Brighton Museum & Art Gallery

Highly recommend visiting the Brighton Museum which is nestled next to the Royal Pavilion. It is free, caters for adults and children and easy to reach.
Being in Brighton, one of the most eclectic cities in England, and being next to the grandeur Pavilion, it was no surprise that it has eclectic collections which surprise and delight. Perfect for a family day out or when you need a rainy day activity.

I always enjoy a visit to a museum, what’s not to love about learning for free?
Set in the heart of Brighton’s Royal Pavillion gardens, you can really feel the culture when you visit the area. If you’re stuck for ideas on what to do in Brighton when the weather is less than ideal, you could do much worse than making the trip here.
Although small, the museum houses some interesting collections. My personal highlights are the Egyptology section and the history of Brighton room. Seeing the old photos of the west pier in all its glory and how the Pavillion looked over the years is fascinating.

Lovely free museum set in a lovely garden and within a beautiful building. Interesting collections and special exhibits (which are also free) staff were friendly and there is even a small café. I think the history of Brighton display is permanent and is a good one.

I LOVED the Brighton Museum. I was beyond pleasantly surprised.
The museum is in a lovely building right beside the Royal Pavilion, so there is no reason why you cannot pay it a visit.
The collections were rather hodgepodge, and sometimes it was difficult to figure out the connecting theme of what I was looking at, but everything was interesting — from the little alcove about Ancient Egypt to the Main Hall to the exhibits on Clothing as well as Modern Art (and I don’t even care for modern art.)
This museum also had a quality that escapes most others — it was great for both adults and children.
I can easily say that, of all the sights I saw during my day in Brighton, this was definitely my favourite.

Most museums put their shops at the exit or in an annexe, hoping to entice you to part with your cash once you have been bowled over by the exhibits. Brighton likes to do things differently and here the tacky t-​shirts, brash artifacts and upmarket tat are in your face as soon as you enter. Another unfortunate aspect of the refurbishment is that Brummel the talking cat (actually a mechanical model, fact fans) has been relegated to stony silence in a corner of the foyer. I often brought my daughters to the museum when they were toddlers and they were always charmed by the moggy’s messages.
Another thing they liked to do was loll around on Mae West’s Lips the sofa, that is. This is now out of the question as it is safely installed behind glass along with most of the exhibits about time.
The art collection can be politely described as eclectic and impolitely as a mish-​mash — including the overheated eroticism of Laurence Koe’s ‘Venus and Tannhauser’ (1896), the understated homo-​eroticism of David Paynter’s L’Apres-Midi (1935) and the oblique female sexuality of Two Figures by Fernand Leger something for everyone.
The current exhibition — From Sickert to Gertler is worth seeing (£5 entrance fee).
Oh and on the way out you’ll have to negotiate the ephemera once again.

The museum now resides in what use to be the stables for the Pavilion when it was the Palace of the Prince Regent and I think that this is a wonderful location to house the art and artifacts of the collection. Many people seem to be a bit confused about the randomness of the collection and much of what is exhibited is thanks to donations from past private collectors from the grand tour era.
There are also a nice range of canvases on display including some good examples of the Impressionist period. I personally like the large exhibition dedicated to the history of Brighton from fishing village up to the contemporary cosmopolitan city we inhabit today.
I’m not such a fan of the decision to opt for a modern style refurb of the entrance foyer and feel that they should have restored the style of the original building, but I guess I am just a traditionalist in this regard. I certainly cannot complain about the free entry to the place and I regularly come here to study armed with a text book or journal. I usually head up to the gallery where there is a café and love sitting in the heavens looking down onto the main exhibition area with a coffee.
This is certainly something that the council has done well with and the reuse of the space to something worthwhile for the citizens and visitors of Brighton deserves a pat on the back.

Having work at an language school over the summer, I frequently had to bring students here as part of their educational development, and oh what fun they had…
So in truth they didn’t have any fun, but that is nothing against the museum. I myself found the museum to be really quite interesting. The building is new and recently decorated with a tasteful, if not slightly dull colour scheme.
The offerings regularly change, most recently I saw Egyptian antiques and relics, while also finding a room that was dedicated to infamous mod and rocker scene made famous in the the 1960’s.
Considering it is free, this is a nice afternoon out.

With central exhibitions changing on regular basis, the latest one I visited was about Land Girls. Although the selection was limited, it was appealing to introductory education levels and was quite interactive and even had a dress up section (I tried on a nice coat).
There are other equally modest sections containing Ancient Egypt and various pieces of pottery and furniture. But whereas the collections aren’t extensive they are concise and presented in a beautiful surrounding.
It’s completely free and the next exhibition you won’t want to miss-​an exhibition of condiment containers and salt shakers.

I love this museum. It is a perfectly formed, beautifully curated small museum that has something to offer to everyone and anyone. The outside architecture is a lovely Royal Pavilion influenced art-​deco and the inside feels similar to the Natural History museum in London– a high-​ceilinged hall with a café on an open balcony overlooking the hall, all marble and tiles. The exhibit in the large entry hall is a really interesting mix of contemporary furniture and turn of the century furniture pieces– a small collection but each item is lovely and a good example of key styles. The upstairs galleries are all dedicated to the eclectic collection that the museum has gathered up– some paintings from various periods, some tribal pieces and Egyptian. And there is always one visiting exhibit– often some very high profile ones– like the recent American Scene exhibit which started at the British Museum. There is also a beautiful library dedicated to Brighton’s history for anyone-​amateur or professional– who is interested. The café serves some nice hot drinks and quite a nice cream tea for a reasonable price.

