One of East London’s most beautiful buildings, the Ann Bryant Art Gallery, is getting a much-needed
R1-million facelift.
Walls will be painted, leaks fixed, floors sanded and the crumbling wooden pillars that support the elegant partial wraparound balcony will be carefully reproduced and replaced, so as to maintain the architectural integrity of the facade.
The renovations, which began last week, were already well under way when the Daily Dispatch visited the grand double-storey gallery yesterday.
Men perched on scaffoldings and ladders painted ornate ceilings with fresh white paint and upstairs a floor was being sanded.
The gallery’s collection of paintings and sculptures, worth an estimated R30-million, have been carefully removed from their walls and stashed in the storerooms and the home’s beautifully intact upstairs bathroom.
“This is the biggest revamp yet that I know of,” curator Leon du Preez said.
“When this is done she will be in top condition, although some of the French doors will still have to be repaired. This is an old building and needs constant TLC.”
Du Preez said the balcony in its present rotting state “could collapse at any time”.
While four of the 10 pillars supporting the balcony were replaced six years ago, the remaining posts look precarious, with chunks of timber having rotted away, leaving the balcony sagging in places.
He said after the gallery moved from under the banner of Buffalo City Metro’s community services, libraries and halls to arts, culture, heritage and tourism under the local economic development and agencies directorate, a budget had become available and the department’s head, Mzodidi Kwinana, had been instrumental in initiating the upgrade.
BCM spokesman Samkelo Ngwenya said specialist wood contractors would remove one of the disintegrating pillars and balcony balustrades and make exact replicas of them.
He said restorations were last done in 2009 when the East London Fine Arts Society sold an original Frans Oerder oil painting called Portrait of a Boy at auction and raised R320000.
“The balcony was restored but merely cosmetically, and this time round it will be a more complex restoration process. The Fine Art Society also restored the sash windows and double doors downstairs. In 2010, BCM painted the Coach House.”
The landmark Selborne gallery, which was once known as The Gables, was built as a residence in 1905 and bequeathed, together with a collection of paintings, to the city of East London by Ann Bryant.
It was opened to the public in 1947.
Ngwenya said the upgrade would make the building more secure and user-friendly.
“This will also make sure the grand old lady is seen once again in her former glory.”
R1m repairs for art gallery - EL’s grande dame Ann Bryant busy with much-needed facelift
R1-million facelift.
Walls will be painted, leaks fixed, floors sanded and the crumbling wooden pillars that support the elegant partial wraparound balcony will be carefully reproduced and replaced, so as to maintain the architectural integrity of the facade.
The renovations, which began last week, were already well under way when the Daily Dispatch visited the grand double-storey gallery yesterday.
Men perched on scaffoldings and ladders painted ornate ceilings with fresh white paint and upstairs a floor was being sanded.
The gallery’s collection of paintings and sculptures, worth an estimated R30-million, have been carefully removed from their walls and stashed in the storerooms and the home’s beautifully intact upstairs bathroom.
“This is the biggest revamp yet that I know of,” curator Leon du Preez said.
“When this is done she will be in top condition, although some of the French doors will still have to be repaired. This is an old building and needs constant TLC.”
Du Preez said the balcony in its present rotting state “could collapse at any time”.
While four of the 10 pillars supporting the balcony were replaced six years ago, the remaining posts look precarious, with chunks of timber having rotted away, leaving the balcony sagging in places.
He said after the gallery moved from under the banner of Buffalo City Metro’s community services, libraries and halls to arts, culture, heritage and tourism under the local economic development and agencies directorate, a budget had become available and the department’s head, Mzodidi Kwinana, had been instrumental in initiating the upgrade.
BCM spokesman Samkelo Ngwenya said specialist wood contractors would remove one of the disintegrating pillars and balcony balustrades and make exact replicas of them.
He said restorations were last done in 2009 when the East London Fine Arts Society sold an original Frans Oerder oil painting called Portrait of a Boy at auction and raised R320000.
“The balcony was restored but merely cosmetically, and this time round it will be a more complex restoration process. The Fine Art Society also restored the sash windows and double doors downstairs. In 2010, BCM painted the Coach House.”
The landmark Selborne gallery, which was once known as The Gables, was built as a residence in 1905 and bequeathed, together with a collection of paintings, to the city of East London by Ann Bryant.
It was opened to the public in 1947.
Ngwenya said the upgrade would make the building more secure and user-friendly.
“This will also make sure the grand old lady is seen once again in her former glory.”
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