As summer begins here in Scotland, RSA200 celebrations continue to unfold. From the final weeks of the 200th Annual Exhibition to new openings across the country, discover what’s happening this June.
What’s on at the RSA
9 May - 14 June
The 200th edition of the Annual Exhibition is a melting pot of contemporary art from across Scotland and further afield, with all artworks shown side by side in the Academy’s grand Neoclassical galleries in the heart of Edinburgh. Including the RSA Open Exhibitions Art and Architecture, the show allows visitors to explore a vast array of creative practice under one roof. The 200th Annual Exhibition is sponsored by LGT Wealth Management.
Henry Kondracki RSA, Parisian Rooftops, 2026
9 May – 14 June
Far Afield brings together artworks by Royal Scottish Academicians created on location and through travel. Including paintings, prints and studies developed in response to new landscapes and cultures, the exhibition celebrates the enduring relationship between travel and artistic practice.
Celebrating Together
Across Scotland, our bicentenary programme continues to connect communities through a range of exhibitions and events. From the Highlands and Islands to galleries and museums nationwide, explore the many ways we’re celebrating 200 years of the Royal Scottish Academy.
Closing this month
No31 Gallery, Scottish Borders
Hewn: An exhibition of artwork by Edward Fellows, Jake Harvey RSA and Tjibbe Hooghiemstra
Until 6 June
Hewn features works by Edward Fellows, Jake Harvey RSA and Tjibbe Hooghiemstra, who all share a uncomplicated relationship with their making processes and materials. Their work is both visceral, lyrical and intelligent; pared-down to a point that exposes a vulnerability and an unflinching honesty.
Elsa McTaggart: Capturing the Light
Saturday 13 June
Isle of Lewis singer-songwriter Elsa McTaggart tells the story of her great grandfather, William McTaggart RSA’s extraordinary life and talent and how it shaped her own identity and creativity.
Alexander Moffat RSA, Valda and Chris.
Shetland Museum & Archives, Lerwick
Outwith | Valda, MacDiarmid and Whalsay
Until 20 June
Outwith will focus on the nine years (1933–1942) poet Hugh MacDiarmid and his wife Valda spent on the Shetland island of Whalsay, exploring how the island influenced their lives and work despite persistent challenges. Featured items will include original manuscripts and personal letters on loan from NLS, visual art from artists Alexander Moffat RSA and Ruth Nicol, and images drawn from private family collections.
Gracefield Arts Centre, Dumfries
William Littlejohn RSA: In a New Light
Until 20 June
Featuring over 40 works selected from the artist’s studio bequest, this show at Gracefield Arts Centre explores the life and work of William Littlejohn RSA (1929-2006).
Joan Eardley, Summer Fields, about 1961. © Estate of Joan Eardley. All Rights Reserved. DACS, London, 2025
National Galleries Scotland: Modern
Joan Eardley | The Nature of Painting
Until 28 June
Discover Eardley’s oil paintings alongside works by artists including Samuel John Peploe RSA, William McTaggart RSA and Phoebe Anna Traquair HRSA, as well as contemporaries Bet Low RSA and Antoni Tàpies HRSA.
Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh: Scottish NHS Arts Partners Touring Exhibition
Until 24 June
Bellfield Centre, Stirling: Scottish NHS Arts Partners Touring Exhibition
30 March – 28 June
This touring exhibition will highlight works by RSA Academicians and award winners, showcasing art's powerful connection to health and wellbeing and inviting audiences from across Scotland to engage with and appreciate visual art, creating uplifting and healing environments for patients, visitors and NHS staff.
Currently on view
John MacKechnie RSA, MBE | Uisge: Water
Until 4 July
An exhibition of screenprints on the theme of water by John MacKechnie RSA, former Director of Glasgow Print Studio.
Dundee Contemporary Arts, Dundee
DCA Editions: RSA200
Until 2 August
Explore a selection of print editions by RSA at Dundee Contemporary Arts. Works by Claire Barclay RSA, Ilana Halperin RSA and Toby Paterson RSA, all made in DCA Print Studio as part of DCA’s editions programme, will be on show.
Art & Science Exhibition, University of Stirling
Art Collection, University of Stirling
Art & Science Exhibition
Until 7 August 2026
This exhibition includes Stuart Mackenzie RSA’s Species (Coelacanth) II, a print on loan from the RSA Collection, and Le Bouc, a painting by Alison Watt RSA, displayed in Scotland for the first time.
Meffan Museum & Art Gallery, Angus
Royal Scottish Academy: 200 Years of Art in Angus
Until 10 August
This special exhibition brings together works by Academicians past and present, exploring two centuries of creativity, innovation, and influence, inspired by the landscapes and communities of Angus.
