The award-winning and publicly funded Falmouth Art Gallery houses one of the most important art collections in Cornwall. The gallery has an outstanding collection of over 2,000 artworks that range from Pre-Raphaelite and British Impressionist paintings to contemporary prints, photography and a children's illustration archive. The collection includes masterpieces by Thomas Gainsborough and Henry Scott Tuke. The gallery also has an impressive photography collection including work by Lee Miller.
Poynton Bradbury Architects were commissioned in 1994 to renovate and extend the gallery located on the first floor of the Grade II listed Muncipal Buildings, originally constructed in 1896 and designed by William Henry Tressider.
A new entrance extension and lift tower provides disabled access to the new galleries, picture store, research and staff accommodation. Funding for the project was obtained from the National Lottery, Museums and Galleries Commission, the Wolfson Fund, European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and the Foundation for Sports and Arts
The project was the first National Lottery Heritage Fund scheme to be completed in the South West, and the building was re-opened by Sir Tim Rice on 31 May 1996.
