Castellani House is a large nineteenth-century building in Georgetown,

Guyana Guyana ( or ), officially the Cooperative Republic of Guyana, is a country on the northern mainland of South America. Guyana is an indigenous word which means "Land of Many Waters". The capital city is Georgetown. Guyana is bordered by the ...

. It is on the corner of Vlissengen Road and Homestretch Avenue (by the

Botanical Gardens A botanical garden or botanic gardenThe terms ''botanic'' and ''botanical'' and ''garden'' or ''gardens'' are used more-or-less interchangeably, although the word ''botanic'' is generally reserved for the earlier, more traditional gardens, an ...

). It was designed and constructed by the Maltese architect,

Cesar Castellani Cesar Castellani (died 2 August 1905) was an architect. He was born in Malta. He was attracted by the prosperity of British Guiana and emigrated there in 1860 with a group of Italian priests. Designs Castellani designed a number of prominent build ...

, between 1879 and 1882. Originally serving as a residence for colonial government officials, Castellani House has been the home of Guyana's National Art Gallery since 1993.

History

Castellani House was designed and built in by

, who was one of the most prominent and prolific architects of the colonial era in

British Guiana British Guiana was a British colony, part of the mainland British West Indies, which resides on the northern coast of South America. Since 1966 it has been known as the independent nation of Guyana. The first European to encounter Guiana was S ...

. It was originally designed as a residence for the government

botanist Botany, also called , plant biology or phytology, is the science of plant life and a branch of biology. A botanist, plant scientist or phytologist is a scientist who specialises in this field. The term "botany" comes from the Ancient Greek wo ...

George Samuel Jenman George Samuel Jenman (1845-1902) was a British gardener and botanist. He specialized in growing and studying plants. He was superintendent of Castleton Botanical Garden, Jamaica from 1873 to 1879, and Government Botanist and superintendent of th ...

. Dissatisfied with the original design of the house, Jenman refused to move into the residence until the changes he demanded had been implemented. These changes were completed in 1882, and Jenman moved into the house in that year. After Jenman died, Castellani House was used as the official residence for Directors of Agriculture. In 1942, the house was extended with the addition of a third storey to the original two. In 1965, further changes were made to the structure of the house by the Guyanese architect, Hugh McGregor Reid. From 1965 to 1985, Castellani House was the official residence for Prime Minister

Forbes Burnham Linden Forbes Sampson Burnham (20 February 1923 – 6 August 1985) was a Guyanese politician and the leader of the Co-operative Republic of Guyana from 1964 until his death in 1985. He served as Prime Minister from 1964 to 1980 and then as its f ...

and First Lady, Viola Burnham. During this time it was known simply as "the Residence".

State House State may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State * ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States * ''Our S ...

replaced it as the president's residence in the 1990s. After a major refurbishment, Castellani House was re-opened as the home of the National Art Gallery in 1993. The Gallery's first curator was Everley Austin (1994-1996). Austin was followed by Elfrieda Bissember (1996–present).

Art collection

Castellani House holds over 700 works of art. The collection includes work by

Frank Bowling Sir Richard Sheridan Patrick Michael Aloysius Franklin Bowling (born 26 February 1934, Bartica, British Guiana), known as Frank Bowling, is a Guyana-born British artist. His paintings relate to Abstract expressionism, Color Field painting, and ...

, E. R. Burrowes,

Stanley Greaves Stanley Greaves (born 1934)Rupert Roopnarine"Master Maker: Stanley Greaves" ''Caribbean Beat'', Issue 72 (March/April 2005). is a Guyanese painter and writer who is one of the Caribbean's most distinguished artists. Writing in 1995 at the tim ...

Bernadette Persaud Bernadette Indira Persaud (born 1946) is a Guyanese painter. She is a graduate of the University of Guyana and of the Burrows School of Art in Georgetown. Her style is expressionistic, and bears some resemblance to the work of Isaiah James Bood ...

, George Simon,

Denis Williams Denis Williams (1 February 1923 – 28 June 1998)Petamber Persaud"The Life and Work of Denis Williams (1923–1998), The Shaping of Guyanese Literature" ''Guyana Times International'', 23 November 2012. was a Guyanese painter, author and arc ...

and

Aubrey Williams Aubrey Williams (8 May 1926 – 17 April 1990) was a Guyanese artist. He was best known for his large, oil-on-canvas paintings, which combine elements of abstract expressionism with forms, images and symbols inspired by the pre-Columbian art o ...

References

{{Coord, 6.80604, -58.14992, display=title Houses in Guyana Buildings and structures in Georgetown, Guyana Museums in Guyana Guyanese art Historic sites in Guyana History of British Guiana World War II sites in British Guiana Houses completed in 1882 1880s establishments in British Guiana