The Cooper Gallery is a gallery in the town of Barnsley. It is part of the Barnsely Museums and is free. Built in the early decades of the 1900s, it was conceived as a real gift for the entire town of Barnsley. It was Samuel Joshua Cooper who bought the Gallery building in 1912 to place his art collection there so that all citizens could freely enjoy it. The gallery was opened in 1914. The original core of works was 275 paintings. To date, the gallery houses a permanent art collection ranging from the 17th to the 20th century and contains over 400 works, many of which have been donated by local benefactors such as the visionary art collector Sir Michael Sadler. In 1978, Addy Bequest donated other works to the gallery and in 2001 more came from the Sutherland brothers. The most recent addition to the Gallery is a selection of studio pottery collected by local artist, Malcolm Whittaker. In 2014, to coincide with the Cooper Gallery's 100th anniversary, an ambitious expansion and renovation was led by the Trustees and Barnsley Museums and two years later, the gallery opened in 2016. In 2019, the vacant cottage at the rear of the site was also transformed into a modern studio space for artists and cafes, and an outdoor digital installation.