Achi news desk-
The National Galleries of Scotland are celebrating an “incredible” half a million visitors to Scotland’s new galleries in Edinburgh, exactly seven months after opening.
The new Scottish galleries at the National, showcasing the very best of historic Scottish art between 1800 and 1945, opened to the public on 30 September 2023.
The new spaces have transformed the visitor experience at the National and made it more accessible than ever before.
Before the opening of the new Scottish galleries only 19% of visitors to the National gallery made their way to the old Scottish wing.
READ MORE: National Galleries acquire first Varo painting to enter European collection
However, since the opening of the new Scottish galleries this has increased to 62% of people now enjoying the artworks on display.
In March, the National announced the acquisition of Encounter, by the world-renowned Surrealist artist Remedios Varo.
Extremely rare and highly sought after, this is the first painting by Varo to enter a public collection in Europe.
The work was acquired in time to mark the centenary of the publication of André Breton’s Surrealism Manifesto in Paris in 1924, which effectively launched the movement.
