.
So take this place with a grain of salt. If you have 48 hours in Edinburgh, it wouldn’t make it on my «must do» list but if you’ve got more time to explore or are lucky enough to call the city home, it’s worth a mini adventure to see.

Been here before and would say its worth a visit as the grounds are interesting (sculptures, logos — «everything will be alright» and «there will be no miracles here»??, and hit and miss exhibitions). Last time we went the content was able female sexuality, and this time it was about Scottish Women. There are usually some interesting displays inside but we perused the grounds and it was nice to see a bunch of kids on a field trip running up the swirly mound!

The Scottish Gallery of Modern Art is a bit more out of the way than the other arty-​type places in Edinburgh, which cluster around Princes Street. That said, it’s worth the walk.
Made up of two separate buildings which tend to house separate exhibitions (one free, one paid (roughly £6−9) for the most part) the gallery is also surrounded by permanent pieces in the gardens which are quite striking.
The artists on show are usually well known and the exhibitions are quite good. Most recently we went to the Escher exhibit and were suitably in awe!
The gallery also houses a café which I’ve never sat in but it seems worth it to have a coffee next to a humungous sculpture which takes up two floors. Additionally, there’s a permanent installation from the life of Eduardo Paolozzi which is very impressive!
A definite good day out.

I’ve got to preface my review with the disclaimer that I, like 99% of people on earth, don’t know a god damn thing about modern art.
Despite my intellectual handicap, the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art makes for a really nice afternoon out. And, like all public museums and galleries in the UK, they are completely free to enter, although entry to some temporary exhibits can sometimes cost money.
It’s nestled in a nice, leafy area of Edinburgh that is pleasant to walk to. If you’re a visitor to Edinburgh, you can walk there from the western end of Princes street in probably ten or fifteen minutes if you know where you’re going, and I definitely recommend doing so if the weather is nice.
The gallery is actually two separate buildings on either side of a road. Building number 1 is the larger and has a cool bit of landscaping in the front garden. Building 2 has a more formal front lawn, but (in my opinion) a more attractive building. They’re both lovely to look at, walk around and take pictures of and are great examples of late-​Georgian neo-​classical architecture, if you’re into that sort of thing.
I went to a temporary Escher exhibition in building 1, which was just perfectly curated and presented. A lot of time, thought and skill had gone into arranging the layout of the collection and putting together of the information.
The permanent collection of both buildings is… interesting? It’s modern art. There are works from a few big names and some stuff that is quite amusing to look at, even to lay idiots like me. It can be quite fatiguing, though, so I recommend just breezing through and admiring the buildings as much as the contents if you’re not that into it.

Un peu excentré la galerie d’art moderne vaut quand même le détour.
Divisé en 2 bâtiments avec une expo temporaire dans chaque, vous pourrez également visiter l’expo permanente gratuite.
Mis à part une cafeteria et une boutique de souvenirs il n’y a pas grand chose pour s’y restaurer.
Le jardin est agréable pour flaner ou tout simplement lire un livre et profiter du calme environnant loin du centre ville grouillant de touristes d’Edimbourgh.

A gallery housed in two separate buildings (about a 5 minute walk from each other, on opposing sides of the same street) — one of them very much worth visiting (Modern I), the other one — well, not so much.
«Modern I» features the «traditional» modern art, which means: mostly works from the early to mid-​20^th century. So, not actually very modern at all. Which is a good thing, if you love figurative painting and not-​so-​abstract abstract painting — or, in short: *real* art. Which is why you should visit this place first. It has much more to offer — both qualitatively and quantitatively — and scores much lower on the pretentiousness scale. There are also temporary exhibitions (a major one on the late works of Roy Lichtenstein when I was visiting in early July). But the permanent exhibition is mighty impressive in itself (see my photos). And you can take photos of ALL pictures and sculptures. Ain’t that nice?! Expect to spend around 1.5 hours there.
And then there’s «Modern II» across the street. There’s always a temp exhibition for which you’ll have to pay an amount of money that’s not really proportionate to the quality of said temporary exhibit (which is true of *all* major UK galleries, from Tate Britain, Tate Modern to Manchester etc). See, I caught the pretentiousness bug there. I could just have said: It’s not worth the money. Sounds harsh, but there it is. Other than that, there’s a rather tiny permanent display of some works which could have easily been shown in «Modern I» (say, Picasso, Dali, etc) — just 2 rooms, and a café and a shop. 25 – 30 minutes max for the permanent display.
The walk from city centre is about 30 minutes (off George or Princes Street), which is just fine when it’s not raining. The permanent galleries are always free of charge. Since there are attractive parks and installations on either side, you may also feel tempted to just relax there for a while.
So, 5 stars for Modern I, 3 for Modern II. Makes 4.

