Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum facts for kids
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| Established | 1901 |
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| Location | Argyle Street, Glasgow G3 8AG, Scotland |
| Visitors | 1,832,097 (2019) |
The Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum is a super popular museum and art gallery in Glasgow, Scotland. It's looked after by Glasgow Museums. You can find this amazing building in Kelvingrove Park, right in the West End of the city, next to Argyle Street. Kelvingrove is one of Scotland's most visited museums, and it's free to enter!
This art gallery and museum first opened its doors in 1901. It has a huge collection of things, including natural history (like animals and plants), ancient Egyptian treasures, cool designs, and even architecture. You can also see medieval weapons and armor, learn about Scottish history, and discover the history of Glasgow. The building also holds one of Europe’s best public art collections, with art from Scotland, Europe, Africa, Asia, and Oceania.
Kelvingrove closed for three years for a big makeover and opened again in 2006. This work cost about £27 million! After the makeover, the collections were put into two main parts: "Life" and "Expression." The "Life" galleries show natural history, human history, and things from long, long ago. The "Expression" galleries are where you'll find all the beautiful art. There are 22 galleries in total, showing over 8,000 objects! Some of the most famous things you can see include Salvador Dali’s painting Christ of St John of the Cross, a huge Asian elephant named Sir Roger, the amazing Avant armour, and paintings by the Glasgow Boys and the Scottish Colourists.
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The First Museum in Glasgow
The very first Kelvingrove Museum opened in 1870. It was called the City Industrial Museum and was Glasgow's first museum run by the city. It was located in Kelvingrove House, a large house built in 1783. This house used to be the home of a important city leader named Lord Provost Patrick Colquhoun. Kelvingrove House stood to the east of where the art gallery is now, in the spot where Kelvingrove Park's skatepark is today.
The museum's collection grew so much that a new part was added to the house between 1874 and 1876. Kelvingrove House was taken down in 1899, and the museum part was removed in 1911.
Building the Kelvingrove Museum (1888–1901)
Building the Kelvingrove Museum was partly paid for with money from a big event called the 1888 International Exhibition. This exhibition was held in Kelvingrove Park. The museum building was designed by Sir John W. Simpson and E.J. Milner Allen. It opened in 1901 as the Palace of Fine Arts for another big event, the Glasgow International Exhibition, which also took place that year.
The building is made in a Spanish Baroque style. It uses red sandstone from Locharbriggs, which was a common building material in Glasgow. Many famous sculptors, like George Frampton and Francis Derwent Wood, created the beautiful sculptures you see on the building.
In the middle of the main hall, there's a huge concert pipe organ. It was built by a company called Lewis & Co. This organ was first made for the 1901 Glasgow International Exhibition. It was placed in the exhibition's concert hall, which could hold 3,000 people. The main hall of the new Art Gallery and Museum was always meant to be a place for concerts. After the exhibition ended, a city leader suggested that Glasgow buy the organ. He said that without it, "the art gallery would be a body without a soul." So, the organ was bought and put into the main hall. The beautiful wooden front of the organ was designed by John W. Simpson, one of the museum's architects.
There's a fun story in Glasgow that the museum was built facing the wrong way by mistake. The story says the architect was so upset he jumped from one of the towers! But this is just a myth. The main entrance was always planned to face into Kelvingrove Park.
A Big Makeover (2003–2006)
Kelvingrove was reopened by Queen Elizabeth II on July 11, 2006. It had been closed for three years for a huge makeover and repair work. This work cost about £35 million. A lot of the money came from the Heritage Lottery Fund and from people donating money. The project added a new restaurant and a big basement area to show more exhibits. Now, there are 8,000 objects on display!
A new way to find your way around the building was also created to make it easier for visitors. As part of the changes, a Spitfire plane (serial LA198) was hung from the ceiling above the "Life" gallery. This plane used to belong to the No. 602 Squadron RAF, which was known as the "City of Glasgow" Squadron.
Right after it reopened in 2006, Kelvingrove became the most popular free museum in Scotland. In 2007, it had 2.23 million visitors! This made it the most visited museum in the United Kingdom outside of London that year. From 2006 to 2009, the museum welcomed 5 million visitors.
Amazing Collections
The museum's collections mostly came from the first Kelvingrove Museum and the McLellan Galleries. It has one of the best collections of weapons and armor in the world. It also has a huge collection of natural history items.
The art collection includes many amazing European artworks. You can see paintings by Old Masters like Vecellio, Rembrandt van Rijn, and Jozef Israëls. There are also French Impressionist paintings by artists such as Claude Monet, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Camille Pissarro, Vincent van Gogh, and Mary Cassatt. You'll also find art from the Dutch Renaissance, the Scottish Colourists, and artists from the Glasgow School.
The museum is home to Christ of Saint John of the Cross by Salvador Dalí. The museum bought the rights to this famous painting after a meeting with Dalí himself. Between 1993 and 2006, the painting was moved to the St Mungo Museum of Religious Life and Art.
The museum also has a large collection of decorative arts. These were given by Anne Hull Grundy, who was an art collector. This collection shows the history of European jewelry from the 1700s and 1800s.
Gallery
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The sarcophagus (stone coffin) of Pabasa from ancient Egypt.
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The large pipe organ, built in 1901.
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A statue of the goddess Sekhmet from ancient Egypt, made between 1390-1352 BCE.
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The Floating Heads by Sophie Cave, a modern art display from 2006.
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The Spitfire F.21 plane, LA198, used by 602 (City of Glasgow) Squadron.
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Portrait of the Art Dealer Alexander Reid by Vincent van Gogh, painted in 1887.
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A Man in Armour by Rembrandt, painted around 1655.
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Paul Gauguin, Østre Anlæg Park, Copenhagen, painted in 1885.
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Return to Sender by Sean Reed, painted in 1996.
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The Avant Armour, a suit of armor from around 1440-1445.
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A Lady in Black by Francis Cadell, painted around 1926.
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The Tuileries Gardens, Paris by Camille Pissarro, painted in 1900.
See also
In Spanish: Museo Kelvingrove para niños
