Paisley Museum and Art Galleries is currently closed for refurbishment and is due to reopen 2024. It is a

museum A museum ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or institution that cares for and displays a collection of artifacts and other objects of artistic, cultural, historical, or scientific importance. Many public museums make these ...

and public art gallery located in the town of Paisley and is run by

Renfrewshire Council Renfrewshire () ( sco, Renfrewshire; gd, Siorrachd Rinn Friù) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland. Located in the west central Lowlands, it is one of three council areas contained within the boundaries of the historic county of Renfr ...

. It houses one of the largest municipal art collections in

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

, including over 800 paintings. The Museum and Art Galleries were gifted to the town of Paisley by the industrialist

Sir Peter Coats Sir Peter Coats of Auchendrane (18 July 1808 – 9 March 1890) was a Scottish thread manufacturer and philanthropist. He was co-founder of the firm J & P Coats, which later evolved into Coats Group. Life He was born in Paisley, the third son ...

in 1871. The building, which also houses Paisley Library and the

Coats Observatory Coats Observatory is Scotland's oldest public observatory. It is currently closed for refurbishment as part of a 4-year long £42m transformation of the observatory and museum buildings. Located in Oakshaw Street West, Paisley, Renfrewshire, the o ...

, was designed by Glasgow architect John Honeyman of the firm of

Honeyman and Keppie Honeyman and Keppie was a major architectural firm based in Glasgow, created by John Honeyman and John Keppie in 1888 following the death of James Sellars in whose architectural practice Keppie had worked. Their most notable employee was Charles ...

. The first curator of the Museum was the entomologist Morris Young who remained in post until his death in 1897 leaving the Museum a bequest of £500 to be invested and the returns used to pay for the upkeep of the entomological collections and all his books. The museum has been extended on several occasions since it opened. There are plans for a revamp of the Museum to transform it into an "international-class destination" based around the Paisley's heritage story. The art collection concentrates largely on works by late nineteenth-century and early twentieth-century Scottish artists, such as the

Glasgow School The Glasgow School was a circle of influential artists and designers that began to coalesce in Glasgow, Scotland in the 1870s, and flourished from the 1890s to around 1910. Representative groups included The Four (also known as the Spook School ...

and the

Scottish Colourists The Scottish Colourists were a group of four painters, three from Edinburgh, whose Post-Impressionist work, though not universally recognised initially, came to have a formative influence on contemporary Scottish art and culture. The four artists, ...

. In addition there is a contemporary collection which includes work by artists such as Steven Campbell and John Byrne, who was born in Paisley. The museum houses a collection of objects and documents covering the local history of Paisley and Renfrewshire, especially the importance of the textiles industry, tracing the history of the luxury

shawl A shawl (from fa, شال ''shāl'',) is a simple item of clothing from Kashmir, loosely worn over the shoulders, upper body and arms, and sometimes also over the head. It is usually a rectangular or square piece of cloth, which is often folded ...

industry which developed in Paisley. The museum has recreated the work and a weaving using a traditional hand loom can be seen on site It also contains an

archaeological Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscap ...

collection which includes objects from Ancient Egypt and

Babylon ''Bābili(m)'' * sux, 𒆍𒀭𒊏𒆠 * arc, 𐡁𐡁𐡋 ''Bāḇel'' * syc, ܒܒܠ ''Bāḇel'' * grc-gre, Βαβυλών ''Babylṓn'' * he, בָּבֶל ''Bāvel'' * peo, 𐎲𐎠𐎲𐎡𐎽𐎢 ''Bābiru'' * elx, 𒀸𒁀𒉿𒇷 ''Babi ...

and an extensive natural history collection, the museum also houses the local biological records centre. One of the most important items in the Museum's collection is the Arbuthnott Missal which was presented to the Museum by another of the Coats family, Archibald. This missal is the only extant pre

Reformation The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and in ...

missal A missal is a liturgical book containing instructions and texts necessary for the celebration of Mass throughout the liturgical year. Versions differ across liturgical tradition, period, and purpose, with some missals intended to enable a pries ...

(

liturgical book A liturgical book, or service book, is a book published by the authority of a church body that contains the text and directions for the liturgy of its official religious services. Christianity Roman Rite In the Roman Rite of the Catholic ...

) of the Scottish Use and in 2007 it was awarded a prestigious top award in the

British Library The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom and is one of the largest libraries in the world. It is estimated to contain between 170 and 200 million items from many countries. As a legal deposit library, the British ...

's Hidden Treasures Brought to Life competition. The museum is currently closed to the public.

References

{{Authority control Museums established in 1871 Natural history museums in Scotland History museums in Scotland Egyptological collections in Scotland Art museums and galleries in Scotland Museums in Renfrewshire Buildings and structures in Paisley, Renfrewshire Category A listed buildings in Renfrewshire Listed museum buildings in Scotland

See also

References