Aberdeen Art Gallery is the main visual arts exhibition space in the city of

Aberdeen Aberdeen (; sco, Aiberdeen ; gd, Obar Dheathain ; la, Aberdonia) is a city in North East Scotland, and is the third most populous city in the country. Aberdeen is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas (as Aberdeen City), and ...

, Scotland. It was founded in 1884 in a building designed by

Alexander Marshall Mackenzie Alexander Marshall MacKenzie (1 January 1848 – 4 May 1933) was a Scottish architect responsible for prestigious projects including the headquarters of the Isle of Man Banking Company in Douglas, and Australia House and the Waldorf Hotel in ...

, with a sculpture court added in 1905. In 1900, it received the art collection of Alexander Macdonald, a local granite merchant. The gallery is noted for its fine collection of modern Scottish and international art, including works by

Ken Currie Ken Currie (born 1960 in North Shields, Northumberland, England) is a Scottish artist and a graduate of Glasgow School of Art (1978–1983). Ken grew up in industrial Glasgow. This has had a significant influence on his early works. In the 19 ...

Gilbert & George Gilbert Prousch, sometimes referred to as Gilbert Proesch (born 17 September 1943 in San Martin de Tor, Italy), and George Passmore (born 8 January 1942 in Plymouth, United Kingdom), are two artists who work together as the collaborative art d ...

Ivor Abrahams Ivor Abrahams (10 January 1935 – 6 January 2015) was a British sculptor, ceramicist and print maker best known for his polychrome sculptures and his stylised prints of garden scenes. His career long exploration of new subject matter, novel ...

Bridget Riley Bridget Louise Riley (born 24 April 1931) is an English painter known for her op art paintings. She lives and works in London, Cornwall and the Vaucluse in France. Early life and education Riley was born on 24 April 1931 in West Norwood, No ...

and Bruce McLean.

History

Following a competition, the winning design by

and James Matthews began construction in 1883 and was opened in 1885. There were further additions, again by Mackenzie, in 1901 and 1905, including the addition of a sculpture court. In April 2020, the gallery made 50 artworks available digitally via the Smartify app. In October 2020, Aberdeen Art Gallery was named one of the five winners of the 2020 ArtFund Museum of the Year Award. ArtFund increased the prize money to £200,000 and changed the format of the award to five winners in response to the challenges faced by the museum sector during the

Coronavirus Pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identified ...

Collection

The Fine Arts collection of the Aberdeen Art Gallery has grown steadily since its foundation in 1885, highlighted with works by such artists as

Monet Oscar-Claude Monet (, , ; 14 November 1840 – 5 December 1926) was a French painter and founder of impressionist painting who is seen as a key precursor to modernism, especially in his attempts to paint nature as he perceived it. During ...

and

Renoir Pierre-Auguste Renoir (; 25 February 1841 – 3 December 1919) was a French artist who was a leading painter in the development of the Impressionist style. As a celebrator of beauty and especially feminine sensuality, it has been said that "Re ...

as well as more modern artists like John Bulloch Souter,

Ian Hamilton Finlay Ian Hamilton Finlay, CBE (28 October 1925 – 27 March 2006) was a Scottish poet, writer, artist and gardener. Life Finlay was born in Nassau, Bahamas, to James Hamilton Finlay and his wife, Annie Pettigrew, both of Scots descent. He was ...

, and

James McBey James McBey (23 December 1883 – 1 December 1959) was a largely self-taught artist and etcher whose prints were highly valued during the later stages of the etching revival in the early 20th century. He was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Lett ...

. The permanent collection includes 18th-century works by

Henry Raeburn Sir Henry Raeburn (; 4 March 1756 – 8 July 1823) was a Scottish portrait painter. He served as Portrait Painter to King George IV in Scotland. Biography Raeburn was born the son of a manufacturer in Stockbridge, on the Water of Leith: a fo ...

William Hogarth William Hogarth (; 10 November 1697 – 26 October 1764) was an English painter, engraver, pictorial satirist, social critic, editorial cartoonist and occasional writer on art. His work ranges from realistic portraiture to comic strip-like s ...

, Allan Ramsay and

Joshua Reynolds Sir Joshua Reynolds (16 July 1723 – 23 February 1792) was an English painter, specialising in portraits. John Russell said he was one of the major European painters of the 18th century. He promoted the "Grand Style" in painting which depend ...

, and 20th-century works by Paul Nash and

Francis Bacon Francis Bacon, 1st Viscount St Alban (; 22 January 1561 – 9 April 1626), also known as Lord Verulam, was an English philosopher and statesman who served as Attorney General and Lord Chancellor of England. Bacon led the advancement of both ...

, the

Post-Impressionists Post-Impressionism (also spelled Postimpressionism) was a predominantly French art movement that developed roughly between 1886 and 1905, from the last Impressionist exhibition to the birth of Fauvism. Post-Impressionism emerged as a reaction aga ...

and the

Scottish Colourists The Scottish Colourists were a group of four painters, three from Edinburgh, whose Post-Impressionist work, though not universally recognised initially, came to have a formative influence on contemporary Scottish art and culture. The four artists, ...

