South of Scotland artists showcase work at Scottish National Galleries

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Artists from our region have pride of place in a new multi-million pound area at the Scottish National Galleries in Edinburgh.

It is hoped the development that has just opened will be seen by more people than ever before as home grown art takes centre stage.

A new £38 million wing dedicated to Scottish artists has recently been completed which aims to showcase 150 years of native talent, with our region having a prominent place in the collection.

It aims to showcase 150 years of native talent with our region having a prominent place in the collection.

There are numerous pieces of art showcased from Borders artists at the gallery. Credit: ITV

Freya Spoor, Curator at the Galleries said: “Anne Redpath is one of Scotland’s most beloved artists and a Borderer through and through. We really wanted to the first work that people encounter to be from a woman artist. Perhaps someone that people know but wouldn’t know to be shown here.

"The Indian rug, or the red slippers as it is sometimes known, is one of Anne Redpath’s most celebrated images. It shows her home in Hawick and she decorated it with painted furniture, soft furnishings and her own crockery collection.

"These really fed into her interest in still life. Prior to that when she returned to Hawick from her time in France, she focused more on landscapes in the area around her where she was living.

“Redpath’s father was a tweed designer and manufacturer she credited the way that he would arrange the colour and pattern of his tweed with how she incorporated the same processes in her own art.”

Anne Redpath's work is displayed at the gallery. Credit: ITV

At the start of the century there was a creative group that were so inspired about the south of Scotland that many made it their home.

Freya: “Many members of the Glasgow boys and girls didn’t live in Glasgow full-time. Sometimes they had studios there or they were connected through Glasgow Institute of Fine Arts or the Glasgow Art Club.

"There they would socialise and send in work for exhibition. They took their inspiration from their works outside of Glasgow and they sourced different locations across Scotland."

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