Window to the West

The Highlands & Islands in Art

An exhibition in the Lamb Gallery
15 March - 21 June 2008
Mon-Fri 09.30-20.30 Sat 09.30-16.30
(shorter hours may apply during summer vacation)

'An Highland Loch' by John MacWhirter
Copyright University of Dundee Museum Services

Highland art is one of the defining currents of Scottish culture, yet it has often been neglected or stereotyped. Rediscovering this history and its expression in contemporary art is the purpose of Window to the West: Towards a Redefinition of the Visual within Gaelic Scotland, a five-year research project funded by the Arts & Humanities Research Council and led by Murdo Macdonald, Professor of History of Scottish Art at the University of Dundee. The project is a collaboration between the Visual Research Centre at Duncan of Jordanstone College and Sabhal Mr Ostaig, the Gaelic college on Skye.

The title 'Window to the West' adapts a line from Sorley MacLean's reflection on clearance and emigration, Hallaig, which reads: 'The window is nailed and boarded / through which I saw the West'. The project is about unboarding that window, and this exhibition, curated by the University of Dundee Museum Services, is one of the ways in which we can achieve that.

'Glencoe 1692' by John Blake McDonald, c.1879
Copyright Royal Scottish Academy

Highland Book Launch

Please join us for the launch of HIGHLAND ART: A WINDOW TO THE WEST, a joint publication produced by the Royal Scottish Academy and the Window to the West Research Project. The event takes place on Friday 6th June, 2008 at 5.30pm in the Lamb Gallery. Speakers include Prof Murdo Macdonald (University of Dundee) and Dr Joanna Soden (Royal Scottish Academy). Refreshments will be served.