Wolverhampton Art Gallery
Encyclopedia
Wolverhampton Art Gallery is located in the City of Wolverhampton
, in the West Midlands
, United Kingdom
. The building was funded and constructed by local contractor Philip Horsman (1825-1890), and built on land provided by the Council. It opened in May 1884.
The two-storey building of Wolverhampton Art Gallery was designed by prominent Birmingham
architect Julius Chatwin (1829-1907). It was built of Bath stone
, an Oolitic
Limestone
from Bath, Somerset, with six red granite columns indicating the main entrance. The decorative sculptural frieze on the facade is composed of sixteen characters representing the Arts and Crafts, including sculpture, painting, architecture, pottery, glassblowing, and wrought-iron work. It is a Grade II* listed building.
In 2006-2007 the building was refurbished, partly modernized and extended to create additional exhibition spaces.
van Nuyssen (ca. 1567/1576 - 1632). Commissioned and paid for by the Antwerp Guild of Old Crossbowmen, it was a pendant to the Rubens’s Crowning of the Victor. In the 1800s, the city’s guilds were broken up and their treasures dispersed. Janssen’s picture eventually found its way to a Mrs Thornley of Birmingham. In 1885, she sold it to Wolverhampton Art Gallery. This is the only painting by Janssens in British public collections and a splendid example of Flemish Baroque Art.
Apart from the Janssens' painting, the collection of Old Masters is relatively small. It includes a version of "A Spinner's Grace" by Gerard Dou
, "Bouquet of Flowers" by Jan van Huysum
. There is a collection of Old Masters' drawings and an etching by Wenceslas Hollar
.
A significant part of the Gallery collection was formed from bequests and gifts given by local benefactors and patrons of art Sidney Cartwright (1802-1883), Philip Horsman and Paul Lutz (1832-1899). They mainly collected contemporary and early 19th century British art and today the holdings of the Gallery are still particularly strong in artworks from the Victorian
period.
In the 1920s-1950s, a large number of artworks by Frank Brangwyn
(1867-1956) were given to the gallery by the artist himself, and by his friend and member of Wolverhampton Art Committee Matthew Biggar Walker.
In 1924, a significant collection of Eastern weapons was secured. During the first decades of the 20th century many specimens of Eastern Applied art and British and Eastern ceramics and glass were given to the Gallery by the members of the prominent local Bantock family and several other collectors.
The Gallery has substantial collection of japanned ware and Bilston enamels
. These collections represent trades and manufactures for which Wolverhampton was famous in the 18th and 19th centuries. The purposeful collecting policy of the 1970s brought to the Gallery a number of high quality artworks by leading British artists of the 18th century Georgian period.
The gallery has strong holdings of artworks by local artists, such as John Fullwood (1854-1931), Joseph Vickers de Ville
(1856-1925), George Phoenix
(1863-1935), Alfred Egerton Cooper (1883-1974). In 1990s, following the re-structure of museum services across the area, the art and local history collections of the Bilston Museum and Art Gallery (now Bilston Craft Gallery
) were transferred to Wolverhampton. They brought to the Gallery artworks by Edwin Butler Bayliss
(1874-1950), another local painter of the industrial landscape of the Black Country.
Since the late 1960s, Wolverhampton Art Gallery has been collecting Pop Art
, and holds a substantial permanent Pop Art collection.
A special feature of the Gallery is the collection of artworks which document and analyse the time of Troubles in Northern Ireland
.
At present, the Wolverhampton Art Gallery collection consists of about 12,000 artefacts: oil paintings and works on paper from 17th-20th centuries; collection of Eastern objects of Applied Art; japanned ware; enamels; ceramics and glass; dolls and toys; local history. Dr John Fraser's collection of geological specimens has also been preserved at the gallery.
, 'David Garrick in 'The Provoked Wife
' by Johann Zoffany
, 'Portrait of Erasmus Darwin
' (1792) by Joseph Wright of Derby
, 'Apotheosis of Penelope Boothby' by Henry Fuseli
, 'Arrival of Louis XVIII at Calais' by Wolverhampton-born Edward Bird
. In addition, portrait miniatures, Bilston enamels depicting famous actors of the era, and some examples of the 18th century Eastern and British ceramics are on display.
