Following a retrospective exhibition at Edinburgh’s RSA, William Gillies: Modernism and Nation, a new exhibition, After Gillies, explores the lasting impact of the work of Sir William Gillies on the Academy’s current membership. William Gillies RSA RA (1898-1973) bequeathed his entire estate to the RSA, comprising hundreds of artworks, materials and archives. Today the bequest continues to fuel various initiatives, such as the RSA New Contemporaries Prize of £2,000 for an emerging artist, the Sir William Gillies Memorial Lecture, which brings influential and educational speakers to the RSA each year, and the annual Gillies Bursary, which has supported projects by RSA members over the past five decades. After Gillies will showcase the diverse outcomes of several projects funded by this bursary as well as works by a number of Academicians.

A parallel exhibition continues at the John Gray Centre in Haddington, Gillies’ birthplace (8th Dec – 26th Apr), while Modernism and Nation will tour eight venues across Scotland throughout 2024 and 2025, with each one presenting a version of the exhibition with a unique focus.