Kelvingrove Art Gallery

KELVINGROVE ART GALLERY AND MUSEUM, GLASGOW.

 

Yesterday, Saturday 18/10/2008 I took the train and re-visited Kelvingrove.

This is one of my favourite galleries in Scotland. It was closed for complete refurbishment a year or so ago and since re-opening it has been one of Scotland’s top attractions. Like Glasgow’s entire City owned galleries and museums; entry is free.

Most days there is an organ recital on the enormous old organ situated in the main foyer. We were lucky enough to arrive just as it was about it start.

Please visit the web site to find more about this wonderful place and if you are ever in Scotland, pay this place a visit, I promise you will not be disappointed. What you see at Kelvingrove is the result of Victorian Philanthropy at its best.

This is just a tiny snippet of the information available on the web site.

http://www.glasgowmuseums.com/venue/index.cfm?venueid=4

Kelvingrove first opened to the public on 2 May 1901 when it formed a major part of the

‘‘Glasgow International Exhibition.’’

Its collections came mainly from the McLellan Galleries and from the City Industrial Museum, which had been opened in 1870 in the former Kelvingrove Mansion.
The initial money for the building came from the profits of the International Exhibition of 1888, which was held in Kelvingrove Park.There was a profit of over £40,000 from the International Exhibition. The Association for the Encouragement of Arts and Music in the City of Glasgow added to this by public subscription, increasing the total to over £120,000.The Town Council then took over the completion of the building when the Association ran out of funds. The total cost was over £250,000. The collections goes back to 1854, the year Archibald McLellan died. McLellan was born in 1797. He was a coachbuilder and prominent Glasgow citizen and art collector. He bequeathed his collection of over 400 paintings to the people of Glasgow, along with the building in Sauchiehall Street that still bears his name, the McLellan Galleries.
McLellan’s paintings still form the backbone of Glasgow’s Old Masters collection. Early views of the interiors of the McLellan Galleries show the paintings hung in typically Victorian fashion, with pictures ranged one above the other. When the Glasgow Institute of Fine Arts was founded in 1861, its annual exhibitions were held in the Galleries.

I have left the link for the pictures in flickr and in my album here, the links are underneath the last picture. There are more details about the pictures in my flickr album . The size and definition are much better in my flickr photos too  so please just take a look.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/forget-me-not5275/sets/72157608170565488/

delete reply elizelizeliz wrote on Oct 24, '08 O o o tis is mos baeutifull pentins & plase. I goin shoin my freind.

delete reply wickedlyinnocent wrote on Oct 20, '08 Beautiful, Pavlova and the Orange Blind are my favourites, thanks for this tour, Loretta.

delete reply aimlessjoys wrote on Oct 19, '08 Ahhhh, crimson! Wish I could visit & help enjoy this wealth of beauty!

delete reply acousticeagle wrote on Oct 19, '08 I'll be sure to go if ever I visit Scotland, where most of my ancestor's came. I love art galleries and museums. This place would be on my list of 'must see'.

delete reply greenwytch wrote on Oct 19, '08 i love the painting of the dancer........your day sounds wonderful, thanks for sharing it with us.

delete reply bennett1 wrote on Oct 19, '08 Oh, just stunning!!! The first picture is marvelous.

delete reply nemo4sun wrote on Oct 19, '08 what a place of beauty and wonder :)

delete reply djdx wrote on Oct 19, '08 I would enjoy the organ recital.

delete reply starfishred wrote on Oct 19, '08 I wish I was there to what a wonderful museum thanks loretta

delete reply brendainmad wrote on Oct 19, '08 Thanks Loretta for the link. I love that first picture in the ones you've posted here. Ballet is so graceful. BTW, some of my paintings are hung Victorian style - one above the other.

delete reply veryfrank wrote on Oct 19, '08 Very nice blog. I'll have to come back, I am still not feeling well. Catch you soon.

delete reply lauritasita wrote on Oct 19, '08 Loretta, I wish I could've gone with you. I love all the paintings here, especially the first one. It reminds me so much of a Degas painting because of the dancer and the beautiful colors. I will visit the site ! Thanks.