Johannesburg Art Gallery - South African Art Gallery

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Johannesburg Art Gallery Klein and King George streets Joubert Park Johannesburg South Africa Tel: (011) 725 3130/80 www.joburg.org.za

The Johannesburg Art Gallery is the biggest art gallery in South Africa. The Johannesburg Art Gallery is home to some of the most prized works not just in the country but also in the world.

The Johannesburg Art Gallery was first established in 1910, operating from the premises of what is today's Wits University. The art collection was subsequently moved to Joubert Park where it remains to this day. The building housing the museum was first designed by Edwin Lutyens, a renowned British architect, in 1911, but it was not until 1915 that construction on the site was completed under the supervision of Robert Howden, a South African architect. Side wings were added to the building some time in 1940. The building was further extended in 1986, when the north wing was upgraded and renovated.

The Johannesburg Art Gallery is a national monument housed in a three-storey building boasting 15 exhibition halls and some sculpture gardens on the grounds of Joubert Park. The Johannesburg Art Gallery houses some of the most highly valued paintings, antiques, sculptures, drawings, prints and laceworks in South Africa. The comprehensive South African art collection includes works by Gerard Sekoto, Alexis Preller, Maud Sumner, Sydney Kumalo, Ezrom Legae and others. In recent years, the gallery has made a concerted effort to procure art works by contemporary South African artists. Current works include traditional African pieces, such as jewellery items in the form of necklaces and bracelets made of beads.

The gallery regularly hosts temporary displays of artefacts by particular South African artists or under some theme. Temporary displays take anything from a week to six months. Other works are put on permanent exhibitions lasting up to five years.