Kia ora, my name is the Robert McDougall Art Gallery, named after the businessman who gifted 25,000 pounds to the city for my construction. A Gisborne-born architect called Edward W. Armstrong (1896-1992) won a competition to design me. People like to call my style of architecture ‘neoclassical’.
When I first opened, I started with a total collection of one hundred and fifty six paintings, three sculptures and two cases of miniatures. I’m proud of the part I played to help grow the collection and people’s love for art during the seventy years between 1932-2002 when I was open. During that time, the art collection grew to over five thousand items and I held over one thousand exhibitions.
Lots of art to see - that’s got to be a good thing, right? I think it’s because I did such a great job, a much bigger art gallery was proposed for the city and it’s when my shiny successor Christchurch Art Gallery opened in 2003 that I carefully passed on the collection. It’s only a short walk away and you’ll still be able to see some of the works that were first shown here on display there today.
“I’ve held over one thousand art exhibitions!”
Robert McDougall Art Gallery
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Botanic Gardens,
9 Rolleston Avenue,
Christchurch 8013
