Search Block to search Gallery Block images instead of "Categories"

Hi,

I'm creating a site for an art gallery and for their site they want 300 art pieces on display for clients to browse and view. Originally, I was thinking of places all the images in a gallery block, but there's so many pieces, I want it to be user-friendly for clients to find what they're looking for. 

Because of this, I want to use the search block to search a gallery rather than searching "products" or "blogs." Each image in the gallery would have a very detailed description of the art piece (artist name, title, etc.) Is there a way to do this through custom css? Or a plug-in I should purchase? 

Or would you recommend using places all the inventory in a store and each piece is a product? The issue with that is that the gallery does not want to sell via the website. They would rather have clients call and make purchase via phone. (It's an old establishment, and e-commerce is a bit too futuristic). 

In a dream world, all the results would show one page – basically "narrowing" down the search. It would be great if gallery images could include "tags" and "categories" like the stores do. 

What would you recommend? 

Much appreciation, 

Grace