Tatham Art Gallery

The Tatham Art Gallery, one of the major art museums in South Africa, dates back to 1903. Situated in Pietermaritzburg, the capital of KwaZulu-Natal, the Tatham Art Gallery serves the Msunduzi region through the Visual Arts.

The Tatham Art Gallery hosts a range of Art Exhibitions. These include travelling and researched exhibitions as well as exhibitions initiated by the Gallery based on art works in the permanent collection.

A major function of the Tatham Art Gallery is to display art. This is accomplished through the organizing and hosting of temporary exhibitions and ongoing changes in the permanent display areas.

About 

The Gallery owes its origins to Mrs Ada Susan Tatham who collected donations early in 1903 and purchased works in Britain later that same year. After an initial exhibition the collection was first housed in the Pietermaritzburg City Hall. In 1923 the collection was greatly enhanced through the donations of Lieutenant Colonel R.H. Whitwell. 

The Tatham Art Gallery forms part of the Msunduzi Municipality and is governed by a Board of Trustees.

Beginnings

The beginnings of the Tatham Art Gallery, one of seven major art museums in South Africa, date back to the turn of the century when interested citizens of Pietermaritzburg presented the City Council with paintings. In 1903 a discussion relating to the formation of an art gallery was recorded in City Council minutes.

A leading figure in these early negotiations was Mrs Ada Tatham, wife of the then Judge President of Natal, and after whom the Gallery is named. Mrs Tatham collected money from friends interested in the formation of an art gallery and from the City Council and traveled overseas to acquire art works.

In England she contacted her husband's cousin, the President of the Royal Academy, and met other Royal Academicians. With their help and their interest in the founding of an art gallery in an English colony, Mrs Tatham managed to acquire paintings of a value in excess of what she had to spend.

In addition she arranged for the loan of a large collection of paintings to be shipped out to the colony, and Pietermaritzburg citizens were encouraged to select and donate a work from this exhibition.

Whitwell's Donation

Between 1923 and 1926 Lieutenant-Colonel Robert Whitwell donated over 400 items and these were displayed on the second floor of the City Hall. The work included post-Victorian British painting, examples of the Barbizon School, Lalique glass and oriental carpets. Of note are paintings by Wilson Steer, Boudin, Sickert and a particularly fine Sisley.

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The Permanent Home

The collection was for many years housed on the second floor of the City Hall, with works spread throughout the building's passages and stairwells.

Numerous plans to accommodate the City's art collection have been considered over the years and have come to naught. In 1939, General the Right Hon JC Smuts laid a foundation stone for the Centenary Memorial Art Gallery, an institution which did not materialize.

In 1990 the Tatham Art Gallery moved from the City Hall into its current premises, consisting of the old Supreme Court Building, completed in 1875, and the adjacent Old Presbyterian Church dating from 1852.

The 1960s to Present

The first curator was appointed in 1962 and in 1963 - following an appraisal of the collection by a select committee and the unfortunate sale of over 100 works, including most works by South African artists - the gallery was officially renamed the Tatham Art Gallery. A fund for the purchase of art was instituted and the City Council accepted responsibility for the running and maintenance of the art gallery and its collection.

In 1968 there was a decision to re-establish a section devoted to South African painting. Initially this included work by white artists related to the existing British and French collections, but it led to a new direction in collecting policy. While gaps in the existing collections were filled, the move was away from the colonial towards a collection of South African art in all its forms, inclusive of traditional and contemporary work by all South African artists, regardless of race.

Today

The Permanent Collection

A selection of the Tatham Art Gallery's permanent collection is always on display. Work by South African and European artists is displayed upstairs. The work of KwaZulu-Natal artists is displayed downstairs. A selection of ceramics is displayed in the Ceramics Room.

The Main Exhibition Room

The Tatham Art Gallery displays major exhibitions in the Main Exhibition Room downstairs. Exhibitions change on a regular basis. These include travelling and researched exhibitions showing the works of groups or individual artists of significance. There are also exhibitions organised by the Gallery that draw on the works in the permanent collection or from artists of KwaZulu-Natal.

The Schreiner Gallery

The Schreiner Gallery is an exhibition space dedicated to smaller temporary exhibitions. Artists may apply to use this space for solo or group exhibitions. Visit the EXHIBITIONS page here for more and for requirements if you wish to apply.

Education

The Tatham Art Gallery has an extensive Education and Outreach programme, including art classes for the youth, Art Educator training , an Artist’s Forum and Lectures and talks.   Continue reading →

Click here for THE COLLECTION