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Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum

Museums ·Glasgow ·Closed
4.741.9K
#1Museums in Glasgow#8Museums in the UKMost reviewed in Glasgow
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About

Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum is Glasgow’s largest museum and art gallery, on Argyle Street beside Kelvingrove Park and opposite Kelvin Hall.

Menu & prices

Have a look at our menu1 Mar 2025 – 31 May 2025 · out of datekg cafe lunch menu a3 aug 2025

More photos 11

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Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum — Aerial view of the museum and its landscaped grounds

Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum — Aerial view of the museum and its landscaped groundsKelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum — Museum facade and entrance seen from the front lawnKelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum — Kelvingrove's red sandstone exterior beside the streetKelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum — Corner view of the museum's towers and arched windowsKelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum — Museum viewed from a path through the surrounding parkKelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum — Museum silhouetted against a sunset skyKelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum — Painting of a hunter and dogs on an icy shoreKelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum — Diplodocus skeleton displayed in the museum's central hallKelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum — Albatross exhibit suspended in a museum galleryKelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum — Charles Rennie Mackintosh exhibition room with display casesKelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum — Comics exhibition gallery with framed artwork and display cases

Why go

  • European paintings by Rembrandt, Monet and Van Gogh.
  • The City of Empire exhibition on colonialism’s legacies and their effects on Glasgow.
  • Peter Chang’s sculpture, jewellery, prints and etching plates.
  • The Fragile Art Gallery’s account of Chevalière d’Eon.
  • Spanish Baroque architecture with red sandstone outside and white sandstone inside.

Opening hours

Today11:00 – 17:00Show all
Monday10:00 – 17:00
Tuesday10:00 – 17:00
Wednesday10:00 – 17:00
Thursday10:00 – 17:00
Friday11:00 – 17:00
Saturday10:00 – 17:00
Sunday11:00 – 17:00

Don't miss

  • Christ of St John of the CrossEnter through Looking at Art, then view moving imagery based on Dalí’s working drawings and the landscape that inspired the painting.Ground floor
  • Sir RogerThe elephant toured with Bostock & Wombwell’s Menagerie, often pulling a small wagon, before moving to Glasgow’s Scottish Zoo in May 1897.West CourtMay 1897
  • Spitfire LA198Look for its five-bladed propeller. After service, the aircraft became a gate guardian at RAF Leuchars.West Court
  • Lewis and Co concert organLewis & Co built and installed the Centre Hall organ for the 1901 exhibition.Centre HallEvery afternoon
  • Sarcophagus of Pa-ba-saPa-ba-sa was an Egyptian noble and Chief Steward to Nitocris I.Ancient Egypt Galleryc. 656–640 BC

Know before you go

  • The museum remains open during restoration work begun in September 2025; some areas are temporarily scaffolded.
  • Opening hours: Monday–Thursday and Saturday, 10:00–17:00; Friday and Sunday, 11:00–17:00.

What's inside

  • More than 8,000 objects fill 22 galleries: Life covers natural history, human history and prehistory, while Expression presents fine art.
  • The French Gallery displays Alexander Reid (1887), a portrait of Van Gogh’s art dealer and friend.
  • The Scottish Colourists gallery displays F. C. B. Cadell’s Interior – The Orange Blind.
  • The Mackintosh and the Glasgow Style gallery displays Charles Rennie Mackintosh’s gesso panel The Wassail.
  • The Glasgow Boys gallery displays James Guthrie’s portrait Old Willie – the Village Worthy.
  • The museum café is on the lower level, with some conservatory seating overlooking the park. An upper-ground-floor coffee shop overlooks the main hall.

With kids

  • For a family route, start with the animal displays, continue to Ancient Egypt and look for the medieval arms and armour.

Tips for your visit

  • Borrow a floor plan to find your way around the galleries.
  • The Dalí display’s digital interpretation runs for four minutes, followed by four minutes of silence.

Tours and audio guides

Audio tour
Narrated by Billy Connolly

Interesting facts5

1/5

  1. The Centre Hall was designed as a concert venue from the outset.

    Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum - Wikipedia

  2. A local myth claims the building was built backwards, though its grand entrance faces Kelvingrove Park.

    Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum - Wikipedia

  3. Anne Hull Grundy donated a large collection of European jewellery from the 18th and 19th centuries.

    Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum - Wikipedia

  4. F. C. B. Cadell painted fashionable Edinburgh women in Georgian drawing rooms, including Interior - The Orange Blind.

    Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum - Glasgow Life
  5. 2013

    More than 123,000 people attended the Jack Vettriano exhibition from September 2013 to February 2014, setting a museum exhibition record.

    Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum - Wikipedia

Shorts

History

The museum’s collections came mainly from the former park museum and the McLellan Galleries.

  1. 1888The International Exhibition took place in Glasgow; the museum was built as its legacy.
  2. 1 October 1902The museum welcomed the public.
  3. 2003–2006A three-year restoration opened former storage cellars for public spaces. The displayed collection grew from 4,000 to 8,000 objects.
  4. 11 July 2006Queen Elizabeth II reopened the museum after restoration.

How to get there

  • BusRoutes 2, 3 and 77 run from the city centre. Buses stop on Argyle Street, where most visitors enter; the principal entrance faces Kelvingrove Park.
  • 5 minTrainKelvinhall Subway station is a five-minute walk away.
  • 10 minTrainCharing Cross railway station is a ten-minute walk away.
  • TrainExhibition Centre railway station is roughly a mile away.

Accessibility

  • Wheelchair and pram access Access to all public areas is available via lifts.

Sources: Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum - Wikipedia · Glasgow - Wikivoyage (see) · Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum - Glasgow Li… · Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum - Glasgow Li… · Salvador Dali's Christ of St John of the Cross … · Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum - Wikipedia · Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum - Wikipedia · Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum: menu (its o… · Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum: menu (its o… · The Glassford Family portrait redisplay - Glasg… · checked 6 Oct 2026

Where
Argyle Street, Glasgow Scotland

Plan from here: A day out →

Questions and answers

Which squadron operated Kelvingrove’s Spitfire?

It flew with 602 (City of Glasgow) Squadron from 1947 to 1949.

What does Kelvingrove’s Fragile Art Gallery explore?

It explores the story of Chevalière d’Eon.

Which modern artists are represented at Kelvingrove?

The modern and contemporary art collection includes paintings and sculptures by Matisse and Dalí.

What did conservation reveal in Kelvingrove’s Glassford portrait?

In 2007, cleaning revealed an enslaved child who had been obscured by dirt.

What changed inside Kelvingrove during its major refurbishment?

Internal partitions were removed.

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