Kirkcaldy Galleries is the main museum, library and exhibition space in Kirkcaldy in Fife, Scotland. The land for the town's museum and art gallery was donated by John Nairn (the grandson of the linoleum manufacturer, Michael Nairn) on the former site of Balsusney House, the home of John Maxton.Civic Society ''Kirkcaldy: History & Celebration'' p.33. This was opened in 1925, with the first chairman of trustees local cloth-manufacturer businessman John Blyth, the maternal grandfather of politician

Michael Portillo Michael Denzil Xavier Portillo (; born 26 May 1953) is a British journalist, broadcaster and former politician. His broadcast series include railway documentaries such as '' Great British Railway Journeys'' and '' Great Continental Railway Jour ...

. The art gallery holds the largest collection of paintings by

William McTaggart William McTaggart (25 October 1835 – 2 April 1910) was a Scottish landscape and marine painter who was influenced by Impressionism. Life and work The son of a crofter, William McTaggart was born in the small village of Aros, near C ...

and Scottish Colourist

Samuel Peploe Samuel John Peploe (pronounced PEP-low; 27 January 1871 – 11 October 1935) was a Scottish Post-Impressionist painter, noted for his still life works and for being one of the group of four painters that became known as the Scottish Colouris ...

aside from the National Galleries of Scotland. The museum contains many significant works by the

Glasgow Boys 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 ...

. Situated on the ground floor, is the museum's award-winning permanent exhibition covering the town's industrial heritage. The museum also has a cafe which displays examples of Wemyss Ware pottery, made in the town from around the 1890s to 1930s. In 2012

Fife Council Fife Council is the local authority for the Fife area of Scotland and is the third largest Scottish council, with 75 elected council members. Councillors are generally elected every five years. At the 2012 election there were 78 councillors ele ...

undertook a £2.5m refurbishment of the building, which reopened in June 2013. It now contains a museum, library, children's library, PC suite, cafe, gift shop, meeting rooms, museum, local family and history rooms and gallery spaces. The Galleries opening was attended by local author

Val McDermid Valarie "Val" McDermid, (born 4 June 1955) is a Scottish crime writer, best known for a series of novels featuring clinical psychologist Dr. Tony Hill in a grim sub-genre that McDermid and others have identified as Tartan Noir. Biography ...

, Wolf from Gladiators, MP and former Prime Minister

Gordon Brown James Gordon Brown (born 20 February 1951) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Labour Party from 2007 to 2010. He previously served as Chancellor of the Exchequer in Tony B ...

and artist

Jack Vettriano Jack Vettriano (born Jack Hoggan, 17 November 1951) is a Scottish painter. His 1992 painting ''The Singing Butler'' became a best-selling image in Britain. Early life Jack Vettriano was born and grew up in the industrial seaside town of Met ...

. In 2015, Kirkcaldy Galleries became the first institution in Fife to display work by American photographer

Diane Arbus Diane Arbus (; née Nemerov; March 14, 1923 – July 26, 1971
" The New York ...

. The Great Tapestry of Scotland was displayed at the Galleries in 2015 where the

Rosslyn Chapel Rosslyn Chapel, formerly known as the Collegiate Chapel of St Matthew, is a 15th-century chapel located in the village of Roslin, Midlothian, Scotland. Rosslyn Chapel was founded on a small hill above Roslin Glen as a Catholic collegiate church ...

panel, one of 160 panels, was stolen. It was not recovered and a replacement panel was completed in 2017.

References

External links

Official site

BBC Your Paintings online gallery

Friends of Kirkcaldy Galleries

Virtual Tour
1925 establishments in Scotland Art museums established in 1925 Art museums and galleries in Scotland Museums in Fife Kirkcaldy Decorative arts museums in Scotland {{UK-art-display-stub