I didn’t expect this to hold up to the giants of the modern art world, but I thought it was a pretty decent museum, though probably the weakest of the national galleries in town. It’s a bit off the beaten path if you’re in town and relying on Lothian Buses. The grounds/​gardens + outdoor works were more interesting to me than a lot of the exhibits indoors, but this is definitely worth a visit if you’re in the city.

Smaller then I hoped. And really only highlights one artist upstairs and has changing exhibitions down stairs. I like a bit more diversity in my museum experience… I’ve heard about some great modern artist that are from Glasgow… so where is their work?

We went there recently to see the latest exhibition called witches and wicked bodies. Sadly this exhibition will come to an end this week.
There were paintings hanging in four rooms, all about the ugliness and sexuality of witches from it’s beginnings in the 1500 to its end. If there ever was an end! The contents of the paintings vary. You can see different styles of pencil or brush work. Stories of Faust and Walburgies Nacht came to life. Witches riding their brooms through the darkest of nights. But there were also paintings of beauty like Vivienne, Melancholy and Medusa, only to mention a few.
The galleries of modern art two is housed in an amazing building and surroundings.
Can’t wait for the next exhibition to arrive.

I’ve always found the Museum of Modern Art to be fairly badly used, in that they choose some rather poor exhibitions to stage there.
Last time I went it was the Edward Munch exhibition, which largely consisted of entire rooms holding the same image (predominantly the Scream) in a variety of different colour prints and not many (if any at all) original and finished pieces of art.
I was more interested in the Gallery’s more permanent exhibits, such as the giant metallic creature in the cafeteria.
Exhibits tend to price in the range of £7−10, which, depending on the exhibition can seem reasonable or not, especially considering the more substantial National and Portrait Galleries are free.
It’s a shame because the venue is nice, set in some lovely surrounding grounds and just a little out of town. Just wish they would up the ante a little.
Until a decent exhibition comes along, I’d recommend the Portrait Gallery over this.

Fantastic, world-​class collection, stunning grounds that are ideal for a wander and an incredibly good café in the bowels of the building. Their salads are particularly immense, and don’t forget to order a cake! What is not to love about this wonderful stalwart of Scottish culture?

I like going to Modern Art museums, but the National Gallery in Edinburgh somewhat disappoints me unfortunately.
The art collection is very limited, when compared to those in the MoMa, Guggenheim, Lisbon and other places. The sheer space is vast — there are two separate buildings housing the art. The garden space is magnificent, and the outdoor room café is definitely worth a check.
I spent about an hour or so seeing their permanent collections. A nice part is the gift shop as it has some pretty good stuff there.
Admission is free. If you like to spent a couple of hours on a cloudy day, this may worth a quick look.
Also, the Lothian bus line does not reach there, so your £3.50 all day bus pass will not get you over. There is another bus line that will get there, but it runs every hour so public transportation is not superb. However, it is a fairly quick, nice walk from the castle (about 15 mins), and not bad if you want to check out the houses and Scottish architecture.

I’m not an art enthusiast, and modern art leaves something to be desired for me. Sometimes, a piece will catch my eye but overall, I just tend to stagger around exhibits in a bewildered fashion and hope that something sparks a debate.
There is a sign outside «Everything will be alright». I like that. I also liked the Edvard Munch and Jeff Koons exhibits although I will be honest, I preferred the works in the Dean Gallery, at the time showing an exhibit on August Sander, a rather impressive early 20^th century portrait photographer. The grounds are, as the other reviews point out, are glorious, and the landform, although closed off to access when we visited, still remain a stunning sight.
If you have any interest in art at all, you will probably visit at some point, and I don’t think you will be disappointed if you do.

I called the gallery café for access information as I intended to visit for lunch with some friends. 1^st attempt at 11.50 a.m. I did not get a reply.
I called again about 30 mins. later. A young lady answered and although I had called the correct number for the gallery café she tried to give me another number to call, she said she could not understand me.
I was born and have lived in Edinburgh all my life.

This is quite frankly one of the finest modern art museums I’ve ever seen in my life. Housed in an imposing neo-​classical building, which was designed by William Burn in 1825, it moved to this site on Belford Road in 1984.
Right now they are celebrating their 50^th anniversary, so I recommend you don’t miss this museum. They’ve currently rehung a lot of their works and they’re currently featuring «What You See is Where You’re At». I’m not much of an art critic, but I did enjoy the «Super Realism» exhibit, which showed how Pop Art renewed interest in photographic realism, and American popular culture.
But I think I enjoyed the Young Scottish Painter exhibit, which over the next several months will showcase three emerging Scottish painters: Alex Dordoy, Sophie Mackfall and Alan Stanners. It’s a pleasure to discover the works of new artists. While we have an outstanding art museum in my native Pittsburgh, the Carnegie, I often wish we had something a little more dedicated to modern and contemporary art.
The building grounds here are simply gorgeous! The layout of the building is very logical. And the facility itself is simply stunning.

