The Marianne North Gallery was built in the 1880s to house the paintings of Marianne North, an MP's daughter who travelled alone to North and South America, South Africa and many parts of Asia, at a time when women rarely did so, to paint plants.
The gallery has 832 of her paintings.
She left the paintings to Kew on condition that the layout of the paintings in the gallery would not be altered.

The gallery had suffered considerable structural degradation since its creation and during a period from 2008 to 2009 major restoration and refurbishment took place, with works led by with leading conservation architects Donald Insall Associates.
During the time the gallery was closed the opportunity was also taken to restore the paintings to their original condition.
The gallery reopened in October 2009.

The gallery originally opened in 1882 and is still the only permanent exhibition in Great Britain dedicated to the work of one woman.
The Marianne North Gallery was built in the 1880s to house the paintings of Marianne North, an MP's daughter who travelled alone to North and South America, South Africa and many parts of Asia, at a time when women rarely did so, to paint plants. The gallery has 832 of her paintings. She left the paintings to Kew on condition that the layout of the paintings in the gallery would not be altered.
The gallery had suffered considerable structural degradation since its creation and during a period from 2008 to 2009 major restoration and refurbishment took place, with works led by with leading conservation architects Donald Insall Associates. During the time the gallery was closed the opportunity was also taken to restore the paintings to their original condition. The gallery reopened in October 2009.
The gallery originally opened in 1882 and is still the only permanent exhibition in Great Britain dedicated to the work of one woman.
Kew Gardens