Rachel Maclean: They've Got Your Eyes
Until 16 August
They’ve Got Your Eyes is a major new commission and free exhibition by Scottish artist Academician Rachel Maclean RSA (Elect), featuring the world premiere of a film created using AI models trained on her own image and artistic archive.
Living Colour: Celebrating 200 Years of the Royal Scottish Academy
Until - 6 September
Living Colour celebrates two centuries of remarkable Scottish artistry. The exhibition features carefully crafted still lifes, elegant portraits, beautiful landscapes and thought-provoking abstracts from 19th and 20th century Scottish art.
John Gray Centre, East Lothian
An exhibition of paintings by John Bellany HRSA
Until 19 September
This exhibition is being curated by Helen Bellany, the wife of John Bellany and Alexander Moffat RSA who was a lifelong friend of John Bellany.
James Cumming RSA, Charred Table with Lamp and Tins, 1956-1962. © the artist's estate. City of Edinburgh Council Museums & Galleries.
Jean F. Watson: An Artistic Legacy
Until 4 October
Jean Fletcher Watson (1877-1974) presented a series of financial donations to the City of Edinburgh to develop a collection of Scottish art. Since then, the Jean F. Watson Bequest Fund has enabled the acquisition of more than 1,000 artworks. This exhibition at the City Art Centre will celebrate Watson’s vision and generosity, showcasing works by William Fettes Douglas PPRSA, Arthur Melville ARSA, Charles Hodge Mackie RSA, Anne Redpath RSA and more.
National Galleries Scotland: Portrait
Wendy McMurdo: The Digital Mirror
Until 25 October
This solo exhibition of work by Edinburgh-based artist Wendy McMurdo will be the largest presentation of her work in Scotland to date. It will feature more than 50 photographs, as well as digital animations and key loans of works that have inspired her practice. The exhibition will concentrate on her work produced from 1995 to 2018, exploring childhood and play in the digital age.
Francis Campbell Boileau Cadell RSA, The Poet (1912). On loan from the RSA Collection and currently on view at Perth Art Gallery.
The Scottish Colourists Revealed
Until 26 October
See the Scottish Colourists as you’ve never seen them before in a new exhibition at Perth Art Gallery celebrating rare paintings by four of the most important Scottish artists of the 20th century, some of which have never before been on public display.
Blair Castle & Gardens , Blair Atholl
James Hutton and Glen Tilt Exhibition
Until 30 October
Celebrating the tricentenary of the birth of James Hutton and his discoveries within Glen Tilt, this exhibition features new commissions by Jake Harvey RSA and artist Helen Douglas.
Cupar Museum & Heritage Centre, Fife
Four Paintings, a Scandal and an Angel
Until 30 October
This exhibition tells the story of Charles Lees - his background, career and the scandal of his runaway marriage.
Royal Botanic Garden, Edinburgh
Earth Matters: Seeing soil through art
Until 1 November
Marking 300 years since the birth of James Hutton, the Edinburgh-born geologist, farmer and thinker who revolutionised our understanding of Earth’s creation, this exhibition features work by Academicians Wilhelmina Barns-Graham, Joan Eardley, Ilana Halperin and Graeme Todd.
The Linklater Collection at the University of Aberdeen
University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen
Aberdeen Artworlds: The Linklater Collection
Until 6 December
This exhibition marks the 50th anniversary of a bequest by Eric and Marjorie Linklater to the University of Aberdeen. An unusual domestic collection, it includes works by Joan Eardley RSA, S. J. Peploe RSA, James Cowie RSA and Stanley Cursiter RSA.
Andrew Carnegie Birthplace Museum, Dunfermline
The Carnegie Travelling Scholarship: A celebration of Andrew Carnegie and the Royal Scottish Academy
Until 13 December
For over 120 years, the RSA Carnegie Travelling Scholarship has supported artists in Scotland. This exhibition will showcase the range of artists awarded the scholarship from its inception to the present day.
Discovery Point & RRS Discovery, Dundee
Polar Portraits by Calum Colvin RSA
Until 31 December
Discovery Point is home to RRS Discovery; built and launched in Dundee in 1901 for Captain Scott and Ernest Shackleton’s first Antarctic voyage. On view throughout 2026 are two portraits by renowned Scottish artist Calum Colvin RSA, depicting two of polar exploration’s most recognisable figures, Captain Scott and Roald Amundsen.
