War Memorial And Cowdray Hall, Aberdeen Art Gallery, 78 Schoolhill, Aberdeen

The building comprises a war memorial and Cowdray Hall, forming part of the Aberdeen Art Gallery at 78 Schoolhill, Aberdeen, constructed in 1885 by Alexander Marshall Mackenzie, with subsequent additions in 1905 to the sculpture court, and in 1925 for the war memorial and Cowdray Hall. It is a remarkable two-storey block of Renaissance-style buildings built using distinctive polished grey granite ashlar with pink Correnie granite dressings and detailing, connected by a vehicular arch. The architecture features a moulded base course, a rock-faced rusticated course rising to a cill course, a moulded blocking course, a plain ashlar frieze, and a moulded cornice. Astragalled fixed-pane windows run the length of the ground floor, with decorative roundels positioned above.

The south (principal) elevation, 14 bays for the Art Gallery and 7 bays for the former School of Art, creates a continuous run along Schoolhill, linked by a semi-elliptical arch. The Art Gallery features full-height engaged Corinthian columns flanking a round-arched entrance with a two-leaf timber door. These columns are flanked by channelled pilasters, topped by a dentiled pediment. The former School of Art has a similar entrance arrangement, with Corinthian columns replacing the channelled pilasters. The arch, leading to Robert Gordon’s College (listed separately), incorporates channelled pilasters, a tripartite fixed-pane corridor above, a scrolled and arched pediment, and fine ornamental cast-iron gates and gate piers with crown-finialled lanterns.

The southwest corner elevation showcases grey granite ashlar with a curved quadrant colonnade leading to the Cowdray Hall entrance in the outer quadrant bays. This is flanked by Corinthian pilasters and dentiled architraves, featuring garland and swag details. Steps at the central quadrant area surround a plinth displaying a lion sculpture by W McMillan. The west (Blackfriars Street) elevation, built using grey and pink granite, presents a blind portico with shallow Corinthian pilasters flanked by sections of full-height channelled rustication. The windows of the outer bays are flanked by channelled pilasters.

The building largely features fixed multi-pane windows, grey slate roofing, and a multi-pitched roof with broad multi-pane rooflights to the north, south, east, and west. A large oval cupola tops the central sculpture court of the Art Gallery, while the War Memorial has a fluted copper dome. Cast-iron rainwater goods are present throughout.

The interior of the Art Gallery includes a fine central sculpture court with a bifurcated staircase of black and white marble. This court is characterised by colonnades with columns of different coloured granite, and above, a balustraded balcony. A James McBey Print Room, added in 1959, is linked to the main gallery at the northeast re-entrant angle. The War Memorial features an octagonal court rising to a balustraded circular balcony on the first floor, with giant arched recesses leading to a domed ceiling. The Cowdray Hall boasts a curving, stepped stage area accommodating a pneumatic pipe organ, a colonnaded mezzanine to the rear, and an oak-panelled dado. A Doric-columned basement level features geometric plasterwork. Decorative cast-iron balustrades adorn the hallway stairs, and predominantly original brass fixtures are in place. A timber-boarded cloak room includes a drop-leaf counter. The former Gray's School of Art has a balustraded, bifurcated staircase in the main entrance hall.