Auckland Art Gallery

Infobox building
building_name = Auckland Art Gallery
native_building_name= Toi o Tāmaki

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caption = The gallery building, showing clock tower.
former_names =
building_type = Art gallery, formerly public library and council offices.
architectural_style = French Renaissance
structural_system =
location = Corner Wellesley and Kitchener Streets, Auckland City
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coordinates = coord|-36.8514|174.7663|format=dms|type:landmark_region:NZ|display=inline,title
start_date =
completion_date = 1884
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main_contractor =
architect = Grainger & Charles D'Ebro
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awards = The Auckland Art Gallery is the principal public gallery in Auckland, New Zealand and has the most extensive collection of national and international art in New Zealand. It frequently hosts travelling international exhibitions.

Set below the hilltop Albert Park in the central-city area of Auckland, the gallery was established in 1888 as the first permanent art gallery in New Zealand. The New Gallery, across the road from the main gallery, shows contemporary art. It is located in the former Auckland Telephone Exchange Building which was converted in 1995 into a rather daring fusion of Edwardian and contemporary architecture.

The collection, which began with a donation of manuscripts, rare books and 53 paintings from former colonial governor Sir George Grey, includes over 12,500 works. Many New Zealand and Pacific artists are represented, as well as European material from the Middle Ages to the present day. Notable New Zealand artists with extensive representation include Gretchen Albrecht, Marti Friedlander, C.F. Goldie, Alfred Henry O'Keeffe, Frances Hodgkins, Gottfried Lindauer and Colin McCahon. In most cases, at least some of these works were donated by the artists themselves.

Main gallery building

The main gallery building was originally designed by Melbourne architects Grainger & Charles D'Ebro to house not only the Art gallery but also the City Council Offices and public Library. It is constructed of brick and plaster in an early French Renaissance style and was completed in 1884. It is three storeys high, with an attic in the steep pitched roofs, and a six storey clock tower.

From 1969 to 1971 the building underwent remodelling and a new wing was added. In 1971 the library was moved to the new Auckland Public Library building on Lorne Street.

One of the sealed entrances to the Albert Park tunnels can be found behind the Art Gallery on Wellesley Street.

External links

* [http://www.aucklandartgallery.govt.nz/ Auckland Art Gallery website]