Scottish Blog

The Kelvin Grove Art Gallery is Scotland’s most visited tourist attraction.

Kelvingrove Art Gallery, besides being Scotland’s premier tourist attraction is also the greatest art gallery in the United Kingdom outside of London and definitely the most visited. Along with being an Art gallery, Kelvingrove Art gallery is also a museum, housing a number of Scottish historic items, including amour and jewelry.

The Kelvingrove art gallery is located in Glasgow, Scotland. It sits between Argyle Street, Kelvingrove Park, near the banks of the River Kelvin and underneath the Glasgow university campus on Gilmore hill, in the western side of Glasgow city.

The Kelvingrove Art gallery building was designed by Sir John W. Simpson and E.J. Milner Allen. Its design resembles that of the Spanish baroque style, although with a twist of incorporating the Glasgow tradition of using red sandstones as its material. As part of the design parameter of the Kelvingrove Art Gallery, it was built as a main exhibition building for an art exhibition taking place in nearby Kelvingrove Park. As the most impressive front of the building would need to be facing the exhibition, the Kelvingrove Art Gallery is said to look like it was constructed “back to front”. In fact, the majority of visitors to the building actually enter through the more impressive rear entrance, without realizing it.

The art exhibition for which the Kelvingrove Art gallery was opened took place in 1901, the same year as the opening of the building. The original building designs were partially paid for by the previous one of these exhibitions in 1888.