McManus Galleries and Museum, Dundee

http://www.mcmanus.co.uk/

McManus Galleries and Museum is a Gothic Revival-style building housing the city's collection of fine art. Designed by Sir George Gilbert Scott, the building opened to the public as the Albert Institute in 1867, incorporating a number of galleries, a library and reading room. During the mid-1980s the gallery underwent an extensive refurbishment project, expanding into the former library spaces and being renamed the McManus Galleries.

The Galleries hold a rich and varied collection from excellent 19th and 20th-century paintings to photographic works by Joseph McKenzie, as well as a good collection of ceramics and glass by contemporary Scottish makers.

The building is currently closed for the largest renovation project in its history, creating contemporary gallery spaces for the display of its substantial collections.


Guest editor’s note:
The McManus Galleries will open with great promise later this year. The original architecture has been polished to reveal its great detail and beauty, the grand entrance stairway, further enhanced by a new iconic staircase, designed by Page and Park Architects. The clean lines, poured concrete and steel of the simple elliptical design brings an entirely new contemporary language to the lofty gallery spaces within.

The much awaited installation of a major David Bachelor work will be well worth seeing, providing the visitor with a wonderful glow of coloured light through the central spaces of the building.

Dundee has a long heritage of civic collecting, amongst other accolades. The McManus started the first collection of fine art photography in Scotland. This new building is just what is needed to provide for the future of these important collections.

Reviewed by: Tina Fiske