, as well as applied arts and crafts. File:Alexandre-Gabriel Decamps (1803-1860) - The Watering Place - ABDAG003157 - Aberdeen Art Gallery.jpg,

Alexandre-Gabriel Decamps Alexandre-Gabriel Decamps (March 3, 1803August 22, 1860) was a French painter noted for his Orientalist works. Life Decamps was born in Paris. In his youth he travelled in the East, and reproduced Oriental life and scenery with a bold fidelity to ...

(1803-1860) - The Watering Place File:Gustave Courbet (1819-1877) - The Stream - ABDAG003054 - Aberdeen Art Gallery.jpg,

Gustave Courbet Jean Désiré Gustave Courbet ( , , ; 10 June 1819 – 31 December 1877) was a French painter who led the Realism movement in 19th-century French painting. Committed to painting only what he could see, he rejected academic convention and t ...

(1819-1877) - The Stream File:Henri Fantin-Latour (1836-1904) - Dahlias - ABDAG002546 - Aberdeen Art Gallery.jpg,

Henri Fantin-Latour Henri Fantin-Latour (14 January 1836 – 25 August 1904) was a French painter and lithography, lithographer best known for his flower paintings and group portraits of Parisian artists and writers. Biography He was born Ignace Henri Jean Théodo ...

(1836-1904) - Dahlias File:Stanislas Lépine (1835-1892) - The Shepherdess - ABDAG002511 - Aberdeen Art Gallery.jpg,

Stanislas Lépine Stanislas Victor Edouard Lépine (October 3, 1835 – September 28, 1892) was a French painter who specialized in landscapes, especially views of the Seine. Biography Lépine was born in Caen. An important influence in his artistic formation ...

(1835-1892) - The Shepherdess File:Jules Adolphe Aimé Louis Breton (1827-1906) - The Gleaner - ABDAG002172 - Aberdeen Art Gallery.jpg,

Jules Adolphe Aimé Louis Breton Jules Adolphe Aimé Louis Breton (1 May 1827 – 5 July 1906) was a 19th-century French naturalist painter. His paintings are heavily influenced by the French countryside and his absorption of traditional methods of painting helped make Jules ...

(1827-1906) - The Gleaner File:Alfred Sisley (1839-1899) - Les bords du Loing, France - ABDAG003023 - Aberdeen Art Gallery.jpg,

Alfred Sisley Alfred Sisley (; ; 30 October 1839 – 29 January 1899) was an Impressionist landscape painter who was born and spent most of his life in France, but retained British citizenship. He was the most consistent of the Impressionists in his dedicatio ...

(1839-1899) - Les bords du Loing, France File:Théodore Rousseau (1812-1867) - Un marais dans les Landes, France - ABDAG003933 - Aberdeen Art Gallery.jpg,

Théodore Rousseau Étienne Pierre Théodore Rousseau (April 15, 1812December 22, 1867) was a French painter of the Barbizon school. Life Youth He was born in Paris, France in a bourgeois family. At first he received a basic level of training, but soon displaye ...

(1812-1867) - Un marais dans les Landes, France

Building and renovations

The central hall is supported by

granite Granite () is a coarse-grained (phaneritic) intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly cools and solidifies undergro ...

columns in a variety of colours, derived from different quarries in the local area and far beyond. Aberdeen Art Gallery Interior Post-renovation

At the western end of the building, with a room inside and a monument outside, is a major

war memorial A war memorial is a building, monument, statue, or other edifice to celebrate a war or victory, or (predominating in modern times) to commemorate those who died or were injured in a war. Symbolism Historical usage It has ...

. The war memorial was built in the 1920s as a part of the rapid expansion of the Aberdeen Art Gallery and was funded by a public subscription. The Memorial Court court has a display of several books of remembrance and rolls of honour, commemorating the fallen of World War I, World War II, the Merchant Navy and Fishing Fleets in World War II, and from conflicts after 1945. Another addition to the Gallery during this time of rapid expansion was Cowdray Hall. Cowdray hall is a concert venue for music and performances and was opened by King George V and Queen Mary 25 September 1925. The hall was supported by a gift from Annie, the Viscountess of Cowdray "with a view to encouraging the taste for art and music in the City of Aberdeen." The Gallery was closed for a programme of renovations commencing in 2015. The £34.6 million redevelopment was designed by Hoskins Architects and carried out by contractors

McLaughlin & Harvey McLaughlin & Harvey is a building and civil engineering firm founded in 1853. It operates all over UK and Ireland from its head offices located in Mallusk, just north of Belfast. History Henry McLaughlin and William Harvey first established ...

. The gallery re-opened in November 2019. The project won an award from the

Scottish Civic Trust Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English *Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...

for making an outstanding contribution to the quality and appearance of the built environment as well as the trust's National Panel Special Award. File:DSCF1805 War memoriial in Aberdeen Art Gallery.jpg, War Memorial (interior) File:Aberdeen war memorial (geograph 3397704).jpg, War Memorial (exterior)

References

External links

Aberdeen Art Gallery
{{authority control 1885 establishments in Scotland Art museums established in 1885 Art museums and galleries in Aberdeen Art museums and galleries in Scotland Culture in Aberdeen Museums in Aberdeen Decorative arts museums in Scotland Category A listed buildings in Aberdeen Listed museum buildings in Scotland Modern art museums Contemporary art galleries in Scotland

History

Collection

Building and renovations

See also

References

External links