A delightful mixture of indigenous art - Maori and settlers' - with a sprinkling of the international, the Auckland Art Gallery is a great success. Please note the Gallery is undergoing renovation and extension works which may cause disruption and closure until mid-2011.
Designed by Melbourne architects John H Grainger and Charles A D'Ebro, the French Château-style building was opened in 1887 as Auckland City's Free Public Library and Municipal Offices, with the gallery space opening on 17 February the following year, when it was heralded as "the first permanent Art Gallery in the Dominion."
In 1995 the building across the road, originally a telephone exchange, became a second gallery space for the institution, remodelled for the purpose by architects David Mitchell and Julie Stout, under the auspices of the Auckland Contemporary Art Trust. The original Gallery is currently being refurbished and restored, while the New Gallery shows both the permanent collection and visiting exhibitions.
The collections include such home-grown talent as New Zealand's most famous fine artist, Frances Hodgkin. Although she abandoned her country at an early age, the acquisitions trust of the gallery has guaranteed a fine collection of her work. The marvellous Colin McCahon made a personal bequest to the gallery in 1987, so he is also well represented.
Both gallery buildings have their own cafés: the Art Gallery Café open seven days a week, and the New Gallery's Reuben from Monday to Saturday.