The gallery was built in 1887/8, designed by architect
Edwin Seward in a
Queen Anne style[1] for the rich local flour merchant,
James Pyke Thompson.[2] Pyke Thompson used the gallery to exhibit his collection of artworks, which include drawings, etchings, and ceramics, by artists including Rembrandt, with free entry to the public.[3] The collection notably includes paintings by
J. M. W. Turner,[citation needed] after which the gallery was named.
Turner House Gallery was acquired by the
National Museum of Wales in 1921 and used to display the museum's secondary public art collection.[3]
In 2003 Turner House was taken over by the registered charity,
Ffotogallery, and subsequently was used for photography-based exhibitions.[3] In 2014/15 the gallery became part of a wider
Artes Mundi exhibition, staging works by
Icelandic artist
Ragnar Kjartansson and
Croatian artist
Sanja Iveković for Artes Mundi 6.[5]
In 2018 Ffotogallery announced that it would be leaving Turner House for new premises in the centre of Cardiff, starting in July 2019. The town council were looking at creating a new cultural venue in the building.[6]
In July 2018 Penarth Town Council launched an online community consultation survey regarding the future use of Turner House and other buildings.[7] In 2021 the gallery reopened with
Penarth Town Council working in partnership with
Amgueddfa Cymru–National Museum Wales to use the building as multi-purpose cultural venue.[8][9]
The gallery regularly hosts
Hayward Gallery touring exhibition shows.[9]