Modern Two, formerly the Dean Gallery, in

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

, is one of the two buildings housing the

Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art National Galleries Scotland: Modern (the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art) is part of National Galleries Scotland, which is based in Edinburgh, Scotland. The Modern houses the collection of modern and contemporary art dating from about 1 ...

, one of Scotland's national art galleries. It is operated by

National Galleries Scotland The National Galleries of Scotland (, sometimes also known as National Galleries Scotland) is the executive non-departmental public body that controls the three national galleries of Scotland and two partner galleries, forming one of the Nation ...

. It is twinned with Modern One which lies on the opposite side of Belford Road.

History

In 1727, Andrew Gairdner, an Edinburgh merchant, founded an Institution for the benefit of orphans. In 1734 a collection was made on behalf of the Institution which raised a sum of money which enabled the feuing of an area of ground at 'The Dingwall Park' adjoining the

Trinity College Kirk Trinity College Kirk was a Scottish monarchy, royal collegiate church in Edinburgh, Scotland. The kirk and its adjacent almshouse, Trinity Hospital, were founded in 1460 by Mary of Guelders in memory of her husband, King James II of Sco ...

, in the valley between the Netherbow and the

Calton Hill Calton Hill (; ) is a hill in central Edinburgh, Scotland, situated beyond the east end of Princes Street and included in the city's United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, UNESCO World Heritage Site. Views of, and f ...

in Edinburgh. In the same year, William Adam prepared a plan for an Orphan Hospital and the foundation stone was laid. Children were moved in the following year. At that time the location was largely undeveloped but over the years various developments such as a slaughterhouse and the North Bridge had encroached. Also, the physical condition of the Hospital had deteriorated. It was realised that this situation was affecting the health of the children and the decision was made in 1828 to purchase parts of the land conveniently located just to the west of the city, on higher ground above the

Dean Village Dean Village (from ''dene'', meaning 'deep valley') is a former village immediately northwest of the city centre of Edinburgh, Scotland. It is bounded by Belford Road to the south and west, Belgrave Crescent Gardens to the north and below the ...

. Plans for the replacement Orphan Hospital were drawn up by Thomas Hamilton with an original contract cost of £11,849 and the new Hospital was erected between 1831 and 1833. The managers of the Hospital endeavoured to balance the need to secure a suitable building in keeping with its elevated location at a reasonable cost but which did not resemble a workhouse or prison. The building, known as the ''Dean Orphanage'', which is the subject of a watercolour painting c.1830 by Thomas Hamilton, took three years to build. Built in Craigleith stone from the nearby quarry, it is in

English Baroque English Baroque is a term used to refer to modes of English architecture that paralleled Baroque architecture in continental Europe between the Great Fire of London (1666) and roughly 1720, when the flamboyant and dramatic qualities of Baroque ...

style with classical detail. The towers over the staircases contain chimneys and contribute to the Edinburgh skyline in the west of the city centre. The clock above the entrance comes from the original Orphan Hospital and in turn from the 1764 demolition of the Netherbow Port on the High Street, which formerly separated the High Street from the

Canongate The Canongate is a street and associated district in central Edinburgh, the capital city of Scotland. The street forms the main eastern length of the Royal Mile while the district is the main eastern section of Edinburgh's Old Town. David ...

. The building, which is owned by the City of Edinburgh Council, served as the Dean Education Centre for many decades before conversion to a gallery. The plot of allotment gardens at the main entrance dates from 1940 when many school grounds were used for such purposes.

Conversion to gallery

The conversion of the building into a gallery was designed by the architect Terry Farrell and Partners. The gallery opened in 1999 opposite the existing Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art. In 2011, the buildings were rebranded Modern Two and Modern One, respectively.

Collection

Modern Two houses the Paolozzi Gift, a collection of works by Sir Eduardo Paolozzi, given by the artist to the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art in 1994. The gallery also contains a large collection of

Dada Dada () or Dadaism was an anti-establishment art movement that developed in 1915 in the context of the Great War and the earlier anti-art movement. Early centers for dadaism included Zürich and Berlin. Within a few years, the movement had s ...

and

Surrealist Surrealism is an art movement, art and cultural movement that developed in Europe in the aftermath of World War I in which artists aimed to allow the unconscious mind to express itself, often resulting in the depiction of illogical or dreamlike s ...

art and literature, much of which was given by Gabrielle Keiller. Modern Two also houses temporary exhibitions. Modern Two is surrounded by a sculpture garden with a number of modern and avant-garde works on display, including ''Gate'' (1972) by William Turnbull, ''Two Lines up Excentric VI'' (1977) by

George Rickey George Warren Rickey (June 6, 1907 – July 17, 2002) was an American kinetic sculptor known for geometric abstractions, often large-scale, engineered to move in response to air currents. Early life and education Rickey was born on June 6, ...

, ''La Vierge d'Alsace'' (1919–1921) by Emile-Antoine Bourdelle, ''There will be no Miracles Here'' (2007–2009) by Nathan Coley, ''Master of the Universe'' (1989) by

Eduardo Paolozzi Sir Eduardo Luigi Paolozzi (, ; 7 March 1924 – 22 April 2005) was a Scottish artist, known for his sculpture and graphic works. He is widely considered to be one of the pioneers of pop art. Early years Eduardo Luigi Paolozzi was born on 7 M ...

, ''Two Two-Way Mirrored Parallelograms Joined with One Side Balanced Spiral Welded Mesh'' (1996) by

Dan Graham Daniel Graham (March 31, 1942 – February 19, 2022) was an American visual artist, writer, and curator in the writer-artist tradition. In addition to his visual works, he published a large array of critical and speculative writing that spanned ...

, ''Macduff Circle'' (2002) by Richard Long, and ''Escaped Animals'' (2002) by

Julian Opie Julian Opie (; born 1958) is a visual artist of the New British Sculpture movement. Life and education Opie was born in London in 1958 and raised in the city of Oxford. He attended The Dragon School and then Magdalen College School, Oxford ...

. File:Dean Gallery Paolozzi 03.jpg, ''Master of the Universe'' (1989) by Eduardo Paolozzi File:Vulcan by Eduardo Paolozzi (1999) in the Scottish National Gallery Of Modern Art.jpg, Vulcan (1989) by Eduardo Paolozzi in the Gallery's Great Hall File:Recreation of Eduardo Paolozzi's studio - Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art Two(16365628660).jpg, Recreation of Eduardo Paolozzi's studio File:The Virgin Of Alsace by Emile-Antoine Boudelle (1919-21).jpg, ''La Vierge d'Alsace'' (1919–1921) by Emile-Antoine Bourdelle File:There will be no miracles here - geograph.org.uk - 3901335.jpg, ''There will be no Miracles Here'' (2007–2009) by Nathan Coley

References

External links

Official National Galleries Scotland web page
{{coord, 55, 57, 06.52, N, 3, 13, 26.75, W , display=title, type:landmark 1999 establishments in Scotland Art museums and galleries in Edinburgh Art museums and galleries established in 1999 Category A listed buildings in Edinburgh Culture in Edinburgh Dada Listed museum buildings in Scotland Literary museums in Scotland Modern art museums Modern Two Scottish contemporary art Surrealism