EDINBURGH.- The National Galleries of Scotland has celebrated its most successful ever year, with more than 2 million visits to its three Edinburgh attractions during 2015, it is announced today. This is the first time that annual figure at the Galleries has passed the 2 million mark.

Over the 12 month period, a total of 2,148,242 visits were recorded at the Scottish National Gallery, Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art and Scottish National Portrait Gallery, an increase of 12.2 percent on the figures for 2014.

Both the Scottish National Gallery and the Scottish National Portrait Gallery saw a 6 percent rise in the figures from 2014, with totals of 1,377,710 and 312,877 respectively. The Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art saw a massive surge of 41 percent, with 455,655 visitors to its two sites, Modern One and Modern Two, on Belford Road in Edinburgh’s West end.

Figures for the modern art galleries were boosted by the major summer exhibition The Amazing World of M.C. Escher, the UK’s first ever major retrospective of the work of Dutch artist M. C. Escher (1898-1972) and ARTISTS ROOMS: Roy Lichtenstein, a special three-room display of works from Pop Art forerunner Lichtenstein (1923-1997).

The Amazing World of M.C. Escher proved immensely popular with both critics and public alike, becoming one of the most visited ever shows at Modern Two, attracting over 52,000 visitors. It was complemented by a family friendly Escher-inspired maze outside the gallery, which was well-received by children. The Galleries hopes to – in the future – appeal to family audiences in a similar fashion.

ARTISTS ROOMS: Roy Lichtenstein helped chalk up a notable increase in attendees at Modern One. Initially opened by the artist’s widow Dorothy, the exhibition featured major pieces from the Pop-Art pioneer, bringing together a newly-assembled group of works as part of ARTIST ROOMS for the very first time.

John Leighton, Director-General of the National Galleries of Scotland, said: “We are absolutely thrilled that visits to NGS have now surpassed 2 million for the first time in our history.This result reflects a growing interest in our collections, exhibitions and activities from local, national and international visitors and, as one of Scotland’s leading cultural institutions, we hope to build on this success in years to come. Our focus will remain on improving and promoting our world-class collection, engaging with the public in new and exciting ways and developing both the strength and breadth of our yearly cultural programme.”

NGS hopes to carry through this strong performance in 2016 with a series of summer blockbusters across all three sites.

With Inspiring Impressionism: Daubigny, Money, Van Gogh, the Scottish National Gallery will host the first international exhibition to evaluate the work of Charles François Daubigny (1817-1878). The full range of Daubigny’s output will be represented, with juxtapositions with the work of his successors, such as Claude Monet (1840-1926) and Vincent Van Gogh (1853-1890). It is set to highlight the interactions and mutual influence between Daubigny and the Impressionists, as well as his importance for the next generation.

Facing the World: Self-Portraits from Rembrandt to Al Weiwei will open at the Scottish National Portrait Gallery in July. This display will focus on a topic now more relevant than ever through an exciting selection of portraits spanning six centuries and a miscellany of media, from the paintings of Edvard Munch to Ai Weiwei’s Instagram posts.

Recently opened at the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art’s Modern One venue is the British Art Show 8, which exhibits some of the very best in British contemporary art, whilst at Modern Two the popular Modern Scottish Women will be followed by Surreal Encounters in June, an show set to bring together numerous fantastic works from four of the world’s best private collections of surrealist art.