Exhibition's focus on arts figure

Richard Demarco has amassed a huge collection of images

An exhibition celebrating the life of city arts impresario Richard Demarco is set to open at the Scottish National Portrait Gallery.

The exhibition, presented by The Demarco European Art Foundation, will reflect Mr Demarco's involvement with Edinburgh, its festival and the arts.

The seven-part exhibition includes artworks from his own archive, photos and posters from the festival.

"Moving image portraits" exploring Poland and Romania will also feature.

The exhibition will feature special reference to figures in the arts and science such as Robert Burns, Robert Louis Stevenson, Sir Walter Scott, Thomas Carlyle and James Watt.

'Modern Athens'

Demarco's festival, which opens on 28 July, is being presented in parallel with Festival Conservations, in which Mr Demarco will engage in discussion with those who share his festival memories and hopes for its future.

Mr Demarco said: "I see these sculptural portraits as an integral part of my exhibition.

"They prove the festival has been enriched by the creative energy and artistic endeavours of the likes of Robert Burns, Sir Walter Scott, Lord Byron and Robert Louis Stevenson.

"And the general spirit of the Scottish Enlightenment, which transformed Edinburgh from an overcrowded medieval cityscape to Scotland's 'modern Athens'."