The National Gallery ( th, พิพิธภัณฑสถานแห่งชาติ หอศิลป) is an art gallery and one of Thailand's national museums. It is located on Chao Fa Road in

Bangkok Bangkok, officially known in Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estimated populati ...

's historic Phra Nakhon District, and is housed in the building of the former

Royal Thai Mint The Bureau of Royal Thai Mint, ( th, สำนักกษาปณ์), is situated in Pathum Thani, Thailand. It is a sub-division of the Treasury Department, Ministry of Finance. History The first mint was established in 1860, inside the G ...

. The gallery's collections range from traditional Thai art to the Western-influenced portraiture of the 19th century and modern and contemporary works.

History

The building that houses the Gallery was built in 1902 as the site of the Royal Mint. It was designed in the neo-

Palladian Palladian architecture is a European architectural style derived from the work of the Venetian architect Andrea Palladio (1508–1580). What is today recognised as Palladian architecture evolved from his concepts of symmetry, perspective and ...

style by Italian engineer

Carlo Allegri Carlo Allegri (1862–1938) was an Italian engineer who worked extensively in Siam (Thailand) during the turn of the 19th–20th centuries. He served under the government of King Chulalongkorn (Rama V) for over 20 years, where he held the position ...

. The mint, which employed imported European machinery, operated here until 1968. On April 19, 1974, the Treasury Department and Ministry of Finance presented the old Royal Mint building to the

Fine Arts Department The Fine Arts Department ( th, กรมศิลปากร, ) is a government department of Thailand, under the Ministry of Culture. Its mission is managing the country's cultural heritage. History The department was originally established ...

to be converted into the National Gallery. The grand opening took place on August 8, 1977, to celebrate

Queen Sirikit Queen Sirikit ( th, สิริกิติ์; ; ); born ''Mom Rajawongse'' Sirikit Kitiyakara ( th, สิริกิติ์ กิติยากร; ; 12 August 1932) is the queen mother of Thailand. She was Queen of Thailand as the wif ...

's birthday which took place on 12 August.Thailand Museum

National Gallery

Retrieved March 8, 2007.

Space

References

External links

Art museums and galleries in Thailand Museums in Bangkok National museums of Thailand Registered ancient monuments in Bangkok

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is b ...

Neoclassical architecture in Thailand {{thailand-struct-stub