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

E. R. Burrowes Edward Rupert Burrowes (15 September 1903 – 1966) was a Guyanese artist and art teacher who founded the Working People's Art Class (WPAC), the first established art institution in Guyana. The E R Burrowes School of Art, an undergraduate ins ...

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, George Simon, Denis Williams 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