The Saracen Head

The Saracen Head sits on the Gallowgate, marked by a faded facade that keeps the name alive long after the original coaching inn vanished. In seventeen fifty-five, Robert Foulis opened the first fine art academy in Scotland right here. He filled the rooms with imported paintings and sculptures to teach local students. Foulis went bankrupt trying to bring high culture to a neighborhood of traders and laborers. He eventually died in poverty in London, leaving behind only the inn’s name and this local reputation.