This section of the Gallery was the last to be built. It formed part of an extension to the original project, commissioned in 1921 to complete the perimeter of the estate and cloak the cliff face with a striking architectural façade. Perhaps that is why it became the part of the complex best suited to everyday family life.
Here, governesses and the children in their care would stroll or play across its 400 square metres, sheltered from the rain and enjoying the warmth of the midday sun. Here, private family life came closer to the street, in a setting of leisure and play.
Yet the same favourable orientation that once made the gallery so inviting has also taken its toll. Constant exposure to sea salt and pollution has left its magnificent colonnade in a fragile condition.
Since 2018, the gallery has been open to visitors thanks to a timber walkway that provides access while also serving as an exhibition space. It now awaits the next stage of its restoration, which will further strengthen its role as a vibrant public space open to the city.
