Talbot Rice Gallery

Talbot Rice Gallery

Location within Edinburgh city centre
Established	1975;51 years ago (1975)
Location	The University of Edinburgh Old College, South Bridge, Edinburgh, EH8 9YL, Scotland, United Kingdom
Coordinates	55°56′50″N3°11′16″W / 55.9471°N 3.1878°W / 55.9471; -3.1878
Type	Contemporary art gallery
Director	Tessa Giblin [1]
Public transit access	Edinburgh Waverley
Website	www.trg.ed.ac.uk
Listed Building – Category A
Official name	University of Edinburgh Old College, including gates and lamp standards, South Bridge, Chambers Street, South College Street and West College Street, Edinburgh
Designated	14 December 1970
Reference no.	LB27989

Talbot Rice Gallery is the public art gallery of the University of Edinburgh in Scotland and part of Edinburgh College of Art. The building has three exhibition spaces, including a contemporary white cube gallery and a neoclassical space that was formerly a 19th-century natural history museum. Its programme includes a number of exhibitions each year, with solo shows providing international artists with access to University research and collections, whilst conceptual group shows foreground key political and social issues. Talbot Rice Gallery is open to the public and admission free. ^[2]

History

Ceiling of the Gallery

The University of Edinburgh's historic Old College was designed by Robert Adam and completed by William Henry Playfair. In 1967 the library collection was moved to a new location. An arts centre with an exhibition hall was opened in the Quad in 1970, following a £20,000 renovation paid for by the Gulbenkian Foundation. ^[3] The gallery was opened in 1975 under the guidance of Prof Giles Henry Robertson and takes its name from his predecessor, Prof David Talbot Rice, the Watson Gordon Professor of Fine Art at the University of Edinburgh from 1934 to 1972.

The Gallery fundraises for their artistic programme, and has to date received support from Creative Scotland, as well as international and grant support including Mondriaan Fonds, Culture Ireland and the Freelands Foundation. In 2019, the Gallery was awarded an Arts and Humanities Research Council grant for the first time.

References

1. "Tessa Giblin appointed Talbot Rice Gallery director". ArtReview. 18 November 2016. Retrieved 3 January 2026.
2. "About | Talbot Rice Gallery". www.trg.ed.ac.uk. University of Edinburgh. Retrieved 6 May 2023.
3. "New Art Centre Opened". The Glasgow Herald . 20 October 1970. p. 10. Retrieved 6 May 2023.