THE DUKE AND DUCHESS OF ROTHESAY VISIT ABERDEEN ART GALLERY
Tuesday 21st September
The Duke and Duchess of Rothesay will officially open the redeveloped Aberdeen Art Gallery.
The Duke and The Duchess of Rothesay will be greeted by the Lord-Lieutenant of Aberdeen City, Barney Crockett on arrival.
Their Royal Highnesses will tour the gallery, meeting with staff and members of the team who delivered the redevelopment of the Art Gallery between 2015 and 2019, along the way.
The Duke and The Duchess will together visit the Remembrance Hall before separately viewing different exhibitions and displays around the Gallery. His Royal Highness will attend the Balmoral Phenomenon Gallery and view a display of dresses and costumes bequeathed by the late Mrs Frances Farquharson of Invercauld. Her Royal Highness will meet with children who have recently participated in the Gallery’s education scheme, the ‘Art Chat’ project.
Their Royal Highnesses will conclude the visit on the roof terrace where they will meet invited guests and unveil a plaque to officially open the Gallery.
The Duke and The Duchess of Rothesay
Their Royal Highnesses continue to show their support for tourism, art institutions and cultural organisations following the pandemic crisis.
In December 2020, The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall visited the National Gallery in London for their first official public engagement since the second lockdown in England ended.
In June 2021, The Duchess of Cornwall celebrated The Royal Academy of Dance’s 100-year anniversary by attending their exhibition at the V&A.
Earlier this month, Their Royal Highnesses visited Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum in Glasgow to mark their 120th anniversary.
Aberdeen Art Gallery
Aberdeen Art Gallery is home to one of the finest collections in the UK. Spanning over 700 years, the Collection of National Significance includes works by important Scottish artists, designers and makers such as Henry Raeburn, Joan Eardley, Samuel Peploe, Rachel McLean, Bill Gibb and James Cromar Watt, as well as nationally and internationally acclaimed artists including Barbara Hepworth, Francis Bacon, Tracey Emin and Claude Monet. For over 130 years, Aberdeen Art Gallery has been acquiring the best and most interesting contemporary artworks.
Designed in the neo-classical style by Alexander Marshall Mackenzie, Aberdeen Art Gallery opened in 1885. It was extended in the 1920s with the addition of the Cowdray Hall concert venue, the interior Remembrance Hall and the exterior Cenotaph, all by the original architect. Between 2015 and 2019, the Art Gallery underwent a landmark redevelopment supported by Aberdeen City Council and the National Lottery Heritage Fund and led by Hoskins Architects. Aberdeen Art Gallery was a joint winner of the prestigious Art Fund Museum of the Year prize 2020. The Aberdeen Art Gallery redevelopment project was also recognised recently with awards from the Royal Incorporation of Architects in Scotland (RIAS) and the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA).
