The Art Gallery in Aberdeen was designed by Aberdonian architect Alexander Marshall McKenzie. It opened in 1885 and
has housed many fine examples of artwork, paintings, sculpture, exhibitions and fine collections which change every
month, bringing new art to Aberdeen City and Shire.
Art Collections include modern art and art from the 19th, 20th and 21st Centuries.
Regular exhibitions include a well preserved Corinthian Helmet.
There is access to the James McBey Art Reference Library.
Maw Broon fae the Sunday Post has published a cookbook full of her favourite Scottish and family recipes.
Read More About It Or Buy Now!
Cowdray Hall
The Cowdray Hall in Aberdeen is annexed through the Art Gallery. It contains a book of condolence to the Piper Alpha
Oilrig Disaster of 1988 and books or remembrance to World War One and Two.
There are often musical recitals at The Cowdray Hall.
2008 Art Gallery Exhibitions
Listed below are the 2008 Art Gallery Exhibitions:
Saturday 3 May 10am - 4.30pm, Sunday 4 May 2 - 4.30pm and Monday 5 May 10am - 4.30pm: Show Scotland Art Idol at Aberdeen Art Gallery - Come along for a weekend of
reality TV-themed fun! Members of the Art Gallery team will pick their favourite pieces from their stores and campaign for your vote to have them put on display.
Create your own artwork and submit it for assessment by an expert panel and have it displayed in the Art Gallery. And join members of our behind-the-scenes team to
find out what makes the Gallery tick. Aberdeen Art Gallery will be taking bookings for the behind-the-scenes tours from April 14th. Please call 523700 for more
information and to book your free place.
Friday 25 April - Camden Town Painters: An informal talk on the art of the Camden Town painters, including W.R. Sickert, S.F. Gore, R.B. Bevan, Harold Gilman and
Augustus John at Aberdeen Art Gallery from 12.30-12.45pm.
9 February to 12 April 2008 - The Cutting Edge: Scotland’s Contemporary Crafts at the Art Gallery Aberdeen - Scotland is a leader in craft practice and this stunning
exhibition showcases the most exciting and innovative of craftwork by thirty makers. Featured are silverwork, ceramics, jewellery, glass, textiles, basketry,
furniture and metalwork with pieces by Malcolm Appleby, Mark Devlin, Jan Milne, Helen McPherson, Sarah Taylor, Keiko Mukaide, and Jack Cunningham. The exhibition is a
partnership between Aberdeen City Council, East Ayrshire Council, Glasgow City Council and National Museums Scotland and is supported by the Scottish Arts
Council National Lottery Fund.
Until 12 April 08 - Modern Masters of Printmaking at the Art Gallery Aberdeen - A selection of outstanding works by 20th century masters including Lucien Freud,
Victor Pasmore, Kathe Kollowitz, Ben Nicholson, Paul Nash and Serge Poliakoff.
9 January to 12 April 2008 - Modern Masters of Printmaking at the Aberdeen Art Gallery. This exhibition is the outstanding works by 20th century masters including
Victor Pasmore, Kathe Kollowitz, Ben Nicholson, Paul Nash and Serge Poliakoff.
Friday 28 March 08 - Surrealism: Dreamlike visions by English surrealist artists and their Scottish counterparts Edward Baird and James Cowie, are discussed in this
informal tour of the collections at Aberdeen Art Gallery from 12.30-12.45pm.
Tuesday 25 to Friday 28 March 2008 - On the Edge (Crafts for Kids): Experience Scotland's contemporary crafts at the fun craft based workshops and major exhibition,
The Cutting Edge, at Aberdeen Art Gallery - from 10:30am - 12:30pm (9 -12 years) and 1:30 - 3:30pm (5 - 8 years). Booking is essential – phone WhiteSpace (01224) 523640.
Costs £30 (£25 concession).
Tuesday 26 February, 12.30-12.45pm lunch time talk by John William Waterhouse - at Aberdeen Art Gallery. Admission
is free. Olga Ferguson, Assistant Keeper (Fine Art), discusses two works by the Edwardian artist John William Waterhouse, Danaides and Penelope and her Suitors.
Friday 25 January, 12.30-12.45pm, Scotland and Venice 2007 lunchtime talk at Aberdeen Art Gallery. Admission is free. Jennifer Melville Keeper (Fine Art) gives a
guided tour of Scotland and Venice 2007.
From 1 December 2007 to 27 January 2008 - Scotland and Venice 2007 at Aberdeen Art Gallery. Six of Scotland’s most exciting and innovate artists have been selected to represent the country at the world’s most important showcase for
contemporary art. This year’s 52nd Venice Biennale will present their homecoming exhibition, Scotland and Venice 2007 at Aberdeen Art Gallery.
