History

Founded in Perth in 1895 with the purchase of the nucleus of an art collection by the Perth Museum, the Art Gallery was opened as part of the museum by Sir Alexander Onslow, administrator of the colony, on 31 July 1895. The foundation stone for the Beaufort Street wing of the museum and gallery was laid by HRH The Duke of Cornwall and York (later King George V) on 24 July 1908. For many years the institution was known as the Public Library, Museum and Art Gallery of WA. The Library was placed under separate administration in 1954 and in 1959 the Museum was separated from the gallery (which was referred to as the Western Australia Art Gallery), with a board of trustees responsible to the Government for the control of the gallery. A contract for a new art gallery building was signed in February 1977 on the site bounded by James Street, Beaufort Street and Roe Street and the new building, with nine galleries on two levels was opened on 2 October 1979. In 1982 the adjacent old Police Court building (1905) in Beaufort Street was transferred to the Art Gallery Board. In 1978 the name was changed to the Art Gallery of Western Australia.

In 1997 the Art Gallery, Museum and Library were again combined, together with other agencies, to form a Ministry for Culture and the Arts.
 

The Centenary Galleries

Formerly the Perth Police Courts, now named the Centenary Galleries, this building has been restored to house the Gallery’s heritage collection and was opened on 28 July 1995, the Gallery’s centenary year.

The galleries on the ground floor display many of the State Art Collection’s 19th and 20th century paintings and decorative arts.

The Centenary Galleries building, is testament to a vigorous era in the construction of public buildings in Western Australia. This enthusiasm was a result of the gold discoveries of 1885-86 and the granting of representative government in 1870.
 

The building itself reflects a late nineteenth century interpretation of the French Renaissance style, unusual in Perth architecture of the period.  John Grainger, the Public Works Department Architect assisted by Hillson Beasley brought the project to completion in 1905 for a cost of 17,826 pounds. 

The ground floor contained Police, Local and Coroner’s Courts with offices for Coroner, justices, solicitors, witnesses, jury and Bailiff, and holding cells for prisoners on trial.  (A court room and its holding cells have been retained, and can be viewed by visitors).
 

Western Australian materials were used extensively during the building's original construction.  The building façades feature Donnybrook stone; all flooring and interior furnishings highlight the use of local jarrah and locally manufactured stained glass feature panels together with the retained pressed metal ceilings combine to create an ambience of a by-gone era.

In 1982 the Courts were moved to the newly erected District Court Building and a program commenced for the use of the Police Court for Art Gallery purposes.
 

In 1991 the Gallery was granted funding of $1.1 million from a Federal Government Heritage Properties Grant and $2.8 million from the West Australian Government to restore the building and transform it from courtrooms to galleries.

The linking of the Centenary Galleries and the Main Gallery presented an architectural and aesthetic challenge. The 20th century demanded de-humidified air-conditioning to ‘‘preserve’" artworks, the reduction of ultra violet light, special gallery lighting and control requirements, security, smoke detection, public and disabled access.  All of these factors posed planning and constructional challenges that required regular communication between designers, documenters, builder and conservation architects.