Working with a language school in the summer meant having to take my students on cultural exchange trips. One such trip was to the Brighton Museum and Art Gallery. The name kind of says it all and for my teenage students its feature on their activity chart usually drew moans and sneers, but when they came back through the doors after 45 minutes or so, they tended to be pleasantly surprised. A sense of smugness would come over me at this point, because I knew that this museum was better than most that I have visited — and even Brighton has some bad ones — not to mention any names. There are exhibits on Brighton’s history as a smutty seaside town; the Egyptians and Art Deco furniture to name but a few. What I like about the Museum and Art Gallery is the range of exhibits on offer and the great gallery, which recently had a show of work by Hopper, Pollock and their peers. It isn’t just relics and over-​enthusiasm for the Brighton that was. It’s fresh, interesting and insightful and has a beautiful café with some of the best coffee in Brighton, because that’s what’s important after a cultural overload.

Tucked away in the park behind the Royal Pavilion, this museum does take a little bit of finding — it’s not somewhere you’d happen on by accident. In fact, it’s only a stone’s throw from the bustling city centre shops on North Street, and is among the top ten most visited free atttractions in the South East (around 250,000 people a year).
Its collections are — like many provincial musuems — a bit of a mixed bag. There’s a small but interesting art collection, which ranges from the 15^th century to contemporary pieces: highlights include Dutch 17^th century works and paintings from the Camden Town school.
Of national importance is its Egyptology collection, the 600 pieces constituting one of the largest in southern England. The world galleries contain a wider variety of objects, mostly from developing countries in Africa, Asia and South America, ranging from puppets and masks to devotional objects and textiles.
The local collections include paintings and an eclectic collection of folk pottery from the museum’s founder, and the fashion galleries cover everything from the Prince Regent’s breeches (with a 58 inch waist) to mod, rocker, skinhead, punk and goth outfits.
The galleries themselves are generally well laid out, and since its refurbishment a few years ago the interior is impressively light and airy. There’s a very nice shop at the entrance and it’s well worth knowing about the upstairs café, where impressive portions of cake are on offer.
Overall, it is a diverting place to spend a peaceful hour or so.
Note: the museum is closed on Mondays, Continental-​fashion.

Quite possibly the most random collection of art and artefacts I’ve ever seen in a British museum. So, there’s art, and decorative arts, like furniture and pottery. And Egyptian antiquities (natch). And then, there’s also many rooms devoted to the social, political and sexual history of Brighton. Quite possibly, the best exhibit is an audio booth that features interviews with folks discussing the promiscuous past of Brighton. Between the awkward, nervous hotel owner and the quotes from the escort, it was entertainment GOLD.
Also, it’s free. And it doesn’t smell like Arse, like the Sea Life Centre.

El Brighton Museum & Art Gallery está en el centro de la ciudad, cerca también del Royal Pavilion. La entrada es gratuita y en él se pueden encontrar figuras de cerámica, madera, fósiles, cuadros y documentos de la historia de esta ciudad. Hay otra sala en esta planta en la que se muestran vestimentas y útiles de otras culturas, como la egipcia, la hindú, las variedades africanas
En la segunda planta, normalmente para exposiciones de cuadros, en este momento y hasta el 13 de abril hay una que se llama ‘Paintings Unwrapped’. En ella se pueden ver cuadros de distintos autores y de distintos estilos y años.
Otra sala de esta segunda planta estaba dedicada a las vestimentas que gente importante o destacada de Brighton había llevado durante las distintas décadas del siglo pasado.
Sin duda, esta segunda planta fue la que más me gustó por el hecho de que es la más interactiva, pues en la exposición de cuadros había mesas con colorines para pintar, tanto para niños como para mayores, aparte de tener que rellenar un cuestionario sobre la valoración de la exposición. En la sala de las ropas había un teatrillo de títeres en el que poder representar una obra uno mismo.
Si visitas Brighton no te cuesta nada pasar un día cultural, además no te quitará mucho tiempo y no es para nada aburrido! =)

A must see in Brighton to escape the brashness and grime of the surrounding streets. The Gallery (entry is free) has mixed collections but has fine pieces of art deco and nouveau furniture and objects and some decent paintings as well as decent modern pieces. Worth checking throughout the year for special exhibitions I’ve seem some good fashion ones here. Well placed centrally not far from the pavilion. Brighton has loads of cafes and restaurants so no need to use the in-​house café although it’s not that bad. Brighton beach is not far and off course, is the place to see or be seen. Hove has a decent art gallery as well down the coast.

Hidden away next to the Grand Pavilion, the brighton museum and art gallery is an aclectic mix of historical artifacts and art pieces that can easily suck up hours of your life. The collections are a bit thinly spread, but everything is interesting and worth your attention. As always, the gift shop is horribly expensive.

Fantastic place to go and get away from the hustle and bustle of Brighton for a few hours.
A well rounded selection of art, paintings, sculpture, pottery, fashion, and local history.
Very nice café upstairs.

I visit this musuem about 4 times a year. It always has something new going on. The displays can be boring due to lots of glass cases. But its free!
There is a lot of pottery, which I have no interest in. But, the clothing section is changed several times a year. There is some punk clothing on display. I like the paintings as well. There is a good mixture of new/​old history.
If one likes furniture this can be found as well. There is a lips sofa here!
The café seems pleasant. Its a nice place to meet up with someone. The shop is a bit pricey though.