Arts world welcomes royal gallery's crowning glory

As experts prepare to hang 68 drawings by Leonardo da Vinci, Scotland's art establishment has given the soon-to-open Queen's Gallery in Edinburgh a cautious welcome.

The venue, built from the converted shells of a church and a school by Prince Charles's favourite architect, Benjamin Tindall, stands next to Holyrood House and opposite the Scottish parliament. It opens in two weeks' time, on St Andrew's Day.

Work begins tomorrow on installing the first exhibition, which will feature a sample of 600-odd drawings by da Vinci, lovingly preserved in the Royal Library at Windsor Castle. It will be followed over the next two years by a display of Faberge jewellery and richly illuminated pages from the Padshahnama, which recounts the life of Shah Jahan, Mughal emperor from 1628-58.

With its climate-controlled rooms, the new gallery will enable the Windsors to display in Scotland, under their own roof, some of the greatest treasures from the Royal Collection.

In the past, artworks had been loaned to the National Galleries of Scotland, while the royal residence of Holyrood House had been used to show off elements of the collection. But the conditions there precluded the most valuable treasures from being brought north.

Sir Timothy Clifford, director of the National Galleries of Scotland, welcomed the da Vinci exhibition as a rare treat for art lovers. But he lamented the dearth of the master's drawings in his own collections.

"If they decided they were going to move the Leonardo collection to Edinburgh I would be throwing my sweaty nightcap up in the air," he said.

Bailie Liz Cameron, National Galleries trustee and convener of arts and leisure at Glasgow City Council, said: "It's wonderful that the people of Scotland will have access to this."

The Royal Collection, built up over 500 years, is held in trust by the current sovereign for the nation, but is not actually owned by him or her as an individual. It washes its face financially, thanks to profits from admission charges to the royal palaces and retail sales, and does not rely on government handouts, unlike other major national collections.

The National Galleries and Museums do not charge entrance fees except for temporary exhibitions, but visitors to the Queen's Gallery will have to pay (pounds) 4 per adult, although concessions will be available.

Cameron said: "I can't make a pronouncement about charging but I would hope the charging policy could be managed to allow everyone in Scotland, not just tourists, to have access to this wonderful collection."

The Scottish National Party's culture spokesman, Mike Russell, was upbeat about the gallery: "I welcome all developments in the arts in Scotland. The Royal Collections are an under-utilised resource."

He said the presence of the gallery across the road from the new parliament could spur it to new heights of art appreciation.

Susanna Beaumont, owner of Edinburgh's pre-eminent private modern art gallery, Doggerfisher, said the new space would add to Edinburgh's pulling power as an art destination.

"I've always felt that at Holyrood House they clearly don't have the cream of the collection," she said. "But with the new gallery and the Playfair project [the extension to the National Gallery] due for opening next year there's a growing number of serious galleries. Edinburgh, and Scotland as a whole, is working really hard as a destination for people who like to go and see art. It all adds to the general pulling power."

Copyright 2002 SMG Sunday Newspapers Ltd.
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