Robert McDougall Art Gallery facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Robert McDougall Art Gallery |
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Robert McDougall Art Gallery (2018)
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| General information | |
| Architectural style | Neo-classical |
| Location | Christchurch Botanic Gardens |
| Address | 9 Rolleston Avenue |
| Town or city | Christchurch |
| Country | New Zealand |
| Coordinates | 43°31′51″S 172°37′34″E / 43.530799°S 172.626151°E |
| Current tenants | Canterbury Museum |
| Completed | 1932 |
| Landlord | Christchurch City Council |
| Design and construction | |
| Architect | Edward Armstrong |
| Designated: | 2 April 1985 |
| Reference #: | 303 |
The Robert McDougall Art Gallery is a special old building in Christchurch, New Zealand. It was designed by an architect named Edward Armstrong and first opened its doors in 1932. This building is so important that it's listed as a Category I heritage building by Heritage New Zealand. You can find it inside the beautiful Christchurch Botanic Gardens.
How the Gallery Began
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In 1925, a rich builder named James Jamieson wanted to give his art collection to Christchurch City. He said they needed to build a new place to keep it. The city council asked people if they wanted to borrow money to build this new gallery. But the idea was not popular, so nothing happened for a few years.
Then, in 1928, a kind person named Robert McDougall donated £25,000 (a lot of money back then!) to build the gallery. A competition was held to find the best design. Robert McDougall himself helped choose the winning plan. Edward Armstrong's design was picked.
The perfect spot for the gallery was chosen in the Christchurch Botanic Gardens, right behind the Canterbury Museum. Building started in November 1930. By April 1932, the gallery was almost finished, but they ran out of money. Robert McDougall gave even more money to finish it. The total cost was £31,000.
A Home for Art
When the gallery first opened, it held 160 artworks. Most of these came from two main groups: the Canterbury Society of Arts and James Jamieson's collection. Over the years, the art collection grew much bigger!
By 1961, the gallery had 325 artworks. By 2001, it had over 5,000 items! The Robert McDougall Gallery became too small for all the art. So, a new, bigger gallery called the Christchurch Art Gallery was built. It opened in 2002 to hold the growing collection.
After the new gallery opened, the Robert McDougall Gallery was mostly empty. It was officially closed after the September 2010 earthquake. The building survived the big Christchurch earthquakes. It had some repairs in 2016. It still needs more work to make it stronger against future earthquakes, and it remains empty for now.
Gallery Design
The Robert McDougall Gallery has one main floor. It features a large central hall with special columns that look like marble, called scagliola. The floors are made of real marble. The building is made from brick and concrete, and it's covered with a light-coloured stone called Oamaru stone.
Edward Armstrong, the architect, was inspired by another gallery called the Sarjeant Gallery in Whanganui. Both galleries use a clever idea from Samuel Hurst Seager called 'topside lighting'. This means that skylights (windows in the roof) let natural light shine directly onto the pictures. This way, the art is well-lit, but the light doesn't bother visitors or shine on the floors.
