Allan Ramsay
13 September 2013 - 5 January 2014
Hunterian Art Gallery
Admission charge

In 2013 The Hunterian will stage a major new exhibition dedicated to one of Britain’s most accomplished 18th century painters. Allan Ramsay (1713 - 1784) is best known as a portrait painter whose elegant style set him apart from other portraitists of the time. Born in Edinburgh, his career took him from a small Scottish clientele to the Hanoverian court of King George III. Away from his studio, Ramsay was in close contact with a number of influential figures, and his published writing includes works on taste, politics and archaeology. The exhibition centres on a selection of portraits from across Ramsay’s thirty years as a painter and also features drawings, watercolours, published books, pamphlets, letters and other materials which demonstrate Ramsay’s fascinating place in the intellectual and cultural life of Edinburgh, London, Paris and Rome in the mid 18th century. The exhibition also includes key loans from UK public and private collections and new research, examining the intellectual context in which Ramsay painted a number of his most important portraits, including that of Hunterian founder Dr William Hunter.

Scottish Gold
Coming in 2014
Hunterian Art Gallery
Admission charge

This major new exhibition features a spectacular array of Scottish gold items from the Bronze Age to the present. Focussing on the occurrence of gold in Scotland and Scottish gold mining, Scottish Gold offers a unique opportunity to learn about the precious metal as part of the natural history of Scotland and its historical uses. Featuring a large selection of the finest Scottish gold specimens and objects made and used in Scotland, the exhibition brings together items from The Hunterian collection and other museums and collections across the UK. For the first time, several of the largest known Scottish gold nuggets will be displayed together and the surviving gold torcs from the large hoard found at Law Farm, Moray, in 1857 will be reunited. Other key objects include a gold chain and badge of Order of the Thistle, Scottish gold coinage and medals, and superb racing cups.