National Gallery of Scotland

Although the fine art collection held by Scotland may seem small by the standards of larger countries, it has been chosen with great care and expanded by bequests, gifts, loans, and purchases. There's only enough space to display part of the entire collection. One recent major acquisition was Botticelli's The Virgin Adoring the Sleeping Christ Child. The duke of Sutherland has lent the museum two Raphaels, Titian's two Diana canvases, and Venus Rising from the Sea. The gallery also has works by El Greco and Velázquez, and Dutch art by Rembrandt and van Dyck.

Impressionism and post-Impressionism are represented by Cézanne, Degas, van Gogh, Monet, Renoir, Gauguin, and Seurat. In a basement wing (opened in 1978), Scottish art is highlighted. Henry Raeburn is at his best in the whimsical Rev. Robert Walker Skating on Duddingston Loch, while the late-19th-century Glasgow School is represented by artists such as Sir James Guthrie.

Next door on the Mound is the Royal Scottish Academy (tel. 0131/624-6200), now connected by the Weston Link, which opened in summer 2004. The RSA was renovated and now hosts blockbuster exhibitions, such works by Monet or Titian.

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