Art and Analysis: Two Stranger Painters in Jacobean Scotland

In the last year I have co-curated, with Lesley Stevenson (Senior Painting Conservator, National Galleries of Scotland) and Kate Anderson (Senior Curator, Scottish National Portrait Gallery), an exhibition at the Scottish National Portrait Gallery which opened to the public in October 2017. This exhibition showcased highlights from my Caroline Villers Research Fellowship (hosted jointly by the Courtauld Institute of Art and the National Galleries of Scotland). This research represents the first systematic and rigorous technical examination of works by either artist and the first attempt to reassess their oeuvres since the 1970s. This exhibition, particularly my uncovering of an overpainted portrait of Mary Queen of Scots, generated a significant amount of media attention, with extensive reporting in the local, national and international press, including live interviews BBC News, BBC Scotland, LBC Radio and the Edinburgh Reporter As part of the exhibition, a film was made by NGS relating to the research in which I, Lesley and Kate feature. This film is on display in the exhibition and it is also publically available online on YouTube