New Gallery (London) facts for kids
The New Gallery is a famous building in London, located at 121 Regent Street. It has a long and interesting history! This building, owned by the Crown Estate, is a special Grade II Listed building. This means it's protected because of its history and architecture.
It started as an art gallery from 1888 to 1910. Then it became a restaurant, a cinema, and even a church. After being empty for a while, it was a furniture store. Today, since 2012, it's a big flagship store for the fashion brand Burberry.
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The New Gallery's Art Beginnings
The New Gallery was created in 1888. It was founded by J. Comyns Carr and Charles Edward Hallé. They had worked together at another art place called the Grosvenor Gallery. But they left that gallery in 1887.
The building was designed by Edward Robert Robson. It was built very quickly, in just over three months! This was to make sure it could open in the summer of 1888. The gallery was built where an old fruit market used to be.
Inside the Art Gallery
The building had strong cast-iron columns supporting its roof. These columns were covered with marble. This made them look like huge marble pillars. They had fancy gold tops, like Greek capitals.
The parts above the columns were covered in platinum leaf. When it first opened, the ground floor had oil paintings. The first floor balcony showed smaller works. These included oil paintings, watercolours, and drawings. Sculptures were displayed in the main Central Hall.
Famous Artists and Exhibitions
The New Gallery continued the ideas of the Grosvenor Gallery. It became an important place for Pre-Raphaelite and Aesthetic movement artists. These art styles were very popular at the time.
Key Artists and Their Support
Edward Burne-Jones was a very popular artist then. He strongly supported the new gallery. He even joined its Consulting Committee. He lent three large oil paintings for the opening. This helped make the gallery a financial success.
Other famous artists also joined the committee. These included Lawrence Alma-Tadema and William Holman Hunt. George Frederic Watts and Lord Leighton also chose to show their art at the New Gallery.
Important Exhibitions Held Here
The first exhibition had a special preview on May 8, 1888. It then opened to the public on May 9 for three months. The preview was a big social event. Even former Prime Minister William Ewart Gladstone attended.
In October and November 1888, the gallery hosted a special show. It was the first time industrial and applied arts were shown in London. This was by the Arts and Crafts Exhibition Society. Their president was Walter Crane, a famous illustrator. These annual exhibitions were very important for the Arts and Crafts Movement.
In 1890, the New Gallery held a big exhibition. It showed portraits and items from the House of Tudor. Queen Victoria herself supported this special event.
The gallery also held a major show for Burne-Jones in 1892–93. After he passed away, a memorial exhibition of his works was held in 1898. In 1893, the New Gallery showed four panels by Masaccio. These are now in a museum in Berlin.
J. Comyns Carr continued as co-director until 1908. The Arts and Crafts Exhibition in 1910 was the last one held at the New Gallery.
The Building's Many Lives
After its time as an art gallery, the building changed uses many times.
From Restaurant to Cinema
In 1910, the inside was changed. It became The New Gallery Restaurant. But this didn't last long. In January 1913, it was changed again, this time into a cinema.
The cinema was made bigger in 1925. A large Wurlitzer organ was also installed. This cinema was famous for showing the first full-length animated cartoon in the UK. This was Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs in 1938.
Church, Shop, and Today
After World War II, the cinema faced difficulties. The owners, Gaumont British Theatres, sold the lease. The building then became a Seventh-day Adventist Church. It was used as a church from 1953 until the 1990s. Sometimes, religious films were still shown there.
The building was empty for over ten years. Then, in 2006, it became a Habitat furniture store. The Wurlitzer organ was still there and was fixed up. Habitat left the building in March 2011.
Since September 2012, the building has been a big flagship store for the fashion brand Burberry. The New Gallery became a special Grade II Listed building in 1992. This protects its historical importance.
