About Us
Something for everyone
Russell-Cotes Art Gallery & Museum, Bournemouth, UK, is one of the most fascinating and unique museums in the world.
Comprising art galleries and museum, a licensed café, a shop and a children’s area, it is an ideal place for learning, exploring and socialising.
Housed in one of the last Victorian villas in Bournemouth, East Cliff Hall, it was originally designed and lived in by Sir Merton and Lady Russell-Cotes. Flamboyant and eccentric are words used to describe the villa's architectural and interior design.
It is situated on the dramatic cliff top over-looking seven miles of award-winning beaches.
Admission is FREE.
Art & Exhibitions
Much of the permanent art collection reflects popular tastes in art during Queen Victoria's reign.
The art galleries host a range of changing and permanent exhibitions and displays with varied themes.
Find out what's on...
The collections
The collections are interesting and unusual and include art and sculpture - many collected during the late 1800s and early 1900s.
Merton and Annie Russell-Cotes were keen collectors and travellers, bringing home objects from around the world, including Russia, New Zealand, Scandinavia, Hawaii, the Middle East and Japan.
The Irving Room
On the upper-ground floor is a 'museum within a museum' dedicated to Sir Henry Irving, the great Shakespearean actor (pictured below)
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Above: East Cliff Hall, 2008
Our organisation
We are a relatively small team of around 15 permanent full-time and part-time staff. We are supported by a team of volunteers in some areas. We currently have a small number of further temporary staff funded by the Museums, Libraries and Archives Couuncil's (MLA’s) Renaissance initiative.
Accreditation
We are a Museums, Libraries and Archives Council (MLA) Accredited museum. MLA's Museum Accreditation Scheme sets nationally agreed standards for UK museums.
To qualify, museums must meet clear basic requirements on how they care for and document their collections, how they are governed and managed, and on the information and services they offer to their users.
The MLA is the Government's agency for museums, galleries, libraries and archives. It delivers strategic leadership in England and in each of its regions and collaborates with partners across the UK.
Renaissance in the Regions
Russell-Cotes Art Gallery & Museum is one of five hub museums in the south west participating in the MLA “Renaissance in the Regions” programme. The Renaissance vision is to:
- increase and sustain user participation;
- provide benefits to users through developing the organisation and workforce; and
- provide benefits to users by improving access and use of collections, through better collections development, care and interpretation.
Renaissance is the MLA’s ground-breaking programme to transform England’s regional museums. Central government funding since 2002 is enabling regional museums across the country to raise their standards and deliver real results in support of education, learning, community development and economic regeneration.
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