HOMECOMING: Past Masters

RSA Library

Homecoming: Past Masters
Depictions of Scottish History from the RSA Collections

In the year of Homecoming, in which people of Scottish descent have been invited back to Scotland's shores to re-engage with its heritage and culture, Past Masters examines the way in which this heritage was of particular fascination to Scottish artists in the late 18th and 19th centuries as they created visions of Scotland's past within the context of Scottish national identity. This exhibition also considers Scottish artists' response to the romanticised vision of history articulated in the literature of Sir Walter Scott and the oral history tradition of the Scottish ballad. Key works will include William Borthwick Johnstone's Scene in Holyrood - 1566 and George Ogilvy Reid's monumental canvas After Killiecrankie. This exhibition forms a counterpart to the RSA's 183rd Annual Exhibition.