, James Baker Pyne
, David Roberts
, narrative paintings by the Cranbrook Colony
artists, religious paintings by Pre-Raphaelite artist Frederic Shields
, japanned ware by local manufacturers which were shown at The Great Exhibition
, examples of local Myatt pottery, and Eastern objects - Chinese ceramics and mirror paintings, Japanese woodblock prints, Indian pottery and weapons, Persian metalware - collected by local people.
, Peter Blake
, Roy Lichtenstein
and David Hockney
.
, Jock McFadyen
, Rita Duffy, John Keane
, Siobhan Hapaska and Robert Priseman
. Highlights from Wolverhampton Art Gallery collection are shown alongside borrowed exhibits that offer different perspectives on the history of the conflict and its resolution.
The display 'Sensing Sculpture' encourages visitors to touch, smell and listen as well as look at the works on display. Many of the sculptures come from Wolverhampton Art Gallery collection; some are on loan from their makers while others have been specially commissioned for the Gallery. Braille
interpretation is provided throughout the gallery, and visitors are encouraged to learn some braille during their visit.
.
Wolverhampton
Wolverhampton is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands, England. For Eurostat purposes Walsall and Wolverhampton is a NUTS 3 region and is one of five boroughs or unitary districts that comprise the "West Midlands" NUTS 2 region...
, in the West Midlands
West Midlands (county)
The West Midlands is a metropolitan county in western central England with a 2009 estimated population of 2,638,700. It came into existence as a metropolitan county in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972, formed from parts of Staffordshire, Worcestershire and Warwickshire. The...
, United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. The building was funded and constructed by local contractor Philip Horsman (1825-1890), and built on land provided by the Council. It opened in May 1884.
The Building
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
architect Julius Chatwin (1829-1907). It was built of Bath stone
Bath Stone
Bath Stone is an Oolitic Limestone comprising granular fragments of calcium carbonate. Originally obtained from the Combe Down and Bathampton Down Mines under Combe Down, Somerset, England, its warm, honey colouring gives the World Heritage City of Bath, England its distinctive appearance...
, an Oolitic
Oolitic
Oolitic may refer to:* Oolite, a sedimentary rock consisting of ooids* Oolitic, Indiana, a town whose name came from the underlying limestone...
Limestone
Limestone
Limestone is a sedimentary rock composed largely of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate . Many limestones are composed from skeletal fragments of marine organisms such as coral or foraminifera....
from Bath, Somerset, with six red granite columns indicating the main entrance. The decorative sculptural frieze on the facade is composed of sixteen characters representing the Arts and Crafts, including sculpture, painting, architecture, pottery, glassblowing, and wrought-iron work. It is a Grade II* listed building.
In 2006-2007 the building was refurbished, partly modernized and extended to create additional exhibition spaces.
The Collection
The most outstanding artwork of international importance in the collection is the large-scale painting Peace and Plenty Binding the Arrows of War(1614) by the Flemish Baroque painter Abraham JanssensAbraham Janssens
Abraham Janssens van Nuyssen was a Flemish Baroque painter.He was born at Antwerp, in a year variously reported between 1567 and 1576. He studied under Jan Snellinck, was a master in 1602, and in 1607 was dean of the master-painters...
van Nuyssen (ca. 1567/1576 - 1632). Commissioned and paid for by the Antwerp Guild of Old Crossbowmen, it was a pendant to the Rubens’s Crowning of the Victor. In the 1800s, the city’s guilds were broken up and their treasures dispersed. Janssen’s picture eventually found its way to a Mrs Thornley of Birmingham. In 1885, she sold it to Wolverhampton Art Gallery. This is the only painting by Janssens in British public collections and a splendid example of Flemish Baroque Art.
Apart from the Janssens' painting, the collection of Old Masters is relatively small. It includes a version of "A Spinner's Grace" by Gerard Dou
Gerard Dou
Gerrit Dou , also known as Gerard and Douw or Dow, was a Dutch Golden Age painter, whose small, highly-polished paintings are typical of the Leiden fijnschilders...
