ONE of the largest and most prestigious private collections of Scottish art is to support the new generation of emerging artists from Scotland for the first time.
The Fleming-Wyfold Foundation, which runs the noted Fleming Collection in Berkeley Square, London, a treasure trove of Scottish art, is to launch a partnership with the Royal Scottish Academy which will establish a bursary for young artists, as well as a prestigious annual exhibition in London for young Scottish artists.
They hope the £10,000 bursary, launched as part of the RSA's New Contemporaries show, which is held annually in Edinburgh, will provide a financial platform to launch the professional career of a young Scottish artist.
The new annual exhibition in London is designed to provide a stage for Scottish artists in London, which remains one of the key arenas in the contemporary art world.
The art in this show, entitled Young Scottish Artists: a Royal Scottish Academy exhibition supported by the Fleming-Wyfold Foundation, will be taken from the New Contemporaries show and will be staged in the foundation's gallery in Mayfair, London.
James Holloway, the former director of the Scottish National Portrait Gallery, and now a trustee of the Fleming-Wyfold Foundation said: "We see this exciting development with the RSA as an effective and unique way to help promote both the RSA's work and that of the contemporary Scottish art scene and its artists in a very tangible and positive way, and to a much wider audience."
The Fleming Collection began in 1968 when Flemings, the former merchant bank, moved into new offices in London and as a commemoration of the Scottish origins of the bank, founded by Robert Fleming in Dundee, the board began to acquire works by Scottish artists or of Scottish scenes.
Today the collection comprises works dating from 1770 to the present day, including the two iconic images of The Highland Clearances, Thomas Faed's The Last of The Clan and John Watson Nicol's Lochaber No More as well as notable works by the Glasgow Boys and the Scottish Colourists.
Mr Holloway said: "The exhibition will bring their art to London and help introduce them to galleries, to dealers and collectors."
Colin Greenslade, director at the Royal Scottish Academy said: "We believe that the tie-in will bring a new vitality and presence to the promotion of contemporary Scottish arts and artists; most particularly beyond the borders of Scotland."
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