£27.9M Restoration of Kelvingrove: Glasgow's New Take on an Old Masterpiece

For over a century Glasgow’s Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum in the city’s West End was loved by millions and was the most visited museum in the UK outside London. 

 

Since re-opening on July 11 after a three-year, £27.9 million restoration, Kelvingrove has already welcomed over one million people through its doors and is once again a ‘must-see’ attraction for visitors to Glasgow. 

 

The long-planned refurbishment - known as the Kelvingrove New Century Project - was funded by Glasgow City Council, the Heritage Lottery Fund, the European Regional Development Fund, Historic Scotland, Scottish Natural Heritage and the Kelvingrove Refurbishment Appeal. 

 

The philosophy behind the new-look Kelvingrove has shifted from the approach of its Victorian creators to a 21^st Century view that is object-based, visitor-centred, interdisciplinary and intent on telling the most interesting stories about the objects on display.

 

As such, the goal of the refurbishment was to create modern facilities, services and displays while ensuring the building itself can be seen to its best effect and enjoyed by all visitors.

 

The refurbished galleries have 22 themes including Every Picture Tells a Story; Scottish Identity in Art; Looking at Design and Creatures of The Past.

 

Kelvingrove’s magnificent Main Hall is also available for hire to meetings and events planners and has the capacity to take 500 guests for a gala dinner or 1000 for a reception in its spectacular setting.

 

The new-look Kelvingrove has vastly increased space, fascinating new computer interactives and revolutionary ways of showcasing its art and artefacts featuring:

 

 

The move of the legendary Salvador Dali painting Christ of St John of The Cross from its dwelling since 1993, the St Mungo Museum of Religious Life and Art, is seen by many as a return home.

 

Other well-loved exhibits back on display include Rembrandt’s Man in Armour; as well as masterpieces by Van Gogh, Whistler, Monet and Botticelli plus its unique arms and armour collection and Ancient Egyptian artefacts

 

Kelvingrove’s Impressionists collection is world-famous and visitors are able to study their artistic mastery in close-up and examine the artists’ colour and brushstroke techniques.

 

As well as all the old favourites, a whole host of new exhibits are on display including the immaculately restored Spitfire LA198, 602 (City of Glasgow) Squadron, suspended from the roof of the West Court – and the loan of a collection of significant Egyptian treasures from the British Museum.   

 

Kelvingrove of course wouldn’t be complete without paying homage to Glasgow-born genius Charles Rennie Mackintosh, one of the founders of the European Art Nouveau movement.  The new extensive ‘Mackintosh and the Glasgow Style’ Gallery showcases Mackintosh’s life and legacy through his art, design and architecture.

 

Like all of Glasgow’s civic museums and galleries, admission to Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum is free.  It is open to visitors: 10.00 - 17.00, Monday - Thursday & Saturday; and 11.00-17.00, Friday & Sunday.

 

Further information on Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum and its exhibits can be found at:

 

Venue hire and booking information can be obtained through the Convention Bureau of Glasgow City Marketing Bureau at: conventions@seeglasgow.com or via Encore Creative Catering at: www.encorecatering.co.uk

 

 

 

Paul Kane – Media Officer

Glasgow City Council

Tel: +44 (0) 141 287 5387

E-mail: paul.kane@pr.glasgow.gov.uk

 

 

Notes to Editors

 

 

Plus Study Centre, Reading Room and Mini Museum

 

2. Glasgow’s fine art collections had been housed in the McLellan Galleries in Sauchiehall Street since Archibald McLellan’s death in 1854. Industrial Collections were displayed from 1870 in the Kelvingrove Mansion which was built for Provost Patrick Colquhoun c1783, perhaps to designs by Robert Adam. It was situated where the skating rink now lies in the park. Despite the building of a new wing in 1876 for other items such as history and natural history, both the Kelvingrove Museum, as it became known, and the Corporation Galleries of Art were considered overcrowded and out of date.

 

 

 

5. Since its opening in 1902, the Kelvingrove Collection has been recognised as internationally significant, holding high quality collections across the entire array of museum disciplines - European and Scottish Art arms and armour, natural history, Scottish and Mediterranean archaeology, world cultures and of course the work of Charles Rennie Mackintosh and the Glasgow Style artists.  The collection and building was valued at £565million when refurbishment work began three years ago.