''The Scotsman Steps'' (also known as ''Work No. 1059'') is a permanent installation by British artist

Martin Creed Martin Creed (born 21 October 1968) is a British artist, composer and performer. He won the Turner Prize in 2001 for exhibitions during the preceding year, with the jury praising his audacity for exhibiting a single installation, '' Work No. ...

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

, Scotland.

History

The Scotsman Steps were built between 1899 and 1902 by architects

Dunn & Findlay Dunn & Findlay were a firm of Scottish architects operating in the late 19th century and responsible for a number of important commercial buildings including the ''Scotsman'' buildings which form part of the Edinburgh Old Town skyline. Each w ...

as part of the construction of the building housing ''

The Scotsman ''The Scotsman'' is a Scottish compact newspaper and daily news website headquartered in Edinburgh. First established as a radical political paper in 1817, it began daily publication in 1855 and remained a broadsheet until August 2004. Its pa ...

'' newspaper and, since 2001,

The Scotsman Hotel The Scotsman Hotel Edinburgh opened in 2001 in the Edwardian (1905) building which had housed ''The Scotsman'' newspaper for nearly a century. The hotel is located on North Bridge between the Royal Mile and Princes Street, thereby straddling ...

. The steps were built in a French style as a spiral staircase within an enclosed octagonal tower; the tower was decorated with wrought iron grilles and glazed tiles in the interior. Historically considered a road, the 104 steps form a pedestrian link between the North Bridge and

Waverley Station Edinburgh Waverley railway station (also known simply as Waverley; gd, Waverley Dhùn Èideann) is the principal railway station serving Edinburgh, Scotland. It is the second busiest station in Scotland, after Glasgow Central. It is the north ...

's Market Street entrance. The construction of the Scotsman building at the turn of the 20th century was part of a regeneration of the surrounding North Bridge area; the Scotsman building and Steps formed a turreted 'gateway' between the Edinburgh

New Town New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator ...

and

Old Town In a city or town, the old town is its historic or original core. Although the city is usually larger in its present form, many cities have redesignated this part of the city to commemorate its origins after thorough renovations. There are ma ...

. The steps were

Category A listed This is a list of Category A listed buildings in Scotland, which are among the listed buildings of the United Kingdom. For a fuller list, see the pages linked on List of listed buildings in Scotland. Key The organization of the lists in thi ...

in 1974 and form part of the Edinburgh Old Town

UNESCO World Heritage Site A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for ...

. Originally built from

Carmyllie Carmyllie (Gaelic: ''Càrn Mhoillidh'') is a rural parish in Angus, Scotland. It is situated on high ground between Arbroath, on the coast, and the inland county town of Forfar. The main settlements in the parish are Redford, Greystone, Guyn ...

sandstone Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate grains. Sandstones comprise about 20–25% of all sedimentary rocks. Most sandstone is composed of quartz or feldspar (both silicates ...

, the steps were re-levelled with a

screed Screed has three meanings in building construction: # A flat board (screed board, floating screed) or a purpose-made aluminium tool used to smooth and to "true" materials like concrete, stucco and plaster after they have been placed on a surface ...

finish during the 1980s due to wear.

Redesign

By the early 21st century, the steps had fallen into disrepair and for decades had been plagued by vandalism and antisocial behaviour. As part of a planned renovation, the

Fruitmarket Gallery The Fruitmarket Gallery is a contemporary art gallery in Edinburgh, Scotland. Since its opening in 1974, the gallery has become part of the Scottish contemporary art scene. After a period of closure to undergo a significant renovation, the ga ...

commissioned a new public installation by

Turner Prize The Turner Prize, named after the English painter J. M. W. Turner, is an annual prize presented to a British visual artist. Between 1991 and 2016, only artists under the age of 50 were eligible (this restriction was removed for the 2017 award). ...

winning artist

to help improve the public perception of the steps. The installation, titled ''Work No. 1059'', formed part of Creed's solo exhibition ''Down Over Up'' which was presented at the gallery in Summer 2010. The installation clad each of the 104 steps in a different type of marble, with all major marble quarries of the world represented. The artwork was funded by a £250,000 grant funded by the

City of Edinburgh Council The City of Edinburgh Council is the local government authority for the city of Edinburgh, capital of Scotland. With a population of in mid-2019, it is the second most populous local authority area in Scotland. In its current form, the counci ...

and Edinburgh World Heritage. Creed's original idea for the work was to create a 'musical staircase', as he ultimately did on a smaller scale in the ''Down Over Up'' exhibition. Creed described the final work as a "microcosm of the whole world – stepping on the different marble steps is like walking through the world." Marble floors have become a recurring motif in Creed's works, including ''Work No. 1051'' (2013, Museo Jumex,

Mexico City Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital and largest city of Mexico, and the most populous city in North America. One of the world's alpha cities, it is located in the Valley of ...

) and ''Work No. 1347'' (2012, sketch restaurant,

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

Reception and awards

Overall response to the redesign has been positive, with ''

Guardian Guardian usually refers to: * Legal guardian, a person with the authority and duty to care for the interests of another * ''The Guardian'', a British daily newspaper (The) Guardian(s) may also refer to: Places * Guardian, West Virginia, Unite ...

'' art critic Jonathan Jones calling it "the best art at 011's

Edinburgh Art Festival The Edinburgh Art Festival is an annual visual arts festival, held in Edinburgh, Scotland, during August and coincides with the Edinburgh International and Fringe festivals. The Art Festival was established in 2004, and receives public funding fr ...

" and "a generous, modest masterpiece of contemporary public art". In ''

Art Monthly ''Art Monthly'' is a magazine of contemporary art founded in 1976 by Jack Wendler and Peter Townsend. It is based in London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingd ...

'', installation artist Vincent Martin wrote: " monuments to the global reach of empire go it is both appropriate and unobtrusive." Writing for the

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in 2018, William Cook similarly described the redesigned steps as "magical, but supremely practical." In 2012, the Steps won the Scottish Design Award in the Regeneration category. Also in 2012, they were nominated for the

RIAS Andrew Doolan Best Building in Scotland Award All types of architectural projects in Scotland are eligible, including new-build, regeneration, restoration, extensions and interiors. List of winners and nominees 2022 Shortlist * Forth Valley College – Falkirk Campus, Falkirk by Reiach ...

References

{{Reflist 2011 architecture 2011 in Scotland Category A listed buildings in Edinburgh Marble sculptures in the United Kingdom Public art in Scotland Streets in Edinburgh The Scotsman Works by Martin Creed 2010s in Edinburgh