Seven Reasons Why I love the York Art Gallery (Amanda Raterink)

When we first arrived in York, we were given the task of finding a place to call ours and to revisit this place every week. I chose the York Art Gallery and fall more in love with the place every time I go. Since I love this place so much, I thought I would tell you seven reasons why you should love it, too!

My sketch of the Minster and city walls seen from the art museum

1. The BFG exhibit. The first thing that caught my eye about this place was the advertisements for the BFG children’s book exhibit. For those of you who are unfamiliar with this children’s book by Roald Dahl, the “BFG” stands for Big Friendly Giant. The Gallery has two rooms upstairs dedicated to all of pen and watercolor drawings for the book and describes the whole process of how the character came to be. This exhibit brings me back to my childhood and captivates me with Quentin Blake’s fluid drawing style and Dahl’s whimsical characters.

2. The atmosphere of the York Art Gallery itself is a large part of why I love it. The mix between the old and new architecture of the building, the whitewashed walls, the quietness aside from the sound of people stepping on the creaking hardwood floor, and all the colorful and unique artwork surrounding you, make it a place unlike any other in York. The York Art Gallery is so peaceful and encourages creativity and focus.

3. The best part of the York Art Gallery’s building itself is the grand staircase leading to the exhibits on the upper level. It has mosaic floors and an intricate handrail and is lined with beautiful portraits. You can’t help feeling like royalty as you ascend this grand staircase.

4. For the “My Place in York” assignments, I spend my time in the Burton Gallery, a big room lined with beautiful paintings done in the early 20th century and influenced by impressionism and post impressionism. The paintings came from a personal collection and were then donated to the York Art Gallery. The paintings in this gallery are all so different from one another. One of my favorite paintings is of a cliff by the sea. This painting, which has so many beautiful layers of color, was done by Gustave Loiseau, a student of famous French impressionist Paul Gauguin. You could spend hours looking into the literal sea of colors held in this painting.

5. The large ceramic collection housed on the upper level of the art gallery is another one of my favorite things. With all the many different shapes, styles, sizes, colors, and textures, the ceramic collection is enough to keep one captivated for hours. Each piece is one of a kind and tells its own story. The collection is one of the prized possessions of the York Art Gallery.

6. As you walk in the doors of the gallery you are almost instantly greeted by one of the friendly staff members. They are always so cheery and friendly and excited to tell you about all that the gallery houses.

7. Last but certainly not least, the couches in the Burton Gallery. This may seem a small thing, but I truly enjoy spending time sitting on the couches reading or watching the many people walk through the gallery and hearing their conversation about the artwork. The best is when the little kids running around the gallery come and climb up on the couches next to me. I get so excited to come back to the York Art Gallery each week. The people there, the artwork, the couches, and the overall environment combine to make the Gallery my favorite place here.