I visited the National Gallery of Scotland in the first week of 2025 to have a look at the Turner watercolours, shown once a year in January. I do this every year.
Above:Edinburgh from below Arthur's Seat,Joseph Mallord William Turner,1801,National Gallery of Ireland
I am now very glad I went early, because the week after there was a big queue to get in, and earlier this week (Thursday 10am), another even longer queue. I have never seen queues before: snaking out the front door and up the side of the gallery building.
A reason might be that the exhibition was of the Vaughan Bequest from the National Gallery of Ireland this year for the first time. Maybe a good enough reason itself, or maybe good marketing, advertising or an "influencer" somewhere. They are such good paintings that I am just glad I managed to have a look.
From the National Gallery of Scotland site :
In 2025 the National Galleries of Scotland will commemorate the 250th birthday of beloved British artist JMW Turner with a once-in-a-lifetime, free exhibition. For the first time, visitors will be able to marvel at over 30 Turner watercolours from Dublin.
I over-heard a gallery assistant saying that Dublin has not got queues like this.