Perth Art Gallery – Top 5 things to discover.
Perth Art Gallery Top Five Things to Discover
Home to one of the UK’s oldest collections, Perth Art Gallery features work by some of the most influential modern Scottish artists, including Joan Eardley, John Byrne, Alison Watt, and John Bellany.
Comprising of five permanent galleries and one temporary exhibition space, there is something for all, from the youngest artist to the most devoted fan of the classics.
Hands On Art
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Refreshed in 2025 thanks to funding from The Gannochy Trust, Hands on Art is a dedicated interactive space designed for young children.
Pre-Art Skills: Activities that help children develop fine motor skills, hand-eye coordination, and colour matching, which are the foundations for creative expression.
Curiosity and Play: Engaging, open-ended experiences that inspire young minds to experiment and explore art in their own unique way.
A Space for Everyone: The gallery is thoughtfully designed to be inclusive, allowing children of all abilities to create, connect, and feel at ease.
Sensory-based play experiences: Fun areas and resources that not only support little ones to engage in art but also to use the senses to help build nerve connections in the brain, supporting cognitive growth, language development, and problem-solving skills.
So, whether it is your child’s first time visiting a gallery or their hundredth, this is the ideal place to create, touch, and discover.
The Dark Room
Opening the upper level in the Marshall Gallery for the first time in over 20 years, The Dark Room explores early photography in a pre-digital age.
For 150 years,(a very long time before digital cameras!), photographs relied on light reacting with chemicals.
This created a variety of styles and effects, and the techniques changed and improved throughout time.
The collection highlights Scotland and Perth’s role in the dawn of photography,and the permanent display showcases some of the early methods of photography.
Marvel at some of the original equipment used in creating the photograghs, not a smart phone in sight!
The Dark Room unfortunately is accessible via a steep staircase, which may pose challenges for those with mobility issues.
Fergus and Meg: A Creative Partnership
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Perth Art Gallery is the new home for the JD Fergusson and Margaret Morris Collection.
This amazing collection offers up a little slice of history and some valuable insight into the lives of two creative individuals.
Fergus and Meg: A Creative Partnership,
The display celebrates the life and creative partnership between Scottish Colourist John Duncan Fergusson and his partner, Margaret Morris, the pioneering dancer.
This collection features over forty paintings, drawings, and watercolours, and is the largest single holding in existence of work byJohn Duncan Fergusson (1874-1967).
Visitors to Perth Art gallery will be able to appreciate the importance of Fergusson’s work in the history of Western modern art and his role as an international artist.
There will also be the opportunity to explore the life and works of his partner, the renowned dancer, choreographer, and artist Margaret Morris.
This is truly a beautiful collection, to be enjoyed by all.
This exhibition has been generously supported by the J.D. Fergusson Art Foundation.
Modern Scots
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Spread over two galleries, this permanent display shows work from iconic modern Scottish artists.
The works on display cover the last 100 years and demonstrate the new and innovative ways in which Scottish artists were working and taking inspiration from the past and from Europe.
The exhibition includes key players in the story of Scottish art, such as Joan Eardley and Sir William MacTaggart, alongside renowned contemporary artists Calum Colvin and Alison Watt.
Changing on a semi-regular basis, so, there is always something new to see when you visit.
When you are in the gallery, make sure you look at the labels written by Perth High School students.
Perth Art Gallery Toilets
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The toilets at Perth Art Gallery are home to two murals artfully crafted by Scottish artists Lindsay Grime and Ellietype (Ellie Mills).
The toilets draw inspiration from the art collections housed within the gallery, with the murals representing a fusion of traditional and contemporary artistic influences.
Who knew a trip to the toilet could be so interesting?