Sir John Leighton, the director of Scotland's national galleries, has pledged to tackle one of their "enduring weaknesses" with a comprehensive revamp of the display of home art collections.

He is holding talks about the way ahead for a multi-million-pound redevelopment of the Scottish National Gallery at The Mound in Edinburgh amid continuing criticism that displays are kept in the basement.

Sir John said: "You want a space where you can show the best of Scottish art to a local, national and international audience with pride.

"Where you can also set up those interesting dialogues with wider western European art traditions, so that you have a sense of the jewels of the crown, but also have a supporting cast of the some of the greatest works of art in western European tradition."

He added: "And we don't have that at the moment."

Sir John is considering options suggested by a feasibility study compiled by Malcolm Fraser Architects to refurbish the lower galleries that house the Scottish collection, including masterpieces by Sir Henry Raeburn, William McTaggart, John Duncan, Sir David Wilkie and others.

He said the building would not be closed for the project, which is yet to be costed, as it is one of the capital's most popular attractions.

The announcement of the final plan and how funding will be raised is to be rolled out in the next two years.