Ferens Art Gallery
Ferens Art Gallery
4.5
10:00 AM - 4:30 PM
Monday
10:00 AM - 4:30 PM
Tuesday
10:00 AM - 4:30 PM
Wednesday
10:00 AM - 4:30 PM
Thursday
10:00 AM - 4:30 PM
Friday
10:00 AM - 4:30 PM
Saturday
10:00 AM - 4:30 PM
Sunday
11:00 AM - 4:00 PM
About
Ferens Art Gallery re-opened to the public on Friday 13 January 2017 following its £5.1m refurbishment, celebrating the start of Hull's year as UK City of Culture. Opened in 1927, the award winning Ferens Art Gallery combines internationally renowned permanent collections with a thriving programme of temporary exhibitions. The Gallery has a varied education and events programme that includes tours, talks and art workshops. The gallery's first-class permanent collection of paintings and sculpture spans the medieval period to the present day. These include European Old Masters, particularly Dutch and Flemish, portraiture, marine paintings, modern and contemporary British art, including video. Highlights include masterpieces by Frans Hals, Antonio Canaletto, Stanley Spencer, David Hockney, Helen Chadwick and Gillian Wearing.
Suggested duration
1-2 hours
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Detailed Reviews: Reviews order informed by descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as cleanliness, atmosphere, general tips and location information.
Popular mentions
4.5
747 reviews
Excellent
460
Very good
235
Average
33
Poor
7
Terrible
12
Janet996
Bridlington, UK295 contributions
Jun 2021
It was our first visit and we had to book ahead of visit. Some people arrived just in front of us who hzd not booked and we had to wait whilst they booked online, which was irritating. It would have bedn etter if they had been taken aside. The admission process was well explained to us and we were made to feel welcome. We enjoyed seeing the exhibits but disappointed that there was only one work by Monet. We had a pot of tea in the cafe which was well served by a very friendly gent.
Written June 21, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
caropl
Chester, UK55 contributions
Sep 2020 • Couples
This is a Good quality representative collection of mostly British art from late Tudor to now, largely of not-quite-top players, (hence 4 blobs!) with a few stars: small Constable, a Canaletto: some dutch painters of note. It was largely put together by the philanthropic Victorian donor after whom the gallery is named, and the omissions of much preRaphaelite and the impressionists is down to his taste at the time. It is strong on 1920s &30’s and more modern buying continues.
I enjoyed this visit; in my disabled buggy I was welcomed and helped all round, which is not always the case! Good accessible loo. The place was empty apart from staff; do not be put off by the Covid requirement to book: it can be done up to 15 mins. prior, risking that the few places have been taken. It is still free, and very careful attention is paid to precautions. Thank you Hull Council Arts department!
Sadly the cafe is not open as I write but the staff hope soon. The route is prescriptive, arranged by age of painting, which I did not find difficult, and you only have an hour. But with no crowds, this isn’t too much of an imposition. The main thing is to enjoy the art and support the gallery and the helpful friendly staff by going, so it can’t be sacrificed on the altar of Covid cuts!
Sadly the Maritime Museum opposite is shut for3 years for refurbishment.
I enjoyed this visit; in my disabled buggy I was welcomed and helped all round, which is not always the case! Good accessible loo. The place was empty apart from staff; do not be put off by the Covid requirement to book: it can be done up to 15 mins. prior, risking that the few places have been taken. It is still free, and very careful attention is paid to precautions. Thank you Hull Council Arts department!
Sadly the cafe is not open as I write but the staff hope soon. The route is prescriptive, arranged by age of painting, which I did not find difficult, and you only have an hour. But with no crowds, this isn’t too much of an imposition. The main thing is to enjoy the art and support the gallery and the helpful friendly staff by going, so it can’t be sacrificed on the altar of Covid cuts!
Sadly the Maritime Museum opposite is shut for3 years for refurbishment.
Written September 15, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
MrsAG
Winchester, Hants113 contributions
May 2022
An circular leads you through beautifully curated art works in each room, ending up in the contemporary era. Spacious, light airy spaces, and a little care and shop available if you walk through in a straight line from the main entrance instead of going off left for the tour. Pleasant, polite museum staff. I went twice in one weekend, I enjoyed it so much.
Written May 24, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Pippa Catterall
London, UK36 contributions
Aug 2020 • Couples
At present you can only visit this gallery for one hour, one room was closed because of overnight rain and another had a steady drip to avoid. There were more staff than visitors today and they still chivvied us out with three paintings to go in the final room, even though there were only two other people in the place. The art itself could be better arranged, though the interpretation of individual pieces was good. The objective of the collection was far from clear as you move from mostly minor early modern Dutch artists to the modern and contemporary. Although some themes - such as portraiture - suggest themselves given the number of striking examples of this genre, there’s no attempt to explore these. All in all this is a disappointingly pedestrian presentation of art in a gallery where officious and under-occupied staff/volunteers further detracted from the experience.
