York Art Gallery Reviews Summary

Exhibitions

Pros:

• "Excellent exhibitions - good one focussing on John and Paul Nash currently - the amount of material can vary."
• "Wonderful exhibition of Turner and Ruskin, some stunning works."
• "The Gainsborough Exhibit was outstanding! Not to be missed."
• "The Aesthetica Art Prize Exhibition 2021 and Pictures of the Floating World: Japanese Ukiyo-e Prints are wonderful displays."
• "Visited thought provoking and very enjoyable temporary exhibition themed on migration with lovely paintings and drawings alongside electronic stuff."
• "Beautiful and engaging Art Gallery, with an exquisite ceramics art collection."
• "Lots of great work including a fabulous display of ceramics."

Cons:

• "The art gallery is good but the last exhibition was a money grabbing scam, expensive, small and with very few pieces."
• "I wasn't too keen on the modern art downstairs, a little too pretentious and not what I would call art."
• "Very disappointing gallery. Only one floor, only found a couple of things of any interest."
• "Some of the 'art' is quite frankly offensive."
• "Do not go to the MARVELLOUS AND MISCHIEVOUS: LITERATURE’S YOUNG REBELS exhibition, it's a thorough waste of money."
• "Disappointing Bloomsbury exhibition. A lot of portraits of the artists but very little art of the artist."
• "However too much modern art to which you need an art degree to understand, such as this lovely collection of white plates."

Staff and Service

Pros:

• "Visiting the free part was really great; very friendly staff who helped explain some of the exhibits."
• "As soon as we entered we received a friendly confident welcome from a young woman who showed us exactly where to go and what to find."
• "The staff were very welcoming and one lady even explained to us many of the exhibits in the pottery section."
• "Really helpful, friendly and knowledgeable staff who make the experience of visiting a gallery so much easier."
• "Really appreciated the guides who were friendly and knowledgeable and made sure we didn't miss anything significant during our visit."
• "Staff are very friendly and knowledgeable."
• "The staff are very helpful and friendly."

Cons:

• "The only fly in the ointment for me and why I have only awarded 4 stars to the gallery rather than my preferred 5, was the service we received in the gallery’s ‘Sketch’ cafe."
• "The staff accepted our booking for 3.00 but were very quick to tell us we'd need to leave at 4.00 on our arrival."
• "After about five minutes two women entered and sat down, one of the girls immediately served them, whilst I was still ignored."
• "The waitress wasn't wearing a mask, she coughed into her hands several times."
• "Staff followed my kids around to ensure they didn't touch anything. Spoken to disrespectfully."
• "Barked at by staff obnoxiously to produce a ticket."
• "Jobsworths, argumentative staff on reception and at entrance to exhibitions."

Accessibility and Facilities

Pros:

• "There is a lift and also plenty of seating so it's accessible for most."
• "Free entry to the main exhibitions, plenty of places to sit, lifts also make the building very accessible."
• "And really disabled friendly - lots of places to sit and child friendly with cushions and colouring."
• "In terms of access, the doors are electronic, excellent lifts, locker system and fairly priced."
• "They have good amount of sitting space in front and also have clean toilet which is a necessity in tourist destinations."
• "A ticket will allow you to return as many times as you like all day and entrance is free to anyone with a York discovery card."
• "There is an activity corner for children and a work room for school groups."

Cons:

• "I spoke to the Staff, so hopefully it can be sorted out - we got to the Art Gallery for the opening time of their Cafe, only to be told we could not use the toilets for hand washing, or their facilities, as they were across the hall in the Art Gallery, which opens in half an hour."
• "Shocked to discover a £7.50 entry free. Such a significant barrier to entry."
• "Tiny gallery. In and out in 30 minutes which was disappointing."
• "A really tiny selection of art."
• "Why such a high charge for such a small gallery?"
• "The tea cups we're too small... Almost espresso cup size."
• "We were not able the complete the exhibition in 45 minutes, this was only enough time for a very snatched look at the exhibition."

Cafe and Shop

Pros:

• "Good place for a coffee."
• "Would definitely recommend if you want a quiet and relaxing few minutes."
• "The café was also pleasant and had very friendly staff, though was not cheap."
• "We were impressed with the cafe as well, with very friendly staff and good freshly made food."
• "Visited the art gallery cafe for the first time, had a great visit the lass who served me was polite and friendly."
• "Coffee is good, I come here regularly to see a couple of my favorite pictures."
• "We visited the art gallery cafe. It is lovely. Great lite meals with a good range of choices."

Cons:

• "The gift shop is not very nice(also it is just randomly set in the middle of the hall)."
• "The only fly in the ointment for me and why I have only awarded 4 stars to the gallery rather than my preferred 5, was the service we received in the gallery’s ‘Sketch’ cafe."
• "Cafe rather expensive for not enough to eat."
• "Beautiful gallery and displays sadly let down by the execrable cafe offering of 'Assam Tea' at £3.50."
• "Ate in cafe. Maybe too expensive for every visit but as it was my birthday we enjoyed fancy open sandwiches."
• "The cafe looks ok but I didn’t go so not fair to judge."
• "The exhibition Body, Vessle Clay was interesting, worth a visit. Ruined by the member of staff telling us the free 'exhibition is that way'."