King's Gallery, Edinburgh facts for kids
The King's Gallery is a special art gallery in Edinburgh, Scotland. It used to be called the Queen's Gallery. It's part of the famous Palace of Holyroodhouse, which is where the King stays when he visits Scotland. Queen Elizabeth II opened the gallery in 2002. Inside, you can see amazing artworks from the Royal Collection, which is a huge collection of art owned by the Royal Family. The gallery is open every day for people to visit.
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A Look Back: The Gallery's Story
The King's Gallery is in a beautiful old building. It was built a long time ago, between 1846 and 1850. At first, it was a church called Holyrood Free Church. It was a place for people to worship.
The church stopped being used for services in 1915. After that, it became a storage room for many years. The gallery also includes another building next door. This building used to be a school for the church.
A kind lady named Elizabeth Gordon, Duchess of Gordon paid for the church and the school to be built. In the 1920s, the old school building was changed. It became homes for the palace's drivers.
In 2002, both buildings were changed again. They were turned into the King's Gallery. Architects Benjamin Tindall helped design the new gallery. Most of the gallery is on the first floor. It has a big, open space with a wooden roof.
A Claim About the Gallery's Future
In 2019, a former politician named George Kerevan talked about the gallery. He was a member of the Scottish National Party. He said that if Scotland became an independent country, the gallery building might be taken down.
He thought this would create a large open space. This space would be between Holyrood Palace and the Scottish Parliament Building. He called this idea a "Freedom square." This was just a claim he made.
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What You Can See: Exhibitions
The King's Gallery often changes its displays. It shows different art and items throughout the year. All these items come from the Royal Collection. This means they are part of the King's own collection of art.
Here are some of the cool exhibitions that have been shown:
- 2022 – Amazing paintings from Buckingham Palace. These included works by famous artists like Sir Anthony van Dyck, Rembrandt, and Peter Paul Rubens.
- 2021 – Beautiful watercolour paintings. These were from the personal collections of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert.
- 2019/2020 – Drawings by the brilliant artist Leonardo da Vinci. This was the biggest collection of his work ever shown in Scotland.
- 2019 – Art from Russia. This included old photographs, interesting objects, and paintings.
See also
- King's Gallery at Buckingham Palace
