Kirkcudbright has attracted artists for well over a century. A group of local artists first began to exhibit here in the 1880s. One of their number, E A Hornel, came to prominence in a group known as ‘the Glasgow Boys’ and other members of this group came to the town to develop their work. By 1900, Kirkcudbright’s reputation as an artists’ town was well established. In the years following, many artists visited to paint, some becoming permanent residents and contributing in many different ways to the wellbeing of the community. Many artists had their homes and studios in the High Street, including E A Hornel at Broughton House, Jessie M King and E A Taylor at ‘Greengate’ and William Robson at 52, High Street. This rich artistic heritage makes the town unique in Scotland, comparable to St.Ives in Cornwall and Pont-Aven in Brittany.

Today, Kirkcudbright attracts visitors throughout the year in their thousands, drawn by the historic townscape and its surroundings, its harbour and marina, its range of visitor attractions and annual events, including the Jazz Festival in June and the popular programme of Summer Festivities which starts in late July and continues throughout August. Kirkcudbright, once the county town of the Stewartry of Kirkcudbright, is still an administrative and legal centre within Dumfries and Galloway and offers a range of hotels, catering establishments and friendly, specialist shops in St. Cuthbert and St. Mary Street, and near the Tolbooth in the High Street. The fine 18th and early 19th houses in the High Street reflect the prosperity of the town and port at this time. As the population grew Castle Street and Union Street were laid out as new streets in the ‘Old’ Town, followed by St Cuthbert’s and St Mary Streets in the early 19th century creating a ‘New’ Town. Many artists visited and several chose to settle here, particularly in the High Street, where E A Hornel, Jessie M King, E A Taylor, Charles Oppenheimer, and several others had their homes and studios.

This artistic heritage is the foundation for Kirkcudbright’s branding as an ‘artists’ town’. In 2000 the Kirkcudbright 2000 group arranged a hugely successful ‘Homecoming Exhibition’ at the Town Hall, featuring most of the favourites from the colony. Twenty three thousand people attended the Exhibition, and subsequent exhibitions (The Fleming Collection, 2002), (The Glasgow Tradition, 2003), (Intimate Friends – The Scottish Colourists, 2004) have reinforced Kirkcudbright’s reputation as an artists’ town and demonstrated the economic value of this approach to sustainable economic regeneration.

The success of the exhibitions has led to a partnership between Kirkcudbright 2000 and Dumfries and Galloway Council, and an Interim Board of Management. The Board’s mission is to signify the importance of Kirkcudbright and its environs as an historic artistic centre in Scotland through the establishment and operation of a nationally significant art gallery. The gallery will exhibit a permanent collection of paintings and other works by the leading artists associated with the town, together with a temporary exhibitions programme. The purpose of this would be to bring social and educational benefit to the community of Dumfries and Galloway, and to grow the region’s economy through the establishment of a major new visitor attraction in the region’s tourism infrastructure.