Animal Crossing: New Horizons museum art gallery - Upgrades, artwork, and forgeries

Player inside the art gallery
Player inside the art gallery (Image credit: Nintendo)

Considering that Animal Crossing: New Horizons has been out for a while, many players have gotten to a point where they've unlocked just about everything they can for now. Thank goodness Nintendo has several updates in store that will bring even more events and upgrades to the game. The Japanese gaming company recently revealed several new updates, including the fact that Blathers' museum will be receiving an update, which allows the owl to display antiques and artwork in addition to bugs, fish, and fossils.

But just how do you unlock this art gallery upgrade, where do you get artwork, and what can you do in the art gallery? We're here to answer all of these questions. Here's everything you want to know about the museum art gallery.

When will this update release?

It isn't clear exactly when this museum art gallery upgrade will become a possibility. The video released by Nintendo states that updates will begin from April 23, but that's because that's the official first day of Nature Day within the game.

Getting art from Jolly Redd's Treasure Trawler

Player entering Redd's boat

Animal Crossing: New Horizons Player entering Redd's boat (Image credit: Nintendo)

As part of the update, players will randomly be visited by Redd, a dubious fox who sells you antiques, statues, and canvases from his boat. Like any shady art dealer, he prefers to conduct his business on the down-low. He'll randomly dock his trawler in that private little beach at the back of your island. So, you'll need to keep an eye out for it and visit when you get the chance. If you didn't already know, this fox has been in previous games and doesn't have the best reputation.

Animal Crossing: New Horizons Player inside Redd's boat (Image credit: Nintendo)

Within past games, he usually runs some sort of black market, which allows you to obtain goods you wouldn't find anywhere else. You'll find iconic pieces of art that exist in real life, such as Van Gogh's Starry Night or Georges Seurat's A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte. The thing is, in past games Redd has sold forgeries along with genuine artwork. Blathers would identify the forgeries and wouldn't allow them in his museum. On top of that, the forgeries don't sell for very much, so you might spend a lot of Bells on bogus pieces.

We aren't entirely sure if Redd will sell fake artistry in New Horizons, but we wouldn't be surprised if he does. I mean, look at how shady his boat is. The dim lighting makes it hard to spot an original versus a copycat.

Unfortunately, we currently don't know what requirements you need to meet to unlock the art gallery at Blathers' museum. We'll be sure to update this section when we get more information.

Player entering the museum

Acnh Upgrade Museum Art Gallery (Image credit: Nintendo)

The update hasn't been released yet, so we don't have any first-hand experience with the art gallery. However, it's likely just like the rest of the museum. You'll be able to donate antiques and artwork to Blathers, who will then display it somewhere. Then whenever you feel like you want to look over your collection, you can return to the museum and stroll through your gallery. You can even send invitations to your friends, ask them to dress up, and then hold an art gala on your island. That's some pretty snazzy stuff.

Time to Gogh

Well, that's all there is to know about Redd, the museum art gallery, and obtaining artwork within Animal Crossing: New Horizons. Since this update hasn't been released yet, there's still plenty more to discover. Make sure to check back soon as we'll be updating this page once Nintendo reveals more about the museum art gallery.

Rebecca Spear
Gaming Editor

Gaming aficionado Rebecca Spear is iMore's dedicated gaming editor with a focus on Nintendo Switch and iOS gaming. You’ll never catch her without her Switch or her iPad Air handy. If you’ve got a question about Pokémon, The Legend of Zelda, or just about any other Nintendo series check out her guides to help you out. Rebecca has written thousands of articles in the last six years including hundreds of extensive gaming guides, previews, and reviews for both Switch and Apple Arcade. She also loves checking out new gaming accessories like iPhone controllers and has her ear to the ground when it comes to covering the next big trend.