William Gillies: Modernism and Nation is a touring exhibition from the Royal Scottish Academy (RSA), exhibiting in Taigh Chearsabhagh from 22 March – 12th July 2025. The exhibition and the book that accompanies it seek to give wider recognition to Gillies, his practice and his life, within the story of British Modernism.
We are delighted to welcome Sandy Wood, Head of Collections at the Royal Scottish Academy, to give an insightful in-person guided tour of the exhibition. All are welcome to join us on Saturday 22nd March, from 2pm – 3.30pm, when Sandy will give an exhibition tour of Galleries 1 and 2, with an overview of the curatorial ethos, and highlighting detailed information on the paintings and other artifacts within the exhibition.
More information on William Gillies: Modernism and Nation is available on Taigh Chearsabhagh’s main exhibition page. An opening preview of the exhibition will be held on Friday 21st March at 7pm, free and open to all.
Biographer Andrew McPherson will give a talk on the life and work of William Gillies, in Taigh Chearsabhagh on Friday 16th May, at 7pm. See the Exhibition Talk page for more information. Andrew McPherson’s book William Gillies: Modernism and Nation in British Art, is available in the Taigh Chearsabhagh shop and through our online shop.
Born in Haddington, Sir William George Gillies RSA (1898-1973) studied at Edinburgh College of Art. He served in the First World War and travelled to France and Italy after graduating, returning to the college as an accomplished artist and tutor, where he taught for more than forty years until his retirement as Principal in 1966. Throughout his career Gillies explored and developed different approaches to his painting, eventually settling on a Modernist aesthetic. Gillies suffered particular personal traumas throughout his life, and Modernism gave him the creative freedom to address them through his art.
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