, "Bouquet of Flowers" by Jan van Huysum
Jan van Huysum
Jan van Huysum, also spelled Huijsum, was a Dutch painter.-Biography:He was the brother of Jacob van Huysum, the son of the flower painter Justus van Huysum, and the grandson of Jan van Huysum I, who is said to have been expeditious in decorating doorways, screens and vases...
. There is a collection of Old Masters' drawings and an etching by Wenceslas Hollar
Wenceslas Hollar
Václav Hollar , known in England as Wenceslaus or Wenceslas and in Germany as Wenzel Hollar , was a Bohemian etcher, who lived in England for much of his life...
.
A significant part of the Gallery collection was formed from bequests and gifts given by local benefactors and patrons of art Sidney Cartwright (1802-1883), Philip Horsman and Paul Lutz (1832-1899). They mainly collected contemporary and early 19th century British art and today the holdings of the Gallery are still particularly strong in artworks from the Victorian
Victorian era
The Victorian era of British history was the period of Queen Victoria's reign from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. It was a long period of peace, prosperity, refined sensibilities and national self-confidence...
period.
In the 1920s-1950s, a large number of artworks by Frank Brangwyn
Frank Brangwyn
Sir Frank William Brangwyn RA RWS RBA was an Anglo-Welsh artist, painter, water colourist, virtuoso engraver and illustrator, and progressive designer.- Biography :...
(1867-1956) were given to the gallery by the artist himself, and by his friend and member of Wolverhampton Art Committee Matthew Biggar Walker.
In 1924, a significant collection of Eastern weapons was secured. During the first decades of the 20th century many specimens of Eastern Applied art and British and Eastern ceramics and glass were given to the Gallery by the members of the prominent local Bantock family and several other collectors.
The Gallery has substantial collection of japanned ware and Bilston enamels
Vitreous enamel
Vitreous enamel, also porcelain enamel in U.S. English, is a material made by fusing powdered glass to a substrate by firing, usually between 750 and 850 °C...
. These collections represent trades and manufactures for which Wolverhampton was famous in the 18th and 19th centuries. The purposeful collecting policy of the 1970s brought to the Gallery a number of high quality artworks by leading British artists of the 18th century Georgian period.
The gallery has strong holdings of artworks by local artists, such as John Fullwood (1854-1931), Joseph Vickers de Ville
Joseph Vickers de Ville
Joseph Vickers de Ville was an English painter of landscapes and rural subjects.-Life and work:Joseph Vickers de Ville was a son of the farmers Joseph and Mary Deville. He was born in Eaton, Derbyshire, but is considered a Wolverhampton artist, as he moved to Wolverhampton by 1881, together with...
(1856-1925), George Phoenix
George Phoenix
George Phoenix was a British landscape, figurative and portrait artist and sculptor. He regularly exhibited his works in his native Wolverhampton and nationally...
(1863-1935), Alfred Egerton Cooper (1883-1974). In 1990s, following the re-structure of museum services across the area, the art and local history collections of the Bilston Museum and Art Gallery (now Bilston Craft Gallery
Bilston Craft Gallery
Bilston Craft Gallery is the largest dedicated craft venue in the West Midlands, located at Mount Pleasant, Bilston, near Bilston town centre.-Building:...
) were transferred to Wolverhampton. They brought to the Gallery artworks by Edwin Butler Bayliss
Edwin Butler Bayliss
Edwin Butler Bayliss , was an artist based in the Black Country, famous for his realistic and unsentimental paintings of industrial sites in the area.-Early life and education:...
(1874-1950), another local painter of the industrial landscape of the Black Country.
Since the late 1960s, Wolverhampton Art Gallery has been collecting Pop Art
Pop art
Pop art is an art movement that emerged in the mid 1950s in Britain and in the late 1950s in the United States. Pop art challenged tradition by asserting that an artist's use of the mass-produced visual commodities of popular culture is contiguous with the perspective of fine art...
, and holds a substantial permanent Pop Art collection.
A special feature of the Gallery is the collection of artworks which document and analyse the time of Troubles in Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
.