Written August 13, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Anthony B
Yorkshire, England69 contributions
Mar 2023 • Couples
Went to see the BM Touring exhibition of Tutankhamun's tomb finds, or the copies to be exact from the Empire exhibition. We were a little let down by the lack of the death mask but the Rosetta stone copy and the other exhibits were well set out and explained. BTW museum staff it is a digestive tract, not track! What made the trip worthwhile were the other exhibits, paintings etc from the LGBT plus exhibition we had not planned to see but glad we went further that just the Egyptian rooms. For a free to enter museum well worth your time
Written March 23, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
hochbeam
Allschwil, Switzerland143 contributions
Sep 2019
What do you do when you want to create a first-rate art museum, but don't have the budget for a building full of Picassos and Vermeers? You tell the entire history of art from ancient times to the present, in a lovely set of galleries, using art by lesser-known but still very talented creators. I have frequented many world-renowned art museums, and I must say that I really enjoyed the way they beautifully illustrate the whole story of art. Seeing it presented in this way, in a single hour or so, captures art in a way that really adds perspective to what you see in a more major museum. The helpful staff and nice gift shop are also a plus. They also pick up the local angle, and the story of "Sea of Hull" is unforgettable. The gallery, and the whole city of Hull for that matter, punch above their weight.
Written January 2, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
GWoolfe
Scarborough, UK76 contributions
Jul 2021
A nice sized gallery to walk around with friendly staff. It is free to enter and has a decent amount of artwork (paintings and sculptures) on display from older pieces to more contemporary and is a nice way to spend a morning or afternoon. I found the gallery to be the perfect size, enough to see without getting bored or tired. There is also a cafe, which I didn't use myself and toilets.
Each artwork has detailed information to learn more about the piece, artist or history and there was some magnificent art to see like Regnier's 'Saint Sebastian' piece.
The gallery also had a LGBTQ+ trail with additional information on the artist or subjects which was fascinating to learn more about.
The art gallery was also showcasing artwork that could be brought, which was great to see.
The art gallery is currently following a one-way system and it is easy to keep to the 2-metre distance, there is also hand sanitiser in every room.
Each artwork has detailed information to learn more about the piece, artist or history and there was some magnificent art to see like Regnier's 'Saint Sebastian' piece.
The gallery also had a LGBTQ+ trail with additional information on the artist or subjects which was fascinating to learn more about.
The art gallery was also showcasing artwork that could be brought, which was great to see.
The art gallery is currently following a one-way system and it is easy to keep to the 2-metre distance, there is also hand sanitiser in every room.
Written July 27, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
dnowland_12
Leeds, UK4,347 contributions
Jun 2021
Compared to some this is quite a small Art Gallery, and as it was supposed to have a Monet exhibition we were disappointed that we could only find one Monet to look at.
Most of the other pictures were worth studying but I cannot come to terms with some of the more abstract art, it does absolutely nothing for me or any of the group I was with. Worth a visit if only to make up your own minds.
Most of the other pictures were worth studying but I cannot come to terms with some of the more abstract art, it does absolutely nothing for me or any of the group I was with. Worth a visit if only to make up your own minds.
Written June 30, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
K B
23 contributions
Feb 2020
Really good way to spend an hour. Around half of the artworks change regularly, so it's not a case of 'seen that, done it'. You can visit a few times a year and see something new each time. Not many activities for kids within, but it is interesting. Mainly paintings, but a few sculptures. Cafe available at the back which has waterfront seating during hot weather. Reasonably priced with a fair selection of foods and drinks available.
Written October 8, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Steve B
Nottingham, UK212 contributions
Sep 2020 • Couples
Unfortunately we visited during the Covid-19 pandemic so we're only allowed one hour. We are not the biggest fans of art galleries but enjoyed this one. There are good explanations by each artwork. There was at least one upper floor but this was closed due to social distancing. One portrait we loved was called 'By the Hills' by Gerald Brockhurst.
Written September 14, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Is there anyone at the gallery who can value a painting
913ange
Uk84 contributions
You need to contact the gallery direct as there is a charge for valuations. This is normal procedure. I have used outside valuers but I cannot recommend any particular person.
There number is on their website.
Good luck.
Fenella2018
Kingston-upon-Hull, UK175 contributions
The website is not very good, it doesn't show any facilities or access information and doesn't even mention the cafe let alone a menu. Does anyone know how to find out this information?
Cameron H
Wakefield, UK19 contributions
With the Ferens Gallery being run by the local council very little input is being made about information for such a great places. You can only get the basic facts such as opening times and a very brief statement about exhibitions which is unfortunate on the council website. The best thing to do is either call the gallery, however the best (may resort to the only option) is to just go to the gallery and hope for the best.
Sorry can’t give you better information but that’s how it is with council run galleries and museums
Blackwood26513
York, UK12 contributions
Do the gallery and exhibitions have disabled access
Milanoman2810
Denia, Spain571 contributions
I think this is well covered at the gallery
Ferens Art Gallery (Kingston-upon-Hull) - All You Need to Know BEFORE You Go
Frequently Asked Questions about Ferens Art Gallery
- Ferens Art Gallery is open:
- Sun - Sun 11:00 AM - 4:00 PM
- Mon - Sat 10:00 AM - 4:30 PM
- Hotels near Ferens Art Gallery:
- (0.23 mi) Hideout Hotel
- (0.19 mi) ibis Hull City Centre Hotel
- (0.18 mi) Admiral of the Humber Wetherspoon
- (0.20 mi) Holiday Inn Hull Marina, an IHG hotel
- (0.30 mi) Kingston Theatre Hotel
- Restaurants near Ferens Art Gallery:
- (0.02 mi) The Punch Hotel
- (0.02 mi) Vannuccis deli
- (0.03 mi) Muffin Break
- (0.06 mi) Long An Restaurant
- (0.09 mi) Robbie Johnsons