Glynn Vivian Art Gallery facts for kids
| Oriel Gelf Glynn Vivian | |
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| Established | 1911 |
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| Location | Swansea, Wales |
| Key holdings | Correggio Gustave Doré John Constable Ben Nicholson Barbara Hepworth John Piper Kyffin Williams Paul Nash Wyndham Lewis Franz Anton Bustelli |
| Collections | British and European old masters, Surrealist, and Impressionist |
| Visitors | 42,682 (2017) |
| Founder | Glynn Vivian |
The Glynn Vivian Art Gallery is a public art gallery located in Swansea, Wales, in the United Kingdom. It's a place where you can see amazing artworks. You can find the gallery on Alexandra Road, close to Swansea railway station.
Contents
The Gallery's Story
How the Gallery Started
The Glynn Vivian Art Gallery exists thanks to a man named Glynn Vivian. In 1905, he gave his collection of paintings, drawings, and china to the city of Swansea. He also gave £10,000 to help build and run the gallery. This kind of gift, meant to support something forever, is called an endowment.
Glynn Vivian himself laid the first stone of the building in 1909. Sadly, he passed away before it was finished. The gallery officially opened in 1911. People were very excited and happy about it.
The building was designed by an architect named Glendinning Moxham. He used a style called Edwardian Baroque. The first director of the gallery was William Grant Murray. He was also the director of the Swansea Art School. Since 1951, the gallery has had its own special Curator. A Curator is someone who looks after the art collection.
Growing the Collection
Glynn Vivian's original art collection was quite varied. Over time, the gallery received more gifts. These included prints and drawings from the Deffett Francis collection. There was also a gift of Swansea china from Kildare S. Meager.
The gallery also buys new artworks. Because of these gifts and purchases, the collection now shows a wider range of European art. It also has many works by local Welsh artists. The gallery often hosts special exhibitions where they borrow art from other places. They also have educational programs for visitors.
Big Changes in 2011
Temporary Closure for Upgrades
In October 2011, the Glynn Vivian Art Gallery closed for a while. This was for a big project to make it better. The work cost about £6 million. They planned to update the building and change the outside of an extension built in 1974.
While the gallery was closed, they still held activities. These events took place at other locations around Swansea. The gallery is very important to the city. It is the only art gallery in Wales that was built just for art and is still open.
Reopening the Gallery
The work on the gallery took longer than expected. This was because the company doing the building work had problems. The gallery finally reopened in 2016. It was closed for about five years in total.
What You Can See: The Collection
The Glynn Vivian Art Gallery has a wide variety of visual arts. Many pieces came from the original gift by Glynn Vivian. The collection includes works by Old Masters. These are famous artists from a long time ago. It also has an international collection of porcelain (a type of fine china) and special Swansea china.
Paintings and Drawings
You can find paintings by many famous artists. These include Richard Wilson, Claude Monet, Thomas Jones, and Augustus John. There are also works by Welsh artists like Gwen John and Kyffin Williams.
The gallery also has many prints. These include works by Albrecht Dürer and William Blake. You can also see beautiful watercolours and drawings. Some of these are by Thomas Gainsborough and John Sell Cotman.
Porcelain and Glass
The gallery has a very large collection of Swansea porcelain and china. These are special items made in Swansea. You can also see pieces from other British and European factories. There are also examples of British and French glass. One very old and important piece is a Meissen experimental vase. It is one of the earliest examples of European porcelain.
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Portrait of a Young Lady by Bartholomeus van der Helst
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Ceridwen by Christopher Williams
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La Sainte Trinite by Gustave Doré
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Ecce Homo by Antonio da Correggio
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Landscape with Shepherd by David Cox
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Good Night
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Ecce Homo by Gustave Doré
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La folie by Gustave Doré
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The Nun by Gwen John
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Study of fruit and flowers by Agatha van der Mijn
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Ruined Buildings in Naples by Thomas Jones
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Neath Abbey by John Syer
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