Durban Art Gallery
The Durban Art Gallery, now in its second century of existence, is home to collections that are as diverse as the eThekwini population.
The Gallery has a comprehensive collection of artworks, and constantly rotates displays from its permanent collection, interspersing them with traveling exhibitions of contemporary and historic pictures and artifacts.
Contact Details:
2nd Floor Smith Street, City Hall, Smith Street
031 311 2264
The Durban Art Gallery collections include everything from current and historical art and artefacts of KwaZulu-Natal to English masterpieces, from anonymous carvings, clay pots and beadwork to the works of celebrated South African artists like Andrew Verster and Penny Siopis.
The Gallery celebrated its centenary in 1992. Cathcart William Methven, Harbour Engineer of the day, gave one of his paintings to the Town Council in 1892. Various donations and purchases were subsequently made, and in 1920 Colonel R.H. Whitwell, art connoisseur and philanthropist, presented over 400 works to the Gallery, including British, French and Dutch paintings, objets d'art such as French and Chinese ceramics, early glass vases by Lalique and bronzes by Rodin. This established the character of the foreign collection. From the 1970s on, many works of local artists and crafts-people were added to the collection, and the Gallery's collecting focus is now largely concentrated on works which reflect the rich multi-cultural diversity of Durban and South Africa. The holdings now include over 3500 works.
