One year on from its triumphant transformation, The McManus art gallery and museum is still hitting the headlines.
This week, the two curators largely responsible for the exhibits which have attracted nearly a quarter of a million visitors since the reopening last February spoke publicly of their pride in how the city pulled together to enable the rebirth of an institution central to its cultural life.
Museums services section leader Fiona Sinclair was responsible for the historic collections spanning 400 million years on the ground floor. Fine and applied art section leader Anna Robertson was in charge of the suite of art galleries on the first floor and faced the daunting prospect of welcoming Titian’s Diana and Actaeon as a first foot.
Both addressed Wednesday’s Abertay Historical Society lecture audience at Dundee University. For Fiona, the sight of a 200-strong queue waiting to get into The McManus a year ago not only relayed that the museum had been missed but justified the “frightening amount of work done” on a building “in a dire need” of restoration.
She singled out those involved in the refurbishment and praised the “incredible support” of the funders who made the five-year project possible.
“It was the largest redevelopment of the building since the original building in 1867,” she said, “and eventually the final cost was £12 million. We cannot overstate the support we had. We had to go back to councillors a few times to explain cost rises but they were incredibly understanding.
“We can’t believe it’s a year already. It’s gone so quickly. But I think Sir George Gilbert Scott would be happy with how we’ve brought his building back to life. We’ve allowed people to once again enjoy his original architecture and spaces.”
The largest memorial building to Queen Victoria’s husband Albert outside London, the near 150-year-old McManus is back to its best and a fantastic success story. Yet the most curious post-restoration phenomenon has been the rush of objects turning up in bags and boxes.
“We have been absolutely inundated with donation offers … hundreds of things. It’s fantastic,” said Fiona. “Among them was a 1970s Afghan coat purchased at Mr Beaujangles in the Overgate. Very cool!
“And we actually had an old sun lamp given to us which we were tempted to switch on during the December weather!”
The creative learning projects undertaken by McManus staff with local schools, youth and community groups have been an undersung but outstanding element of the building’s contribution to city life.
“Our outreach programmes have helped us to engage with communities and we now have a team dedicated to ensuring that learning is at the very heart of this museum,” Fiona said.
Continuing the core activities of collecting, recording, caring and sharing, the team will take time out this year to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the museum’s Collections Unit formerly the city’s Natural History Museum in Barrack Street. There will also be more tours, events, workshops and family sessions.
One of the great successes of the first year of the new-look McManus has been the visitor movement upstairs to the suite of three art galleries something seldom evident in bygone days. Greater access to the “amazing” works has delighted art curator Anna Robertson.
But while the arrival of Titian’s Diana and Actaeon in Dundee made the art world sit up and take notice, for Anna the priceless masterpiece just proved that what goes up must come down…
“We had just hung all our works when the National Gallery of Scotland came on and said, ‘Would you fancy having the Titian?’ We just screamed, ‘YEESSSS!’ So having put all the pictures up in the 20th century gallery, we had to take them all down again.
“But Diana and Actaeon was a very special experience for all of us, even though installing it in the gallery was one of the most terrifying things I’ve ever done in my life.”
Anna acknowledged that people expect artwork to be changed on a frequent basis a particular problem in the Victoria Gallery, with paintings densely packed from floor to ceiling and fighting with each other for attention.
“As curators we would love to be able to change works around,” she said, “but before The McManus reopened, for example, our entire collection was housed in temporary stores across the city. As a visual person, I found it hugely frustrating not to be able to access the works I was responsible for.
“We eventually planned the gallery using colour photocopies of the art works. We placed them flat on the floor and looked down on them from scaffolding to work out the best hanging plan.
“So I remember going on my Christmas holidays just eight weeks before the opening and we still hadn’t hung a single painting!”
“Our outreach programmes have helped us to engage with communities and we now have a team dedicated to ensuring that learning is at the very heart of this museum,” Fiona said.
Continuing the core activities of collecting, recording, caring and sharing, the team will take time out this year to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the museum’s Collections Unit formerly the city’s Natural History Museum in Barrack Street. There will also be more tours, events, workshops and family sessions.
One of the great successes of the first year of the new-look McManus has been the visitor movement upstairs to the suite of three art galleries something seldom evident in bygone days. Greater access to the “amazing” works has delighted art curator Anna Robertson.
But while the arrival of Titian’s Diana and Actaeon in Dundee made the art world sit up and take notice, for Anna the priceless masterpiece just proved that what goes up must come down…
“We had just hung all our works when the National Gallery of Scotland came on and said, ‘Would you fancy having the Titian?’ We just screamed, ‘YEESSSS!’ So having put all the pictures up in the 20th century gallery, we had to take them all down again.
“But Diana and Actaeon was a very special experience for all of us, even though installing it in the gallery was one of the most terrifying things I’ve ever done in my life.”
Anna acknowledged that people expect artwork to be changed on a frequent basis a particular problem in the Victoria Gallery, with paintings densely packed from floor to ceiling and fighting with each other for attention.
“As curators we would love to be able to change works around,” she said, “but before The McManus reopened, for example, our entire collection was housed in temporary stores across the city. As a visual person, I found it hugely frustrating not to be able to access the works I was responsible for.
“We eventually planned the gallery using colour photocopies of the art works. We placed them flat on the floor and looked down on them from scaffolding to work out the best hanging plan.
“So I remember going on my Christmas holidays just eight weeks before the opening and we still hadn’t hung a single painting!”