Artwork Information

Historic photographs reveal that paintings, sculptures, decorative arts and Māori taonga were all exhibited within the Gallery’s walls. The collections of benefactors James Mackelvie and Sir George Grey formed the nucleus of an institution

intended to educate and inspire Auckland’s population. Elam School of Fine Arts held classes in the Gallery until 1915, and Auckland’s public library occupied the Grey Gallery until 1971.

At the official opening in February 1888, governor Sir William Jervois remarked ‘I look forward to the day when this building will be too small for the Auckland Gallery of Art and the gifts of Sir George Grey and other generous people who have helped to form it’. He did not have to wait long: the first addition opened in 1893.