Description of the attraction
The art gallery is located in the Joubert Park area, a few blocks from Johannesburg's main train station. The building was designed by British architect Sir Edwin Lutyens and consists of 15 exhibition halls, as well as several outdoor exhibition areas for large sculptures. Its archives contain a collection of British and Dutch painting of the 18th-19th centuries, a collection of European painting of the 19th century, as well as a large collection of contemporary works by South African and foreign artists.
Collector Dorothea Sarah Florence Alexandra Phillips, wife of mining magnate Lionel Phillips, formed the gallery's first collection with funds donated by her husband. After moving to Johannesburg, she began acquiring paintings with the aim of creating an art gallery, which later became the Johannesburg Art Gallery. She acquired a collection of paintings by the British collector and artist Sir Hugh Lane, exhibited in London in 1910. Lady Phillips donated her lace collection and persuaded her husband to donate seven paintings and a sculpture by Rodin to the gallery.
The gallery's collection includes works by Auguste Rodin, Dante Gabriel Rossetti, Pablo Picasso, Camille Pissarro, Claude Monet, Edgar Degas, Herbert Ward and Henry Moore, as well as works by South African artists - Gerard Sekoto, Walter Battiss, Alexis Sidler and Maud Sumumner others.
The Johannesburg Art Gallery was opened to the public in 1910 on the grounds of the University of the Witwatersrand. The architect, Sir Edwin Lutyens, invited by Lady Philips, came to South Africa in 1910 to explore the area and begin construction on the gallery building. But the construction was not completed according to the architect's sketches. Five years after the start of construction work, the building opened its doors to the public without ceremony, immediately after the outbreak of the First World War.
In the late 1940s, the gallery building was expanded in accordance with the design of the architect Lachens - the west and east wings of the building were built. The north wing of the gallery with its modern facade was built during the last renovation of the building in 1986-1987.
