s rooms go, it's not much to look at. A bland, blank box of aplace, 20ft by 30ft, decked out in racks of drawers and cupboards.The only other furniture is a large table in the middle, half-obscured by cartons and old books. At first glance, it's a room thathardly seems worth the sturdy door that guards it. But dig a littledeeper and there is treasure to be found. Albums, prints, negatives,daguerreotypes - in all, some 27,000 images that make up Scotland'snational photography collection.
In this one room is gathered a history of the art form - from thepioneering work of Robert Adamson and David Octavius Hill, whosebust stands sentry at the front door, through to the work ofcontemporary Scots such as Calum Colvin and Wendy McMurdo, as wellas the odd gem from international photographers, including EveArnold and Annie Leibovitz. But it's buried treasure. Or half-concealed, at any rate. An exhibition entitled The Fine Art ofPhotography, opening later this month, gives a glimpse of some ofthe collection's jewels but, for the most part, only thecollection's curator Sara Stevenson and her assistant Duncan Forbeshave a true idea as to what is contained in that room at theNational Portrait Gallery.
'A high proportion of the collection is Scottish,' explainsStevenson, who has been curator since the collection was establishedback in 1984. 'It's good on contemporary Scottish work. I'd like itto be stronger than it is. Where it is not as coherent as it couldbe is in the international area.'
This is an inevitable consequence of a limited purchasing budget.Most of the collection has been garnered through donations fromcollectors and photographers.
Stevenson and Forbes take great pleasure in showing theirtreasures to visitors, opening light-fast boxes to reveal prints andalbums from the nineteenth century when Scottish photographerstraversed the globe with their cameras, mapping the empire in blackand white. There are times, however, when the exclusivity of theircalling can be a little wearying.
'It's there for the nation,' Stevenson points out. 'It belongs tothe nation, to the people of Scotland. It doesn't belong to us.'
The nation is largely unaware of what it owns, though. Unlikefine art, whether modern or classical, there is no permanent displayspace for Scotland's photography collection. It's a curiousoversight. Photography, after all, is perhaps the only art formScotland can say it has influenced at a formative stage. The work ofHill and Adamson in Edinburgh back in the 1840s did much to cementphotography's reputation as an art form. When New York's Museum ofModern Art staged its first retrospective on photography in 1937,the great American photographer, Paul Strand, argued that the entirefirst floor should be given over to Hill and Adamson's work.
'Scotland had a presence in the form from the very beginning,'says Stevenson. 'And Scottish photography has had an impactworldwide ever since.'
It doesn't take any great digging to find supporters for the ideaof a museum dedicated to photography. David Eustace, one ofScotland's most successful contemporary photographers, says: 'Iwould have a gallery in a minute.' Eustace, noted for his portraitand commercial work, adds: 'Photography is such a huge medium. Mosthouseholds have a camera. People love it. You don't have tounderstand some exotic visual language to appreciate it.'
The success of previous photography exhibitions organised by theNational Galleries in attracting a larger and younger audience alsosuggests the appeal is not restricted to those in the business.
'There's a different audience for photography,' argues Stevenson.
The idea of a museum has been rumbling around for the last coupleof years, ever since Timothy Clifford, director general of theNational Galleries, suggested that Rock House - Hill and Adamson'sEdinburgh base, then up for sale - might make a suitable location.
That idea bit the dust and, despite an interest in the Royal HighSchool as an alternative venue, the National Galleries' enthusiasmfor the idea has cooled, at least in material terms. Stevensonexplains: 'We can't take a leading interest in it because we havegot to establish the Royal Scottish Academy and work on therestoration of the National Portrait Gallery building. But we arevery happy to respond to an outside initiative.'
That outside initiative is coming from the Action Committee forthe Scottish National Photography Centre, a lobby group seeking toturn desire into reality. They are a typically identikit mix of thegreat and the good - politicians, academics, journalists and artsadministrators. It includes Harry Reid, former editor of The Herald;Lord James Douglas-Hamilton; and Lib Dem MSP Ian Jenkins, theparty's spokesman for education, culture and sport. The committee ischaired by Dr Michael Shea, the former royal press secretary.
Committee secretary Adam Elder - a former Scotland on Sundayphotographer who now runs picture library Scottish Viewpoint -believes the group can get things done. 'We've had informal support,not only at Scottish government level, but also at Westminster,' hesays. 'We feel we have the people around us now who can make ithappen.'
The group has commissioned a feasibility study into the prospectsof establishing a centre at the Royal High School and will seek togather public and private money for the project.
Elder says: 'We'll need to do proper professional things likecommissioning reports on the building, really go into the detail itdeserves and try to prove the case that it should happen.'
Not everyone is convinced by the lobby group. 'Committees don'tgenerally work,' argues David Eustace. 'People seem to mess about alot. We talk about it and don't do it. As a nation we're very goodat that.'
Eustace thinks corporate finance is the obvious route forfunding. 'I believe there are enough industries who would want to beassociated with a photography museum. To someone like Deutsche Bank,(pounds) 200,000 is absolutely pennies. I would have someone likeRichard Branson on the committee. Someone who knows jack s**t aboutphotography, but who can contact ICI, Deutsche Bank, whoever.Someone who can speak their language.'
Elder argues that Shea is that man. 'He's been in business at ahigher level than most other people in Scotland. He was presssecretary to the Queen. He was political consultant with the HansonCorporation. We've got brains from every part of the psyche we need.He's been completely around the block. I'm not convinced that a hard-nosed businessman is the kind of person we need to take thisforward.'
The next year will tell us. The committee members hope that aphotography centre will open in 2002, in time for the bicentenary ofthe birth of David Octavius Hill. 'Our plan is to fast-trackeverything we can,' says Elder. 'We want to build up a momentum andthen keep that momentum going.'
It is, he says, an idea whose time has come. 'You can look aroundthe world and there are many, many countries who have what we'd termphotography museums. Latvia has one. France has a great one. Americahas a number. We deserve one because Scotland is one of the homes ofphotography.'
It is perhaps a little early to imagine quite what shape anymuseum or centre might take, but you can forgive Sara Stevenson fordreaming a little.
'I want something that looks to the future as well as the past. Iwouldn't want a closed museum in which we shut the doors on thefuture. I think we want to generate excitement in what is, let'sface it, a very exciting art.' n The Fine Art of Photographyexhibition opens at the National Portrait Gallery in Edinburgh onFriday, October 19. A companion guide, priced (pounds) 12.95, willbe available.
