Jane Brettle

Force

A Contemporary Portrait
of Scotland’s Police

Commission: The National Galleries of Scotland 2005-2007

This very specific commission gave access to an institution that was completely unfamiliar. The work reflects the people within the police in the their various roles and activities, with particular consideration to what is unique to each of Scotland’s 8 forces. The Police historically, are not recognised as a subject for ‘art’ nor do they find themselves in the rarefied atmosphere of the portrait gallery. Here the portraits of the officers and support staff in their working environment are both portrait and document, reflecting an immediate engagement with the viewer and an attention to detail in relation to the sitters’ professional activities as do the paintings of Holbein and the 17th Century Flemish group paintings of Rembrandt and his contemporaries.

The 26 Portraits of Police Officers from Force are in the collection of the National Galleries of Scotland.

The touring Exhibition of Force belongs to the Association of Chief Police Officers.