Scotland and Venice 2007 is a collaboration between the Scottish Arts
Council, British Council and National Galleries of Scotland.
The exhibition in Aberdeen is a partnership between
Scotland and Venice 2007 and Aberdeen Art Gallery & Museums and
is supported by the Aberdeen City Council - City Growth Fund. More information can be read at
www.scotlandandvenicebiennale.com
We also run the
www.findextrawork.co.uk website where there is information about earning more money from a
range of part time and full time jobs which can be done at home or out and about. Visit for more information.
Until 27 January 2008 - AndersonMacgee: The Melancholy Thistle and Other Works. Briony Anderson and Paul Macgee’s intervention takes the form of a
thematically curated exhibition drawn from works in the Gallery's permanent collections and shown 'embedded' within the current displays at Aberdeen Art Gallery.
Land of the Samurai -Aberdeen’s Japanese Treasures
From the 16 June to 18 August 2007 Aberdeen Art Gallery will host the exhibition Land of the Samurai - Aberdeen’s Japanese Treasures. Land of the Samurai celebrates the rich and varied collections of Japanese treasures held in public and private collections in Aberdeen. This major summer exhibition covers the period when Japan opened up to the west and examines how Japanese art and artefacts came to transform western aesthetics and even played a fundamental part in the arrival of modern art. It continues the story up the present day with a variety of exhibits that show the continuing influence of Japan on the west.
A lavishly illustrated book accompanies the exhibition.
The exhibition is supported by the City Growth Fund, Energising Aberdeen and funding from the Great Britain Sasakawa Foundation.
Extreme North - On Norwegian Design and Architecture
Until 12 August 2007 Aberdeen Art Gallery host the exhibition
Extreme North - On Norwegian Design and Architecture. It is presented by the Six Cities Design Festival Extreme North and reveals how innovative and functional Norwegian design makes it possible to live in the harsh climates of the far north. The exhibition covers every aspect of design, from the weather-resistant fashions of designers such as award-winning Rett og Slett and 3rd Hand, to sustainable architecture that merges with the countryside, such as the S·mi Parliament, evoking its surrounding snowy mountain caps.
Extreme North will capture your imagination and show that there is more to good Norwegian design than strong visual appeal.
An exhibition by Norsk From and the Norwegian Design Council in association with Aberdeen Art Gallery. Sponsored by the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Ailsa McWilliam - Reaction: Mild to Severe
Until 8 September Aberdeen Art Gallery host the exhibition Ailsa McWilliam - Reaction: Mild to Severe.
The James McBey Award was established by Marguerite McBey, the widow of local artist James McBey (1883-1959). She wanted to help artists to travel, as her husband had done, in order to be inspired by foreign lands and their peoples. For Ailsa McWilliam this provided the opportunity to accept an invitation to live and work in Queensland, Australia. During her stay McWilliam experienced all the vagaries of Australian weather and wildlife: a cyclone, floods and her home and studio visited by snakes and deadly spiders. The work displayed in this show reveals how such experiences inspired her to create work with a distinctly Australian character. As well as creating some outstanding work of her own during the visit, McWilliam also helped local Aboriginal women to screenprint. Some of their work is shown alongside hers in this display. The exhibition is made possible with the financial assistance of the Gray's Aberdeen Visual Artists Award Scheme.
From 21 September 2007- Woven: Superb examples of woven textiles and tapestries from the Collections, including tapestry by Jo Barker and Archie Brennan, a former artistic director of the Dovecot Studios, Edinburgh.
Free Talks At Aberdeen Arts Centre
Ian Hamilton Finlay
On Friday 29th June 2007 Ann Steed, Assistant Keeper (Fine Art), will give a talk on artist Ian Hamilton Finlay at Aberdeen Art Gallery from 12.30-12.45pm. Admission is free.
Land of the Samurai, Aberdeen’s Japanese Treasures
On Friday 27th July 2007 Jennifer Melville, Keeper (Fine Art), will give a guided tour of the Land of the Samurai, Aberdeen’s Japanese Treasures exhibition at Aberdeen Art Gallery from 12.30-1pm. Admission is free.
Ploughing
On Friday 31 August Emily Hope Thomson, Assistant Keeper (Fine Art), discusses Ploughing by Sir George Clausen at Aberdeen Art Gallery from 12.30-12.45pm. Admission is free.
Until 8 September Aberdeen Art Gallery host the exhibition Ailsa McWilliam - Reaction: Mild to Severe.
15 September 2007 to 5 January 2008 - James McBey
in Venice. Display of Venice prints from the permanent collection shows how Aberdeen artist James McBey masterfully used the medium of etching to evoke atmospheric scenes of that special city at
Aberdeen Art Gallery
From 1 September to 31 December 2007 - Artist Adventurers.
