As we move into November, our bicentenary celebrations continue with exhibitions and projects exploring 200 years of the Royal Scottish Academy. From a major exhibition at the Royal West of England Academy in Bristol to opportunities to discover works by RSA Academicians across Scotland, there are plenty of ways to celebrate.
What’s on at the RSA
17 October – 15 November
Taking cue from the 200th anniversary of our founding, 200 Years will celebrate the rich history of Scottish art in all its forms over the last two centuries. Reflecting the centrality of the Academy to the development of Scottish art, the exhibition will include works created by Royal Scottish Academicians since our founding in 1826.
Celebrating Together
This month, celebrations extend from St Ives to Spain, with exhibitions showcasing the work of past and present Academicians, alongside projects highlighting the diversity of artistic practice across Scotland and beyond.
Closing this month
Fire Station Creative, Dunfermline
Symbols of the Mind - A Showcase of Paintings by James Cumming RSA and His Former Students
Until 1 November 2026
Symbols of the Mind celebrates the life and work of Dunfermline-born painter James Cumming RSA. Works on view have been selected from the artist's studio bequest to the RSA, and the exhibition also features paintings by his acclaimed former students, including Alexander Moffat RSA and Stuart McKenzie RSA.
Royal Botanic Gardens, Edinburgh
Earth Matters: Seeing soil through art
Until 1 November 2026
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.
Glasgow Society of Women Artists
Annual Exhibition 2026
Until 5 November 2026
This year's annual exhibition of the GSWA, which was founded in 1882, will include a portrait of Dorothy Carleton Smyth painted by David Forrester Wilson RSA. On loan from the Lillie Art Gallery's Collection.
Elizabeth Blackadder: A Life in Colour at Dovecot Studios. Photography by Phil Wilkinson
Elizabeth Blackadder: A Life in Colour
Until 14 November
This exhibition showcases 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.
Celebrating Alumni
Until 27 November 2026
Explore work by Moray School of Art alumni and past RSA New Contemporaries in this exhibition.
Bronwen Sleigh RSA, Glen Strathfarrar I
Highland Print Studio, Inverness
Bronwen Sleigh RSA: Land to Line
Until 28 November 2026
This exhibition brings together works spanning Bronwen Sleigh RSA’s career. Prints created during her 2006 residency are presented alongside more recent works, offering insight into the evolution of her practice over time.
Scottish Fisheries Museum, Fife
John Bellany: Anchored
Until 30 November
John Bellany HRSA was an artist with a unique perspective on the fishing industry and communities of the east of Scotland, having grown up within them. This exhibition celebrates his very personal eye, bringing together artwork from the museum’s collection alongside pieces borrowed from the RSA Collection.
Currently on view
National Galleries of Scotland, Edinburgh
Anne Redpath: Landscapes on Paper
Until 6 December 2026
Explore the vibrant works of Joan Eardley from a whole new perspective at Modern Two. Discover Eardley’s oil paintings alongside a selection of works from Scotland’s world class national collection
Stanley Cursiter RSA, Surf
National Galleries of Scotland, Edinburgh
Stanley Cursiter: Artist and Curator
Until 6 December 2026
This free exhibition commemorates the fiftieth anniversary of the death of Stanley Cursiter RSA, the last artist/director of the National Gallery of Scotland. A wide selection of paintings, prints, drawings and archives celebrates the breadth of his achievements, as both artist and curator, until his retirement in 1948.
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 showcases 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.
RSA200 Art for Health Exhibition
RSA200 Art for Health
Glasgow Royal Infirmary: Until 10 January 2027
Inverclyde Royal Hospital, Greenock: Until 10 January 2027
This touring exhibition highlights 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.
Pathways to Pre-Raphaelitism
Until 10 January 2027
This exhibition, curated by Pamela Gerrish Nun, will explore the contribution of women artists to the Pre-Raphaelite movement. Included in the exhibition are two works on loan from the RSA by Phoebe Anna Traquair HRSA.
Friends of the Sivell Murals, Aberdeen
Lessons From a Remarkably Well-illustrated Anatomy Textbook
Until 10 January 2027
This exhibition reflects on Anatomy of the Human Body by Lockhart, Hamilton & Fyfe, a 1959 textbook, and how artists enhance the learning environment.
Michael Agnew RSA, 3 Scottish Owls for Megan Boyd
The Gallery at Linlithgow Burgh Halls
A Real Kind of Fiction: a solo exhibition by Michael Agnew RSA
Until 24 January 2027
This exhibition by Michael Agnew RSA combines both retrospective and recent work, showing the artists long term focus on meaning and process. Capturing the ‘Anima Mundi’ as reflected in the owl as archetype, alongside other subtle and overt critiques of the contemporary world of ‘fast media.’
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.
Version Galore 3
Until March 2027
A partnership between Edinburgh College of Art and the RSA, Version Galore challenges ECA students to respond creatively to artworks from the RSA Collection, with the results exhibited at Fire Station Creative in Dunfermline.
Wilhelmina Barns-Graham HRSA, Glacier Crystal, Grindelwald
Wilhelmina Barns-Graham
Until 11 April 2027
This major retrospective is the first to chart the full length of Wilhelmina Barns-Graham’s incredible career. Featuring over 170 paintings, drawings, prints and archive materials, the exhibition traces Barns-Graham’s development from her student days at the Edinburgh College of Art and early years in St Ives, through to her later years working between Cornwall and Scotland.
Duncan Shanks RSA: The Unseen Journey
Until 2 May 2027
Duncan Shanks RSA: The Unseen Journey offers a rare opportunity to explore the creative process behind one of Scotland's most celebrated landscape artists. Focusing on a decade of sketchbooks, exploratory studies and finished works inspired by the Clyde Valley, the exhibition reveals how observation, memory, music and literature come together in Shanks' distinctive practice.
Art Collection, University of Stirling
Topography Exhibition Series
Until August 2027
Each academic year the Art Collection chooses a theme which informs their exhibitions and public programmes. From September 2026 to August 2027, the Topography exhibition series will include Fault, by Annie Cattrell RSA, on loan from the RSA Collection.
Opening this month
Royal West of England Academy, Bristol
Celebrating Together: RSA/RWA
3 November 2026 - 11 January 2027
This exhibition brings together a remarkable collection of works spanning the last 200 years, showcasing the evolution of artistic practice through the eyes of past and present Academicians from both the RSA and the Royal West of England Academy (RWA).
Royal Society of Printmakers exhibition
Royal Society of Printmakers, London
International Original Print Exhibition 2026
5 - 15 November
Selected by a panel of judges, including RSA Director Colin Greenslade, this exhibition will include nearly 200 works in printmaking, showing the diversity and innovation possible in this exciting medium.
Georgina Porteous: Flax Seeds Grow as the Cosmic Humblebum Goes Majestic
14 November 2026 - Spring 2027
2009 RSA New Contemporary Georgina Porteous presents a new sculptural work developed through ongoing research with the Wyllieum, created in response to George Wyllie’s playful approach to art.
As our bicentenary year continues, there’s still plenty of time to discover the work of our Academicians and explore the RSA’s history through exhibitions across Scotland and further afield. Join us in celebrating 200 years of the RSA this November.