Aberdeen Art Gallery
Works on Paper: Art & Energy, Kate Downie RSA
Until 14 March 2027
From pylons to wind turbines, we live in a world where we are never far away from the monumental infrastructure of the energy industry. This selection of drawings, prints and photographs from Aberdeen Art Gallery’s collection explores how artists from the 1970s to the present day have chosen to creatively engage with these physical markers.
R&A World Golf Museum, St Andrews
Masterstrokes: 200 Years of Scottish Golfing Art
Until 21 March 2027
Visit the R&A World Golf Museum, where you can enjoy paintings and prints, photography and architecture, sculpture and sketches from the RSA Collections and The Royal and Ancient Golf Club, as well as significant pieces from Fife Cultural Trust and the Museum’s own collections.
Opening this month
The Dick Institute, East Ayrshire
Graham Fagen RSA: The Kilmarnock Edition
4 June - 5 September
To mark the 240th anniversary of Poems, Chiefly in the Scottish Dialect, East Ayrshire Leisure and the Dick Institute present a solo exhibition by Academician Graham Fagen, one of the UK’s foremost contemporary artists.
S.J Peploe RSA, Boy Reading
Colour - The Palette of S.J. Peploe RSA.
6 June – 4 October
S.J. Peploe RSA’s life and work will be examined in this exceptional exhibition, which brings together works from national collections and a great many from private collections, never seen before in public.
Joan Eardley: The Sea at Catterline
6 June - 11 October
This new exhibition of works by Joan Eardley RSA explores her relationship with the sea at Catterline
Robert and David Mach HRSA
Tighnabruaich Gallery, Argyll and Bute
Mach Squared: David Mach HRSA & Robert Mach
13 June – 5 July
Known for their bold, playful and deeply human approach to making, the Mach brothers share a lifelong creative dialogue that stretches from Fife to the international stage. This exhibition brings their practices together for the first time in Argyll, transforming Tighnabruaich Gallery into a space of energy, humour and reflection.
Friends of the Sivell Murals, Aberdeen
Lessons From a Remarkably Well-illustrated Anatomy Textbook
16 June - 16 July
This exhibition reflects on Anatomy of the Human Body by Lockhart, Hamilton & Fyfe, a 1959 textbook , and how artists enhance the learning environment.
The Maclaurin Art Gallery, South Ayrshire
Well Connected: The Royal Scottish Academy and The Maclaurin Collection
20 June – 30 August
Join the Maclaurin Art Gallery in Ayr as it celebrates the magnificent artworks in the permanent Maclaurin Trust Collection, made by Royal Scottish Academicians.
Frances Walker RSA and Ade Adesina RSA at Rozelle House
20 June – 13 September
This exhibition celebrates the work of Frances Walker and Ade Adesina, two prominent RSA artists from different generations, working predominantly in print.
The Scale of Things – new work by Erin McQuarrie
20 June – 26 September
Inspired by her RSA residency at Linkshouse, Birsay in Orkney, Erin McQuarrie explores the architectural qualities and poetic sensibilities of textiles.
Dovecot Studios, photography by Roberto Ricciuti
A Celebration of Elizabeth Blackadder
20 June – September
This exhibition will showcase the work of Dame Elizabeth Blackadder RSA. The breadth of her work in oil, watercolour, and printmaking techniques has long been celebrated, and this show highlights her collaborations with Dovecot across five decades to create over 30 tapestries and hand-tufted rugs.
The Royal Scottish Academy at 200
27 June - 26 August
The exhibition brings together works by past and present Academicians from the Lillie Art Gallery’s collection, showcasing the diversity of artistic practice fostered by the RSA.
Anne Redpath RSA, Cottages
Past, Present, Future: The Royal Scottish Academy in the Scottish Borders
27 June – 5 October
To celebrate the RSA’s 200th year, this show brings together early and contemporary works by artists with a strong connection to the Scottish Borders. Visitors can discover the achievements of past Academicians such as Anne Redpath RSA, William Johnstone RSA, and Thomas Scott RSA alongside works by today’s leading Academicians.
Works by Royal Scottish Academicians at The Hunterian
June – September
The Hunterian will mark 200 years of the Royal Scottish Academy by celebrating the breadth and impact of its Academicians’ work. Across its main displays in the Hunterian Art Gallery, The Hunterian will present selected pieces that engage with key themes including: art making, reforming the canon, art across borders, juxtapositions, and light and colour.
Groam House Museum, Black Isle
George Bain: The Continuous Line
June – October
This exhibition will trace George Bain's journey from a childhood in Caithness to becoming 'Master of Celtic Art'.
As our bicentenary programme continues to grow, we look forward to sharing more opportunities to celebrate the remarkable contribution of artists to Scotland’s cultural life in the months ahead.