This is a very picturesquely situated gallery indeed, with the gardens spread out in front of it, and the Dean Gallery opposite, which is also a fantastic piece of classic architecture to feast your arty eyes on. The Neoclassical Gallery of Modern Art is just as good as the Dean, and holds Scotland’s national collection of modern art.
I’ve always had really mixed feelings about modern art. I know there are too many artists and too many modern art styles to generalise, but I think it just depends what you view as art, and I see proper art as something that took skill to produce.
Looking at a small blue paint dot in the middle of a newspaper that’s folded in half and stuck on a wall does nothing for me, however I do appreciate Picasso, Matisse, and Peter Howson, and these are just a few of the great artists you can see at the gallery. The gallery also hosts a series of high profile temporary exhibitions, so if you’re in the area, it’s pretty likely you’ll enjoy one of the exhibitions showing at either the Dean or the Gallery of Modern Art.

I have to say, I came here because I promised that I would meet my sister here on one of her college trips to several art galleries across the UK.
Firstly, although I know that there are several bus shuttle services that go just to the galleries, I actually drove there in my car and it was a nightmare to find — no sign posts at all.
Anyway, one problem aside, the gallery is actually rather stunning — even my sister who is really into her art was blown away by this place. Using here as a make shift tour guide I wandered around this place with my jaw dropped, its quite spectacular.
A great place to come visit, if you can find it.

This place has my heart. Fact.
I used to study History of Art when I was in 1^st and 2^nd year, and every Friday we would go around the museums. When we were in the Modern Art Gallery, I was positively giddy! The second you pull up to this gallery you understand why. The gardens, designed by Capability Brown I’ll have you know, are very very cool and modern. It’s a bit like the Tellytubby’s opening sequence. The gallery itself is amazing. It’s such a lovely lovely day out, I can’t tell you enough how great it is.
I know it’s a but far out of the city, but there is a free bus that leaves from the Mound that comes here regularly! Brilliant! It’s a green bus with paintings on it — depicting whichever exhibition is on at the gallery.
It’s worth going just to look around the garden. The Dean gallery is brilliant too! I love it, and so will you

On a warm summer’s day, I like nothing better than to take a walk over to the Gallery of Modern Art. It is situated about twenty minutes walk away from Princes Street, but it is a world apart from the busy city centre. The walk takes you through the picturesque Dean Village and by the water of Leith, all very leafy, green and calming.
The Gallery itself is housed in a neo classical building set in beautiful grounds (which also feature a few interesting pieces, there’s a fabulous Henry Moore sculpture outside to the left of the main entrance). Entrance is free, although there is sometimes a small charge for visiting exhibitions, I don’t mind paying as they are always well-​curated. The Gallery’s shop sells postcards, books and other art related odds and ends (I am currently coveting a Pantone mug, geek!), it’s not too expensive and a good place to pick up quirky gifts
Just over the road is the Dean Gallery, which also houses modern art, although it specialises in Dada and surreal pieces (Magritte, Dali etc), I implore you to check it out as well.
The GMA provides a wonderful home for some amazing artworks and the café serves lovely food and tasty cakes too. Perfect.

The Modern Art Galleries is made up of the Dean Gallery and Gallery of Modern Art, located in two separate buildings across the road from one another.
The Dean Gallery is smaller and has some interesting pieces. I was rather impressed by the big metal roboty thing which stood two stories tall. I checked the website for this, because there is not a chance I would remember it and I want to be helpful, so the Dean Gallery features Dada and Surrealism. I couldn’t tell you what that is, just that I enjoyed this nicely kept, quiet gallery.
The Gallery of Modern Art is, well modern art. So I go in and think, WTF this is a room with some junk in it. Whereas someone else goes in and says «Aha! A masterpiece!» There were many pieces where I thought, HUH? Really? That is art? But then there was some fantastic pieces with so much thought and effort put into them. One of the exhibits is a wall where this guy has added the name of every single person he has ever met to. It’s not a painting but I thought it was pretty fun. This gallery is a mix of the odd and the outstandingly good and bad modern art.
Great way to spend an afternoon because it is quite entertaining and always stirs up that debate of «What is art?» Oh and it is free.

One of my favourite places to disappear off to in Edinburgh.
The National Gallery of Modern Art is a little outside the city in leafy Dean Village but is worth a jaunt — combine it with a wander along the Waters of Leith walkway, accessible and signposted from Haymarket station or take the free bus from the Waverley Bridge/​Mound or Queen Street galleries.
The Gallery (and the dean gallery over the road) specialise in modern art & have great permanent and temporary exhibitions which,+ the buildings and amazing gardens are great in which to to gather ones thoughts
Ess

Si vous aimez l’art moderne, n’hésitez pas pas. Des expositions thématiques y sont régulièrement organisées. Pour ma part, j’ai pu voir un expo sur le Pop art: Warhol to Koons et une autre sur Duane Hanson en 2003. Les oeuvres étaient très bien misent en valeur dans les deux cas.