Designed in 1773 by David Henderson, Inverleith House was built in 1774 for Sir James Rocheid (1715-1787) as his family home and the centre-piece of his estate at a total cost of £4,109. 

 

Around 1820 a part of the Inverleith estate was sold to become the new location for the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh (RBGE). The house was gifted to the Crown in 1877 together with the surrounding land for the purpose of extending the activities of RBGE and for the enjoyment of the public. After restoration work following a fire, Inverleith House became the official residence of the Regius Keeper (Director) of RBGE. 

From 1960 to 1984, it housed the new Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art, until it moved to it's current site in the building of the former John Watson's Institution in west Edinburgh.

On 4 December 1970 the house was listed as a historic building in category B, with Historic Scotland id 28081. An extension was built in 1974. Since 1986 Inverleith House has been used as exhibition space by RBGE.

Past Exhibitions

2016

British Art Show 8 | I still believe in miracles | The Coat

2015

Raoul de Keyser | Nicolas Party |John Chamberlain | Autumn Film Screening: Anne-Marie Copestake & Duncan Marquiss

2014

Alex Dordoy | Corin Sworn | Isa Genzken | Tony Conrad | Kirsty Bell | Florian Hecker

2013

Derek Roberts | Ciara Phillips | Franz West | Dan Colen

2012

Luke Fowler | William McKeown | Philip Guston | Andy Hope

2011

Claude Cahun and Sue Tompkins | Thomas Houseago | Robert Rauschenberg | Andrew Kerr

2010

Victoria Morton | Vincent Fecteau | Joan Mitchell | Marc Camille Chaimowicz

2009

Hayley Tompkins | Cerith Wyn Evans | John McCracken | Karla Black

2008

Tony Swain | Nick Evans | Louise Bourgeois | John Hutton Balfour | Richard Hamilton

2007

Juergen Teller | Lilian Snelling | Andrew Millar | John Cage and Merce Cunningham | William Eggleston | Smith/Stewart

2006

Roni Horn | Rudolf Stingel | Rungiah and Govindoo | Robert Ryman | Douglas Gordon

2005

Mat Collishaw | Evergreen * | Ian Hamilton  Finlay | Mark Leckey | Keith Farquhar

* Carl Andre, Adam Barker-Mill, Lothar Baumgarten, Graham Fagen, Douglas Gordon, Alan Johnston, Callum Innes, Agnes Martin, Rory McEwen, Thomas Struth, Cy Twombly, Ruth Vollmer, Lawrence Weiner, Franz West, Richard Wright

2004

Robert Therrien

2003

Jim Lambie  | John Hutton Balfour | Andy Warhol | Gary Rough | Simon Periton | Julian Schnabel

2002

Hellen Van Meene | Ruth Vollmer | Cathy Wilkes | The Dapuri Drawings | Alan Charlton | Cy Twombly

2001

Stanley Kubrick | Lucy McKenzie and Paulina Olowska | Ulrich Ruckheim | Franz West | Ed Ruscha | Stella Ross-Craig | Kevin Henderson

2000

Dom Hans van der Laan | British Art Show 5 * | John Hutton Balfour | Laura Owens | Lawrence Weiner | Bloomberg New Contemporaries *

* British Art Show 5: Art and Language, Martin Boyce, Glenn Brown, Martin Creed, Liam Gillick, Lucy Gunning, Graham Gussin, Anna Hunt

* Bloomberg New Contemporaries: John Askew, Anna Barriball, Jennifer Beattie, Richard Bradbury, Gail Burton, Don Bury, Josephine Butler, Justin Carter, Phil Collins, Mike Cooter, Robert Currie, Eric, Alastair Hadley, Llana Halperin, Lucy Harrison, Sharon Hughes, James Ireland, Nicalaj Bendix, Skyum Larsen, Jeffrey Ty Lee, Johannes Maier, Andrew Mania, Marta Marce, Nathaniel Mellors, Miyako Narita, Mick Peter, Ben Pruskin, Jewyo Rhii, Hideatsu Shiba, Tomoaki Suzuki, Melanie Titmuss, Beata Veszely, Emily Wardill, Edward Weldon

1999

1998

David Austen | Richard Tuttle | Roger Ackling | Susan Derges | Myron Stout | Melissa Kretschmer | Carl Andre | Angus Hood and Christine Frew | Family *

* Sam Taylor-Wood, Simon Starling, Callum Innes, Liisa Roberts, Richard Billingham, Damien Hirst, Rachael Whiteread, Tatsuo Miyajima, Tim Head, Richard Hamilton, Marc Quinn, Paul Miller (AKA. D.J. Spooky), Douglas Gordon, Emma Kay, Georgina Starr

1997

Adam Barker-Mill | Theories of the Decorative *

* Fabiàn Marcaccio, Ingo Meller, Beatriz Milhazes, David Reed, Phillip Taaffe, Juan Uslé, Leslie Wayne

1996

The British Art Show 4 | Callum Innes | Cicilia Vicuna | Absolut Blue and White *

* The British Art Show 4: Matt Collishaw, Anya Gallaccio, Douglas Gordon, Damien Hirst

* Absolute Blue and White: Keith Haring, Ed Ruscha, Andy Warhol and Catriona Grant, Gary Rough & David Shrigley

1995

Alan Johnston | Tina Modotti | Chris Dury

1994

Lothar Baumgarten | Raymond Booth   

1993

1992

1991

Margaret Stones | Herman de Vries

1990

Andy Goldsworthy | Chris Dury