American Photographer Showcases Capital’s Graveyards
26 July 2012
A collection of photographs of Edinburgh’s historic cemeteries is going on public display for the first time.
The photographs are the work of American art lecturer Robert Reinhardt, who has taken over 28,000 pictures of the capital’s graveyards since the year 2000, when he first visited Scotland as part of a school exchange trip. Since 2008, the best of these images have been gifted to RCAHMS to form part of the National Collection.
Reinhardt, who grew up in a house surrounded by seven cemeteries in the town of Valhalla, New York, became interested in Edinburgh’s memorials when he noticed the overgrown graveyard at Warriston while out walking with friends. Since then, he has taken his camera into cemeteries across the capital, including at the Grange, the Dean Village, Liberton, Newington, Rosebank and Morningside. The results of this work are on show at the Edinburgh Central Library from 30 July to 1 September 2012.
Explaining what inspired him to start recording the capital’s graveyards, Reinhardt said, “Seeing Warriston for the first time turned my visual sensibilities upside down. Instead of being this manicured Victorian sanctuary it was completely overrun and fast losing a battle to Mother Nature. The incredible sense of history and culture within the walls of these resting places is overwhelming to me.
“One reason I continue to do this is that each time I come back, I find pieces vandalised. My photographs have become an extensive record of what is and what was. With the images housed at RCAHMS the general public will have permanent access to a record of these wonderful sites. I hope this new exhibition will raise awareness of the condition of the graveyards and help to save or stabilise them.”
The exhibition will be accompanied by a series of talks on the subject of cemeteries. RCAHMS Head of Collections Lesley Ferguson, who will be giving one of the lectures, said, “Graveyards are a very significant aspect of Scotland’s cultural heritage. By holding this exhibition and by gifting his images to the RCAHMS collection, Robert Reinhardt is helping to highlight what fantastic historical – and visual – resources cemeteries can be. His imagery joins a large amount of material on Scottish graveyards and memorials held at RCAHMS.”
You can browse a selection of Robert Reinhardt’s photos in our online gallery.
The exhibition, titled Sleep: Historic Cemeteries of Scotland, runs from 30 July to 1 September at the Edinburgh Central Library.
