page_title: Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki
section_title: Buildings
hierarchical_section_title: Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki / Buildings
caption_attribution_description: English: Modern extension of Auckland Art Gallery, completed in Sept 2011
context_page_description: Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki is the principal public gallery in Auckland, New Zealand, and has the most extensive collection of national and international art in New Zealand. It frequently hosts travelling international exhibitions.
  Set below the hilltop Albert Park in the central-city area of Auckland, the gallery was established in 1888 as the first permanent art gallery in New Zealand.
  The building originally housed the Auckland Art Gallery as well as the Auckland public library opening with collections donated by benefactors Governor Sir George Grey and James Tannock Mackelvie. This was the second public art gallery in New Zealand opened three years after the Dunedin Public Art Gallery in 1884. Wellington's New Zealand Academy of Fine Arts opened in 1892 and a Wellington Public Library in 1893.
  In 2009, it was announced that the museum received a donation from American businessman Julian Robertson, valued at over $100 million, the largest ever of its kind in the region. The works will be received from the owner's estate.
context_section_description: The main gallery building was originally designed by Melbourne architects Grainger & D'Ebro to house not only the art gallery but also the City Council offices, lecture theatre and public library. It is constructed of brick and plaster in an early French Renaissance style and was completed in 1887, with an extension built in 1916. It is three storeys high, with an attic in the steep pitched roofs, and a six-storey clock tower. The building was registered as a Category I heritage item by Heritage New Zealand on 24 November 1983, listed with registration number 92.
  The new building eventually proved too small to house all the Council departments and overflow space in the Customs House in Customs Street was found to be necessary. Following the completion of the Auckland Town Hall in 1911 all Council departments left the Gallery building allowing expansion of Gallery facilities, including extra workshop space for art classes. Several artists maintained studio space in the complex during the period just after the war; the weaver Ilse von Randow utilised the clock tower rooms and created onsite the Art Gallery Ceremonial curtains, executed as part of the 1950s modernisation. In 1969 the art classes and studios were relocated to Ponsonby where a decommissioned Police Station by John Campbell at 1 Ponsonby Road was relaunched as 'Artstation' which continues the gallery outreach programmes.
  From 1969 to 1971 the building underwent remodelling and a new wing and sculpture garden were added. This was the result of the lavish Philip Edmiston bequest which had been announced in 1946, which had stipulated the building of a new gallery. In 1971 the Public library was moved to the new Auckland Public Library building by Ewen Wainscott in nearby Lorne Street.
  In the late 2000s, a major extension was mooted, which caused substantial criticism from some quarters due to its cost, design and the fact that land from Albert Park would be required for the extension. In late 2007, the Gallery closed for extensive renovations, and re-opened on 3 September 2011. During this time of closure, temporary exhibitions were held at the NEW Gallery on the corner of Wellesley and Lorne Streets. The new renovation and expansion of the Gallery creates at least 50 per cent additional display space.
  In 2008, Council decided to go ahead with the extension, which finished in 2011 for a total of NZ$113 million, of which Auckland City Council contributed just under NZ$50 million.
  The expansion design by Australian architecture firm FJMT in partnership with Auckland-based Archimedia, increased exhibition space by 50%, for up to 900 artworks, and provided dedicated education, child and family spaces. As part of the upgrade, existing parts of the structure were renovated and restored to its 1916 state - amongst other things ensuring that the 17 different floor levels in the building were reduced to just 6. The redevelopment has to date received 17 architectural and 6 design-related awards, including the World Architecture Festival's 2013 World Building of the Year.
  One of the sealed entrances to the Albert Park tunnels can be found behind the Art Gallery on Wellesley Street.
caption: The modern extension completed in 2011.
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