At present, the Wolverhampton Art Gallery collection consists of about 12,000 artefacts: oil paintings and works on paper from 17th-20th centuries; collection of Eastern objects of Applied Art; japanned ware; enamels; ceramics and glass; dolls and toys; local history. Dr John Fraser's collection of geological specimens has also been preserved at the gallery.
Permanent Displays
A selection of objects from the collection are on permanent show in several display rooms.The Georgian Room
Selected paintings by the 18th century artists from the Gallery collection include the 'Portrait of the Lee Family' by Joseph HighmoreJoseph Highmore
Joseph Highmore was an English portrait and historical painter, illustrator and author.-Life:Highmore was born in London, the third son of Edward Highmore, a coal merchant, and nephew of Thomas Highmore, Serjeant Painter to William III. He displayed early ability but was discouraged by his family...
, 'David Garrick in 'The Provoked Wife
The Provoked Wife
The Provoked Wife is the second original comedy written by John Vanbrugh. The often-repeated claim that Vanbrugh wrote part of his comedy The Provoked Wife in the Bastille is based on allusions in a couple of much later memoirs, but is regarded with some doubt by modern scholars...
' by Johann Zoffany
Johann Zoffany
Johan Zoffany, Zoffani or Zauffelij was a German neoclassical painter, active mainly in England...
, 'Portrait of Erasmus Darwin
Erasmus Darwin
Erasmus Darwin was an English physician who turned down George III's invitation to be a physician to the King. One of the key thinkers of the Midlands Enlightenment, he was also a natural philosopher, physiologist, slave trade abolitionist,inventor and poet...
' (1792) by Joseph Wright of Derby
Joseph Wright of Derby
Joseph Wright , styled Wright of Derby, was an English landscape and portrait painter. He has been acclaimed as "the first professional painter to express the spirit of the Industrial Revolution"....
, 'Apotheosis of Penelope Boothby' by Henry Fuseli
Henry Fuseli
Henry Fuseli was a British painter, draughtsman, and writer on art, of Swiss origin.-Biography:...
, 'Arrival of Louis XVIII at Calais' by Wolverhampton-born Edward Bird
Edward Bird
Edward Bird was an English genre painter who spent most of his working life in Bristol, where the Bristol School of artists formed around him....
. In addition, portrait miniatures, Bilston enamels depicting famous actors of the era, and some examples of the 18th century Eastern and British ceramics are on display.
The Victorian Rooms
The display in the two Victorian Rooms present British 19th century art in its relation with wider world. It includes landscapes by Henry Mark Anthony, David CoxDavid Cox
David Cox may refer to:*David Cox , former member of the House of Representatives for the Division of Kingston*David Cox , English landscape painter*Sir David Cox , English statistician...
, James Baker Pyne
James Baker Pyne
-External links:*...
, David Roberts
David Roberts (painter)
David Roberts RA was a Scottish painter. He is especially known for a prolific series of detailed lithograph prints of Egypt and the Near East that he produced during the 1840s from sketches he made during long tours of the region . These, and his large oil paintings of similar subjects, made him...
, narrative paintings by the Cranbrook Colony
Cranbrook Colony
The Cranbrook Colony was a group of artists who settled in Cranbrook, Kent from 1854 onwards and were inspired by seventeenth century Dutch and Flemish painters...
artists, religious paintings by Pre-Raphaelite artist Frederic Shields
Frederic Shields
Frederic James Shields , was a British artist, illustrator and designer closely associated with the Pre-Raphaelites through Dante Gabriel Rossetti and Ford Madox Brown.-Early years:...
, japanned ware by local manufacturers which were shown at The Great Exhibition
The Great Exhibition
The Great Exhibition of the Works of Industry of all Nations or The Great Exhibition, sometimes referred to as the Crystal Palace Exhibition in reference to the temporary structure in which it was held, was an international exhibition that took place in Hyde Park, London, from 1 May to 15 October...
, examples of local Myatt pottery, and Eastern objects - Chinese ceramics and mirror paintings, Japanese woodblock prints, Indian pottery and weapons, Persian metalware - collected by local people.
