Located within the Gallop Extension at Singapore Botanic Gardens is the Botanical Art Gallery. Housed within a colonial-era building along Gallop Road, the gallery is a space to enjoy the beauty found in nature and art.
The Botanical Art Gallery spans two floor of the building and is home to an ever-changing set of exhibitions.
Botanical Art Gallery: A Home for Singapore Botanic Gardens’ Art Collection
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The Singapore Botanic Gardens has a collection of over 2,000 botanical illustrations and hundreds of sketches, line drawings and photographs. These have been acquired over the last 125 years.
The Botanical Art Gallery at the Gardens’ Gallop Extension houses curated selections of these artworks and is also where you can view changing exhibitions.
The works in the Singapore Botanic Gardens collection include prints, illustrations and artefacts which feature plants and flowers. The artworks include watercolours, ink drawings and wood block carvings. Some of these works date back as far as 1890.
Besides artworks, there are also rare books featured within the Botanical Art Gallery at the Gallop Extension.
Botanical Art Gallery: Capturing The Beauty of Nature
On a visit to the Botanical Art Gallery, you can expect to find artworks that showcase species native to Singapore. Among these are watercolour illustrations of species that are now locally extinct.
With the Singapore Botanic Garden’s focus on orchids, you might come across art pieces on orchid species and hybrids.
There is also a table with a projection that shows the process which botanical art illustrator Waiwai Hove takes when she is creating a botanical painting.
There are also various activity stations at the Botanical Art Gallery.
For example, you can try wood block printing on Level 2.
Or head to the front of the house on Level 2 where there are different stations that highlight the various characteristics of plants.
Don’t forget to also step out on to the Level 2 verandah to get a view of the surrounding landscape.
Exhibitions at the Botanical Art Gallery
Pressing Plant Matters: 150 Years of the Singapore Herbarium
Located at Level 1 of the Botanical Art Gallery, this commemorative exhibition showcases the remarkable journey of the collection of Henry James Murton, who established the Singapore Herbarium in 1875.
What started off as a modest collection in his office has grown to a repository of approximately 800,000 specimens of plants and fungi.
Explore the art and science of plant preservation, witness the evolution of herbarium techniques, and discover how these invaluable specimens have advanced our understanding of Southeast Asian flora.
The exhibition takes place till 30 November 2026.
In Green – Asuka Hishiki
Step into Asuka Hishiki’s cabinet of curiosity as the Botanical Art Gallery presents “In Green”, a captivating exploration of nature through the artist’s wondering eyes.
This exhibition on the second floor of the Botanical Art Gallery takes place till 15 November 2026.
7 Gallop Road: Inverturret
The bungalow which the Botanical Art Gallery is housed in at 7 Gallop Road is a historic building. It was built in 1906 and originally owned by Charles MacArthur, the chairman of the Straits Trading Company. It was named Inverturret, a Scottish name which conjures up images of the streams of the highlights.
Both Inverturret and the neighbouring 5 Gallop Road were eventually bought over by the Straits Trading Company. They were then rented out to the French Government.
Number 7, now the Botanical Art Gallery, was the ambassador’s residence. It continued in this role till 1999.
The two houses were restored by the government in 2012.
Now, as the Botanical Art Gallery and it focus on artworks of various mediums, the building is entering yet another chapter in its history, providing visitors with different perspectives on the amazing world of plants.
