This title was first published in 2000: An investigation of Scottish art between 1928 and 1955 to bring into focus the multifaceted project that was Scottish modernism. At the core of this work lies the contention that Scottish modernism was underpinned by a desire to express a national consciousness. It was this ambition which became the defining feature of radical Scottish art, setting the parameters of its relationship with the idea of a coherent and international modern movement. With the foundation of the National Party of Scotland in 1928, Scottish intellectuals began to consider the nature of national identity and the characteristics of a national art. The "Scottish Renaissance Movement", under the voluble leadership of Hugh MacDiarmid, set out to articulate these interests, developing a vernacular poetry and literature. For Scottish artists, the way forward was harder to identify, as they fought to reconcile the demands for a Scottish national art with the stylistic revolution of international modernism. Tom Normand examines the competing claims of nationalism and modernism as they affected Scottish art.

A unique insight into the ways in which one of today's leading artists is inspired by great works of the past. In 16 emphatically modern new paintings, renowned artist, Alison Watt, responds to the remarkable delicacy of the female portraits by eighteenth-century Scottish portraitist, Allan Ramsay. Watt's new works are particularly inspired by Ramsay's much-loved portrait of his wife, along with less familiar portraits and drawings. Watt shines a light on enigmatic details in Ramsay's work and has created paintings which hover between the genres of still life and portraiture. In conversation with curator Julie Lawson, Watt discusses how painters look at paintings, explains why Ramsay inspired her, and provides unique insight into her own creative process. Andrew O'Hagan responds to Watt's paintings with a new work of short fiction and art historian Tom Normand's commentary explores further layers of depth to our understanding of both artists.

This book is a celebration of the extraordinary variety of Calum Colvin's work from the past four decades. Tom Normand comprehensively explores the artist's collection, selecting core subjects and ideas, examining diverse tropes and genres, and reviewing topics and issues. Each chapter is supported by visual examples of Colvin's work to create a rich narrative that recognises the ways in which thoughts, motifs and ideas surface in Colvin's photography and form a mosaic of associations and perceptions.

From Thomas Hamilton to contemporary artists Tom Normand traces the 200 year history of the Royal Scottish Academy. Featuring both men and women, short summaries precede each reproduction and orient the reader to particular points of interest within each art work. The artist’s history is related side by side with that of the Academy and, as such, they complement descriptions of the paintings. The book chronologically captures different periods as they influenced the style of what was produced in the Academy. Looking forward Normand states that ‘the Academy, in its history, has been a vital part of that international role, freely exhibiting the newest and the best of modern art and respecting the multi-dimensional approaches of contemporary art’. It is this vitality in the Scottish art scene that will sustain its visual culture in the future and place it on the international stage.