The ambitious £16.8m project will triple exhibition space and transform access to the gallery’s world-class collection of Scottish art, featuring works by Allan Ramsay, the Glasgow Boys and Sir Henry Raeburn, including his much-loved Reverend Robert Walker (1755 - 1808) Skating on Duddingston Loch.

A new presentation of the gallery’s collection will combine a historical narrative from the 17th to the mid-20th century, including the famed Scottish Colourists, with changing displays drawn from the gallery’s collections of paintings, prints, drawings and sculpture.

[quote=Lucy Casot, Head of HLF Scotland]“We are delighted that thanks to the National Lottery playing public, the most important collection of Scottish Art in the world will have a home worthy of its impressive heritage.”[/quote]

Lucy Casot, Head of HLF Scotland, said: “We are delighted that thanks to the National Lottery playing public, the most important collection of Scottish Art in the world will have a home worthy of its impressive heritage.  

"This project will breathe new life into the collection so that it can bring joy and inspiration to national and international visitors. Importantly, it will also reach out to schools and community groups across the country so that they too can learn from and enjoy these national treasures.”

The Scottish collection is currently shown in an extension which first opened in 1978. The new project will open up this part of the gallery to the public gardens on East Princes Street for the first time, including a new terrace and pathways to improve access. A glass-fronted entrance will help reveal some of the treasures within.

Work is due to begin in September 2016 and will last for two years. The space will be opened to the public in autumn 2018.

The SNG was designed by leading Scottish architect William Henry Playfair, and opened in 1859. It is the most popular UK gallery outside of London.

Thanks to a previous HLF grant, in 2004 the gallery opened the £7m Playfair project – a spectacular building linking the NSG and Royal Scottish Academy which hosts an exhibition space, restaurant and lecture theatre.