English Reference

Word

art gallery

Definition

compound. A building or room where you can go to see paintings, sculptures, and other works of art.

compound. A building or dedicated space for the public exhibition of visual art, which may be a public institution or a private commercial enterprise.

Examples

“They visited an art gallery on Saturday.”

“The new art gallery downtown is showing an exhibition of modern photography.”

“The city's oldest art gallery, founded in 1880, houses a renowned collection of pre-Raphaelite paintings.”

Examples

simple

“They visited an art gallery on Saturday.”

contextual

“The new art gallery downtown is showing an exhibition of modern photography.”

complex

“The city's oldest art gallery, founded in 1880, houses a renowned collection of pre-Raphaelite paintings.”

Usage

As a compound noun, the main stress falls on the first word: 'ART gallery'.

Teaching tip

Contrast with 'art museum', which typically holds a permanent collection, whereas a 'gallery' often focuses on temporary exhibitions and selling art.

Pitfall

I went to an arts gallery.

I went to an art gallery.

The word 'art' functions as an adjective here and remains in its singular form.

This entry

Level
A2 · Elementary
Updated

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English Reference