National Galleries of Scotland: Portrait, Scotland, United Kingdom
Slowly making my way back to my apartment from the town centre the next planned stop was to the National Portrait Gallery. Having just visited the National Gallery of Scotland I was curious to see what the differences were. This is a bit of walking away from the town centre but closer toward my apartment. Again I was getting tired with all the walking today and wouldnt have a chance to rest until I got back to my apartment
The first noticeable difference aside from the characteristic Victorian facade is the interior main hall. It is on multiple levels with a viewing gallery to look down. It is also ornately decorated with murals and is itself a work of art aside from the main galleries
The museum is spread over several floors making for lots of stairs and walking up and down the galleries. Entrance was also free as with all the other museums.
Compared to the National Museum in the town centre this museum had a lot fewer visitors and allowed you to properly admire the artwork. I probably also found this collection more interesting than at the National Museum.
An interesting piece and probably the pride of the collection is the execution of Charles II. As there was no mass media at the time there are lots of different stories playing out in the various scenes in the crowd artwork which the viewer must spend time interpreting
I was back in my hotel by 3pm on my first full day in Scotland and spent most of the time resting from a full day of walking on what was only the first full day of the week long trip. Also my allergies were already starting to play up.
2025-05-23