Perched on top of the East Cliff overlooking the pier is the Russell Cotes Art Gallery and Museum. A kaleidoscope of colour, character and history.
The villa was originally built by Sir Merton Russell-Cotes as a love letter to his wife, Annie. It is a grand folly, with ornately decorated ceilings. It was the private residence of the owners of the Royal Bath hotel next door. It is slightly gothic in appearance and out of character with the surrounding area.
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The reception and dining halls are tantalising in their scale for the house and must have held some large scale banquets. The hold their original Victorian look
The art collection includes an array of Victorian and pre-Raphaelite art. These are loaded with symbolism and mysticism.
Sadly the rooms were interspersed with twentieth century, mostly female artists, which were incongruous to the rest of the art and a little underwhelming.
The more curious are of the museum is the art collected from around the world; Japanese vases, Russian icons, and Maori carvings.
As we left we wandered over to the garden with its lilly pond.
Although not cheap it is a fascinating step in time with a curious collection of world art with a view over the sea to the Isle Of Wight.
Bournemouth can be a pleasant alternative to Brighton with its sandy beaches, unpretentious feel, and relaxed feel as young people chill on the beach in the evening. Sadly it has developed an anti-social behaviour problem related to immigrants in hotels and integration issues.