Selection of drawings and watercolours ranging from the early 1800s to the beginning of the following century including works by David Wilkie, John Phillip, Arthur
Melville and John Singer Sargent at Aberdeen Art Gallery.
Facilities
Admission is free to Aberdeen Art Gallery. It opens from 10am until 5pm Monday through to Saturday and from
2pm until 5pm on a Sunday.
There are some steep stairs to climb to get to some exhibits and disabled visitors can use the lift which
can be accessed by asking a security guard or member of staff. People using the lift have to be escorted for health
and safety reasons. There is disabled access throughout the spacious displays and ramps to enter the building.
A cafe, visitor's shop and toilets can be found on the ground floor.
The easiest car park to use is at the
Bon Accord Centre. Walk through the Bon Accord Centre
and turn right at the exit. Walk up the hill past The Forbidden Planet Bookshop and Boots The Chemist. Follow the path round
to get to the Art Gallery.
Contact Address Details For Aberdeen Art Gallery
Aberdeen Art Gallery
Schoolhill
Aberdeen
Aberdeenshire
Grampian
Scotland
AB10 1FQ
There were 207,996 visitors to Aberdeen Art Gallery in 2006.
9 September - 11 November:
William Dyce and the Pre-Raphaelite Vision -
In his own day Aberdeen born artist William Dyce was regarded as one of the most significant
artists working in Victorian Britain and is remembered as an early champion of the younger
generation of Pre-Raphaelite artists. This exhibition will celebrate the immensely appealing work
of this outstanding Scottish artist. Held in the bicentenary of his birth, it brings together the City’s
substantial holdings of Dyce’s work and shows them alongside many important paintings
borrowed from public and private collections, including the National Gallery of Scotland and the
Royal Academy, London.
As well as looking at Dyce’s remarkable Pre-Raphaelite paintings; landscapes and religious
paintings, the exhibition will also examine other aspects of his output – his early portraits and his
fresco paintings, especially those that he did for the Houses of Parliament. A full colour catalogue
accompanies the exhibition.
Supported by the friends of Aberdeen Art Gallery and Museums and the Energising Aberdeen
Fund.
30 September to 27 January 2007 - Magnificent
One Hundred Years of HMT Aberdeen -
His Majesty’s Theatre opened its doors for the first time on December 3rd 1906. It was hailed
‘Magnificent’ by the local press and being the start of the festive season Little Red Riding Hood
took centre stage. In the hundred years since then HMT has been witness to many changes.
Cinema, radio, television arrived to challenge live theatre but HMT fought back and when many
others theatres were closing it continued to survive. This exhibition takes a nostalgic look at its
magnificent history. It celebrates performers, management and employees, all who contributed to
keeping entertainment and live theatre healthy in Aberdeen.
7 October to 25 November -
A Scottish Celebration
Contemporary Textiles for the Centenary of the Embroiderers Guild -
Embroidery is one of the most popular crafts in the country, with some 4 million practitioners and
followers. The Embroiderers Guild and its countrywide network of branches, ensure that the skills
of the craft are kept alive and its importance as a contemporary art form and an historical
decorative art, is highlighted. Aberdeen Art Gallery is pleased to show a selection of Scottish
members work touring in exhibition in celebration of the craft and the centenary of the Guild.
In 2006 Commonwealth double gold swimming winner David Carry allowed his hometown to display his two gold and one
silver medals along with his Commonwealth Games memorabilia.
Read more about David Carry.
Ian Fleming - The Creation Suite. A former Head of Gray's School of Art in Aberdeen. This display, called In The
Beginning Was The Word, consisted of 15 of his etchings illustrating Bible verses which described Creation.
The Art Gallery in Aberdeen was designed by Aberdonian architect Alexander Marshall McKenzie. It opened in 1885 and
has housed many fine examples of artwork, paintings, sculpture, exhibitions and fine collections which change every
month, bringing new art to Aberdeen City and Shire.
From the 16 June to 18 August 2007 Aberdeen Art Gallery will host the exhibition Land of the Samurai - Aberdeen’s Japanese Treasures. Land of the Samurai celebrates the rich and varied collections of Japanese treasures held in public and private collections in Aberdeen. This major summer exhibition covers the period when Japan opened up to the west and examines how Japanese art and artefacts came to transform western aesthetics and even played a fundamental part in the arrival of modern art. It continues the story up the present day with a variety of exhibits that show the continuing influence of Japan on the west.
A lavishly illustrated book accompanies the exhibition.
The exhibition is supported by the City Growth Fund, Energising Aberdeen and funding from the Great Britain Sasakawa Foundation.