The reopening of the stunning Venetian Portrait Gallery in Edinburgh took place on December 1st and on the 4th I was able to see for myself the astonishing building. It has an incredible main hall, with a starry ceiling, beneth which are murals and frieze of Scottish History, created by artist William Hole over a hundred years ago. Sparkling with gold leaf the almost Renaissance-like pageantry and PreRaphaelite details astound with their colour and clarity. The collection of art itself is also a joy to discover, from a tudor Campbell family tree to the deathmasks a kind of portrait) of Burke and Hare.
I was there to support the new partnership between the National Galleries of Scotland and Tesco Bank, and launch the Art in Schools competition that the Bank is generously sponsoring. It was a rather surreal day full of children and herby scones and stories and journalists and photographers. I told a favourite Scottish story, The Battle of the Birds and painted the school children a portrait of the giant in the story. My dear friend Linda, to whom Katie in Scotland is dedicated, was on hand with her usual warm welcome. And outside, Edinburgh fairly sparkled, with trees full of lights, gardens filled with skaters, the air fullof music and laughter, and a colourful fair with rides and markets stalls spilling over with nutcrackers and festive delights. And as if this wasn’t Christmassy enough…it even snowed…!
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