KELVINGROVE Art Gallery and Museum is the first institution in Scotland to join Smartify.

The free app lets visitors scan and identify artworks, access the accompanying interpretation and building a personal art collection in some of the world’s best museums and galleries.

Around 350 paintings at Kelvingrove Museum can be accessed via the app, which draws information from Glasgow Museums Collections Online.

Chairman of Glasgow Life, Councillor David McDonald, said: “This is a really exciting development for Glasgow Museums.

"We are delighted to be the first venue in Scotland to join the Smartify community and offer our visitors the opportunity to experience this incredibly intuitive app.

“Kelvingrove Museum is Glasgow’s most popular attraction, welcoming more than 1.3 million visitors through its doors every year.

"More and more people have a smartphone with them when they visit.

"Smartify allows you to scan a favourite piece of art and read a little more about the work, it’s really easy to use and you can re-look at the painting once the gallery has closed for the night.

"It works across different venues, so people can build a unique collection of their favourite works, artist or period of art.”

Any work in the city’s collection that is still under copyright will not appear on Smartify.

The collaboration is part of a trial exploring digital learning resources, particularly aimed at young adults and schools visiting the museum.

The app lets users unlock the stories behind the art by simply scanning it with a smartphone or tablet.

The painting is instantly recognised, appearing on the users’ device accompanied by quality-checked information about the work.

Anna Lowe, CoFounder of Smartify, added: “Discovering and sharing amazing stories behind artworks remains at the heart of our mission as a global technology company. Inside every gilt frame or Perspex box, layer upon layer of meanings exist.

"Art is a truly universal language, and there are centuries of stories to tell.

“We know that the use of phones in museums is still controversial.

"So we use the latest technologies and simple design to create a non-intrusive experience.

"Our ambition is to re-frame the use of smartphones as engagement rather than distraction, and to help museums build new audiences.”

Smartify is described as a ‘Shazam for art’ and has had over half a million downloads, with a main demographic of ages 25 to 34.

It is a social enterprise developed that has been supported by Innovate UK and the European Commission.