National Galleries of Scotland has launched a Scotland-wide web-based appeal for a £17.6m refurbishment of the Scottish National Portrait Gallery which will itself become an exhibition.

The ‘Portrait of the Nation’ campaign asks Scots to upload a picture of themselves, with a caption, to the National Galleries’ website for a minimum donation of £50.

The pictures will remain online in a virtual gallery for five years and will be displayed on screen in a prominent and continuous display in the gallery itself, which is slated for opening next autumn. The gallery hopes to get a wide range of Scottish and international faces in order to help it create “a more inclusive and rounded picture of Scotland”.

Susan Diamond, head of fundraising at National Galleries of Scotland, said: “You could have any reason to do it and we have great examples already. We also envisage school groups and university friends using it a way to capture a period of time.
 
“It is great for us as the fundraising really works well and supports the vision of the project as a whole which is to reflect the faces and history of Scotland and those with connections to it.  We are using modern technology to reach a different type of supporter and we hope that the way our developers have worked with us means that the administration is easy for us and fun and secure for donors.”