Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art

http://www.nationalgalleries.org/

The gallery is set in lovely and extensive parkland, with sculptural works by Ian Hamilton Finlay, Henry Moore, Barbara Hepworth and Rachel Whiteread. When it opened in 1960, the collection was held in Inverleith House at the Royal Botanic Gardens.

In 1980 it moved to its current home, a neo-Classical building built between 1825 and 1828 by William Burn. The sweeping lawn to the front was re-landscaped in 2002 to a landform design by Charles Jencks in collaboration with the architect Terry Farrell.

The collection holds French and Russian art from the beginning of the 20th-century, Cubist and Expressionist works and an important collection of Scottish Colourists.

There is a strong contemporary collection including David Hockney, Andy Warhol and Lucien Freud, as well as a collection of work by a more recent generation of artists including Douglas Gordon, Lucy Skaer, Richard Wright, Anthony Gormley, Gilbert and George, Damien Hirst and Tracey Emin.

The Dean Gallery, just across the road from the Gallery of Modern Art, shows works from the Gallery’s internationally renowned Dada and Surrealist collection, and a selection of works by Eduardo Paolozzi.

The collection displays rotate on a regular basis alongside an excellent contemporary programme of temporary exhibitions.

Editor's note:
Walking to the Gallery of Modern Art along the Water of Leith is a great treat. The building is very welcoming, with a series of well-proportioned gallery rooms joined by a single central hallway. The programme is always thoughtful and a visit should not be rushed. Downstairs the café opens out onto the lovely garden.