in 1935 (one of the Peacock fountain's former locations)|alt=|left In 1925 James Jamieson, a wealthy local building contractor, pledged to leave his art collection to Christchurch City on the condition that a new premises were built to house it. The Christchurch City Council held a referendum to gauge public support for taking out a loan to pay for the new gallery. This idea was rejected and nothing happened until 1928 when
Robert McDougall donated £25,000 for the gallery to be built. A competition was set up to find an agreeable design. The selection committee, which included Robert McDougall, choose Edward Armstrong's design. The site in the
botanic gardens behind the
Canterbury Museum was chosen. Building of the new gallery commenced in November 1930 and by April 1932 it was near completion when funds ran low. Robert McDougall supplemented his original gift enabling the completion of the gallery at a total cost of £31,000. The building survived the Christchurch earthquakes and had some repairs in 2016. It is awaiting more strengthening work to protect it against future earthquakes and it still remains empty. ==Design==