Art gallery

An art gallery or art museum is a space for the exhibition of art, usually visual art, and usually primarily paintings and sculpture. It is also sometimes used as a location for the sale of art.

Architecture

The architectural form of the art gallery was established by Sir John Soane with his design for the Dulwich Picture Gallery in 1817. This established the gallery as a series of interconnected rooms with largely uninterupted wall spaces for hanging pictures and indirect lighting from skylights or roof lanterns.

Related Topics:
John Soane - Dulwich Picture Gallery - 1817 - Skylight - Roof lantern

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The late 19th century saw a boom in the building of public art galleries in Europe an America, being an essential cultural feature of larger cities. Art galleries were built alongside museums and public libraries as part of the municipal drive for literacy and public education.

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In the late 20th century the dry old fashioned view of art galleries has increasingly been replaced with architecturally bold modern art galleries, often seen as international destination for tourists in their own right. The first example of the architectural landmark art gallery would be the Guggenheim Museum in New York by Frank Lloyd Wright. More recent outstanding examples include Frank Gehry's Guggenheim Museum Bilbao and Mario Botta redesign of SFMOMA. Some critics argue that these galleries are self defeating, in that their dramatic interior spaces distract the eye from the paintings they are supposed to exhibit.

Related Topics:
20th century - Guggenheim Museum - New York - Frank Lloyd Wright - Frank Gehry - Guggenheim Museum Bilbao - Mario Botta - SFMOMA

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