30 October 2026 - 2 May 2027

Duncan Shanks RSA: The Unseen Journey

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. 

Presented in the Hunterian Art Gallery's focus space, this intimate exhibition features 26 works, including sketchbook pages, preparatory studies and completed paintings. Together, they illuminate the journey from first mark-making to finished composition, allowing visitors to see the hidden workings behind paintings that can often appear spontaneous and intuitive. 

At the heart of the display is the artist's lifelong habit of daily drawing. Quotations, annotations and personal reflections drawn from his sketchbooks reveal an intense internal dialogue, while references to poets, composers and fellow artists offer insight into the wide range of influences that inform his work. Seasonal studies of the River Clyde and its surrounding landscape demonstrate the dynamic interplay between close observation and abstraction that characterises his art. 

Because many of the featured works are sensitive to light, The Unseen Journey is shown in two instalments. The first instalment, from 30 October 2026 until 31 January 2027, centres on the finished painting Autumn Mist. The second instalment, from 2 February to 2 May 2027, explores Shanks’ fascination with the repeated motifs of his cherry tree and his studies of the rising winter sun.

Building on the 2015 Hunterian exhibition Duncan Shanks Sketchbooks: The Poetry of Place, which celebrated the artist's major gift of 106 sketchbooks to the museum, The Unseen Journey explores a further decade of material from this remarkable archive. Digitised sketchbook pages and film content featuring the artist provide additional insight into a creative practice rooted in careful looking, reflection and an enduring connection to the landscape that inspires his work.

The Hunterian Art Gallery is open Tuesday–Sunday, 10.00am–5.00pm. Entry is free. 

9 October 2026, 5.30 - 7.30 pm 

Caroline Walker RSA in Conversation

Join contemporary Scottish painter Caroline Walker RSA in conversation with Steph Scholten, and Lola Sanchez-Jauregui, the Hunterian Art Gallery.

The Hunterian is home to an incredible range of artworks, from Old Masters' paintings from William Hunter's bequest, to recently acquired works by artists working today. In 2024, The Hunterian received a gift of the painting Preparing for Laurie I by Caroline Walker, one of the leading painters working in Britain today. This display is the result of a close collaboration shaped through conversations and visits to The Hunterian's collection stores.

Join the artist Caroline Walker in conversation with Hunterian Director Steph Scholten and Art Curator Lola Sanchez-Jauregui in a discussion around her own work and artistic practice, also looking at how she makes connections with artists from the past.

Caroline Walker is known for her accomplished paintings exploring the social, cultural and economic experiences of women living and working in contemporary society, often focusing on labour that is overlooked or unseen. Walker was born in Dunfermline, Scotland (1982) where she now lives and works. She received a BA in Painting from Glasgow School of Art in 2004 and an MA in Painting from The Royal College of Art in 2009. She has had solo exhibitions at The Hepworth Wakefield (UK), Pallant House Gallery (UK); K11 Art Foundation (CN); and KM21 (NL). Her work has also been included in exhibitions at Kettle's Yard (UK); Centraal Museum (NL); Kunstpalast Düsseldorf (DE); and Denison Museum (US). Walker is represented in a number of public collections including: Tate (UK); National Galleries of Scotland (UK); Museum of Fine Arts Houston (USA); Longlati Foundation (CN); Kunstmuseum Den Haag (NL). In 2027 she will present commissions for Art on the Underground and Dulwich Picture Gallery (UK).

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