Pop Art
The Pop Art Gallery is a retro-themed, interactive space which allows visitors to explore the world of pop art with its vibrant mix of popular culture, social commentary, nostalgia, kitsch and celebrity. The contents of the Gallery changes approximately every six months to reflect a different theme found within the pop art movement. The display has contained works by influential pop artists Andy WarholAndy Warhol
Andrew Warhola , known as Andy Warhol, was an American painter, printmaker, and filmmaker who was a leading figure in the visual art movement known as pop art...
, Peter Blake
Peter Blake (artist)
Sir Peter Thomas Blake, KBE, CBE, RDI, RA is an English pop artist, best known for his design of the sleeve for the Beatles' album Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. He lives in Chiswick, London, UK.-Career:...
, Roy Lichtenstein
Roy Lichtenstein
Roy Lichtenstein was a prominent American pop artist. During the 1960s his paintings were exhibited at the Leo Castelli Gallery in New York City and along with Andy Warhol, Jasper Johns, James Rosenquist and others he became a leading figure in the new art movement...
and David Hockney
David Hockney
David Hockney, CH, RA, is an English painter, draughtsman, printmaker, stage designer and photographer, who is based in Bridlington, Yorkshire and Kensington, London....
.
The Northern Ireland Collection
The permanent display of the Northern Ireland Collection considers the role of visual artists in depicting and presenting the country's contested past and future. Artists represented in The Northern Ireland Collection include Willie DohertyWillie Doherty
Willie Doherty is an artist, who has mainly worked in photography and video. He has twice been a Turner Prize nominee.-Life and work:...
, Jock McFadyen
Jock McFadyen
-Biography:McFadyen was born 18 September 1950 in Paisley, Scotland. As a teenager he attended Saturday morning classes at Glasgow School of Art. McFadyen moved to England in 1966 at the age of fifteen and was educated at Chelsea School of Art, gaining his BA in 1976 and MA in 1977. He taught one...
, Rita Duffy, John Keane
John Keane
John Keane is the name of:* John Fryer Thomas Keane , British adventurer* John Joseph Keane , former archbishop of Dubuque, Iowa* John Keane , British artist...
, Siobhan Hapaska and Robert Priseman
Robert Priseman
Robert Priseman is a British artist. Born in Derbyshire, United Kingdom in 1965 Priseman read Aesthetics and Art Theory at the University of Essex under art theorist Professor Michael Podro. Priseman began his working life as a book designer for Longman Publishers from 1989-92. Whilst there he...
. Highlights from Wolverhampton Art Gallery collection are shown alongside borrowed exhibits that offer different perspectives on the history of the conflict and its resolution.
The Makers Dozen Studios
The Makers Dozen Studios is a complex of workshop spaces for artists and makers in the West Midlands. It reflects the fact that for several decades following the founding of the gallery, Wolverhampton's School of Art and Art Gallery were under the same roof. The studios are based on Wulfruna Street and are adjoined by the new extension at the gallery uniting the studios with the original Victorian building.Education and access
The Georgian Gallery contains a number of specially-commissioned pieces of furniture in the Georgian style which provide a hands-on exploration of key themes of the period, from scientific discoveries to the events of the theatrical world, and offer a flavour of life in the 18th century.The display 'Sensing Sculpture' encourages visitors to touch, smell and listen as well as look at the works on display. Many of the sculptures come from Wolverhampton Art Gallery collection; some are on loan from their makers while others have been specially commissioned for the Gallery. Braille
Braille
The Braille system is a method that is widely used by blind people to read and write, and was the first digital form of writing.Braille was devised in 1825 by Louis Braille, a blind Frenchman. Each Braille character, or cell, is made up of six dot positions, arranged in a rectangle containing two...
interpretation is provided throughout the gallery, and visitors are encouraged to learn some braille during their visit.
Other venues
At present, Wolverhampton Art Gallery forms a main part of Wolverhampton Arts and Museums Services, along with Bantock House and Bilston Craft GalleryBilston Craft Gallery
Bilston Craft Gallery is the largest dedicated craft venue in the West Midlands, located at Mount Pleasant, Bilston, near Bilston town centre.-Building:...
.