Allan Ramsay, Katherine Hall of Dunglass (1745), City Art Centre, Museums & Galleries Edinburgh.

Edinburgh - Creative links between Scotland and Italy have existed for hundreds of years. In the 18th and 19th centuries Scottish artists journeyed to Rome and Florence to advance their professional training and career prospects. Throughout the 20th century this pilgrimage to the Mediterranean continued, with art students undertaking travelling scholarships and mature artists finding inspiration in the landscape and culture. Some even settled there on a long-term basis. The flow of people and ideas has also developed in the opposite direction, with Italian immigrant families making their homes in Scotland and contributing to the artistic milieu.            

The Italian Connection explores the enduring bond between these two countries, celebrating the ability of art to transcend geographical borders. Featuring artists such as Allan Ramsay, E.A Walton, F.C.B. Cadell, Joan Eardley, Eduardo Paolozzi and Elizabeth Blackadder, the exhibition covers a range of media from oil painting and drawing to printmaking and sculpture.

Sat 7 Sep 2019 to Sun 24 May 2020

James Stuart, Lord Provost of Edinburgh 1764–66, 1768–70, 1740, William Mosman. City Art Centre, Museums & Galleries Edinburgh.

David Allan, Charity, 1791, City Art Centre, Museums & Galleries Edinburgh.

John Duncan, Hymn to the Rose, 1907, City Art Centre, Museums & Galleries Edinburgh.

F.C.B. Cadell, Interior – Santa Maria della Salute, Venice, 1911. On loan from a private collection.

E.A. Walton, Farmyard near Florence, unknowm date, City Art Centre, Museums & Galleries Edinburgh.