Henry Vaughan made an exceptional bequest to the National Galleries of Scotland in 1900 – a set of 38 radiant watercolours by celebrated English painter Joseph Mallord William Turner. This annual exhibition has become a celebrated tradition and a feature of New Year’s Day through to the end January for locals and tourists alike to look forward to; the delicately-rendered land- and sea-scapes are still in brilliant condition, having been exhibited only in low light for one month of the year – a stipulation of Vaughan’s gift.

Comprising dramatic landscapes from the Himalayas, the Swiss Alps, the Isle of Skye and other parts of Britain, Europe, and beyond, this exhibition captures the life and career of a beloved artist.

The exhibition this year is sited afresh in a light-walled room towards the front of the RSA, and the interpretation has been vastly enhanced with a mobile phone audio description, accessed by QR code. A cabinet in the middle of the room displays painting materials of the kind Turner used in creating his watercolours, and, out of its frame, the painting Neuwied and Weissenthurm, on the Rhine, looking towards Andernach is analysed with reference to the techniques he employed.

Admission is free.