Laing Art Gallery

The Laing Art Gallery, located on Higham Place in Newcastle upon Tyne, is an art gallery built between 1903 and 1904 by the architectural firm Cackett and Burns Dick. The building is constructed from sandstone ashlar and features a stone dome atop its tower cupola. It is designed in a Free Baroque style with Art Nouveau elements.

The central block of the gallery consists of two high storeys and five bays, with the outer bays designed as pavilions that project forward. To the left, there is a three-stage tower, while the right wing has three low storeys and two bays. The main block features two central recessed double doors, with steps leading up to wrought iron gates set within a keyed arch, which is adorned with an elaborate case in the free Roman Doric Order. Above this, a pedimented niche is supported by paired rusticated columns, with cherubs on either side carrying scrolls that read "ARS LONGA" and "VITA BREVIS." The arms of Newcastle are displayed on the blank wall above.

The ground floor is rusticated and has round-headed windows. The pavilions feature a giant Ionic Order with tripartite windows on the first floor, one of which is blind on the left side, along with bracketed niches that contain cartouches. An entablature with a pulvinated frieze and a modillioned cornice enhances the main block, while the right wing has a simpler design. The left tower, with its rusticated ground floor, remains blank up to the level of the main cornice, above which is a three-light window in a raised stone surround, accompanied by an Art Nouveau frieze depicting high-relief female figures, with the central figure having wings, and corner pilasters. The octagonal lantern features a drum with free-standing columns and four pedimented round-headed openings, topped by a dome with a ball finial.

Inside, the gallery boasts a full-width entrance hall, a left hall leading to the staircase, and an upper hall, all featuring red, white, and Frosterley marble floors. The entrance is adorned with the Tuscan Order, the left hall with the Ionic Order, and the upper hall with the Composite Order. The staircase has fat stone balusters and a wide rail, with a circular balustrade in the upper hall. The soffits are panelled. The gallery was a gift from Alexander Laing to the City of Newcastle.