Dunedin Public Art Gallery facts for kids
The Dunedin Public Art Gallery is a special place in Dunedin, New Zealand, where you can see amazing artworks. It's located right in the middle of the city, near the public library and the Dunedin Town Hall. It's a great spot to explore art from New Zealand and around the world!
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A Long History of Art
The Dunedin Public Art Gallery was started in 1884 by W. M. Hodgkins. It was actually the very first public art gallery in New Zealand!
Over the years, the gallery has moved to several different buildings. It started in what is now the maritime gallery at the Otago Museum. Then, it moved to the Municipal Chambers in the Octagon from 1888 to 1890. After that, it went back to an annex of the Otago Museum.
In 1907, the gallery moved into a new building designed just for art in Queen's Gardens. A building for the Otago Settlers Museum was added there the next year. In 1927, it moved again to a building in Logan Park. This building was originally built for a big exhibition in 1925-1926. Sir Percy and Lady Sargood bought this building and gave it to the city. They did this to remember their son, who sadly died in the Battle of Gallipoli.
Finally, in 1996, the gallery moved to its current home. This building used to be a department store called D.I.C. It was completely updated to become the wonderful art gallery we see today.
The gallery has also hosted many famous art shows from other countries. These include "Masterpieces of the Guggenheim" in the 1990s, which showed modern art. More recently, it hosted "The Pre-Raphaelite Dream" from the Tate Gallery in London.
What You Can See: The Art Collection
The Dunedin Public Art Gallery has a fantastic collection of art. It includes both old and new artworks. You can see pieces by artists from New Zealand and from all over the world.
Famous Artists and Old Masters
The gallery has one of the largest collections of works by Frances Hodgkins. She was a very famous artist who was born right here in Dunedin.
It also has the biggest collection of "Old Master" paintings in New Zealand. These are artworks by famous European artists who lived before the 1800s. You can see paintings by artists like Luca Giordano, Salvator Rosa, and Claude Lorraine. There are also important works by artists from after 1800, such as Thomas Gainsborough, Joshua Reynolds, and William Turner.
The collection also includes paintings by famous French artists like Claude Monet.
New Zealand Art and Other Treasures
The gallery has many important New Zealand artworks. These include "Lawyer's Head from Forbury Head, Sunrise" by George O'Brien. You can also see "A Waterfall in the Otira Gorge" by Petrus Van der Velden. Other famous New Zealand pieces include Rita Angus's 1937 "Self-Portrait" and "The 5 Wounds of Christ" by Colin McCahon.
The gallery also has a huge collection of British watercolour paintings. There are over 1300 of these, which is very special for New Zealand. You can also find many old master prints and drawings. There's even a notable collection of Japanese woodblock prints, which are beautiful artworks made using carved wood.
Beyond Paintings: Decorative Arts
Unlike some other major art galleries in New Zealand, the Dunedin Public Art Gallery also collects "decorative arts." These are beautiful objects that are also useful, like fancy dishes or furniture. The gallery started collecting these in the 1920s. It was inspired by museums like the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.
Because of this, the gallery has many amazing pieces of ceramics (like pottery), glassware, metalwork, furniture, and textiles (like fabrics). Most of these are from other countries. An example is the "Dragon Charger" by William De Morgan, which is a very detailed decorative plate.
The current director of the gallery is Cam McCracken.
Gallery
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Chief Ngairo Rakaihikuroa in Wairarapa, New Zealand by Gottfried Lindauer
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La Débâcle by Claude Monet
See also
- Hocken Collections
- Otago Museum
- Otago Settlers Museum
