Commercial galleries can sometimes be off-putting to art lovers who don’t have a few thousand pounds handy, but that’s certainly not the case with Castle Fine Art, part of a chain of UK galleries that began life in the West Midlands. Founder Paul Green was keen to create galleries that could be enjoyed by everybody, whether they wanted to look or buy, and that ethos stayed relevant even as the chain grew across the country from its original Palisades location.
The Birmingham gallery in the International Convention Centre has been operating for over two decades, making it one of the longest running galleries in the city. One of its crown jewels has been a collection of Salvador Dali sculptures, and it has also shown the ‘Drawn Blank’ series by Bob Dylan, work from Rolling Stones guitarist Ronnie Wood and comic book artist Alex Ross, and a series of portraits by Birmingham artist Jon Jones. Most importantly for a gallery such as this, the staff are friendly and engaging, never making you feel like you have to leave if you aren’t willing to part with your lifesavings.