Collection: Whitworth Art Gallery

Collection-level records:

• Collection overview (Cornucopia)

  Fine Art Collection

  Watercolours were a key part of the founding collections of 1889 and were enhanced in 1892 by the gift of famous collector, John Edward Taylor, including the internationally renowned painting ‘The Ancient of Days’ by Blake. One of the museum’s flagship collections is a selection watercolours by J.M.W. Turner. There are other important works by Gainsborough, Girtin, Alexander Cozens, David Cox, John Robert Cozens and Thomas Hearne. Watercolours acquired in the 20th century include a series of John Robert Cozen’s sketchbooks, which record William Beckford’s Grand Tour of 1782-3. It is the only known example in the world. The museum holds a rare 18th century oil on paper by Alexander Cozens, one of only five known to exist in the world. The museum’s collection of this artist and his son John Robert is the largest and finest outside London. Recent acquisitions include Alexander Cozen’s oil sketch ‘Setting Sun’, acquired in 1997.The works by Thomas Girtin include the only known watercolour sketchbook by this artist, which contains compositions for some of his best known work. There is also a late 18th century oil portrait of Thomas Girtin by John Opie, one of only two in the country. The museum holds works by all major artists connected with the pre-Raphaelite movement including works by Millais, Burne-Jones, Ford Madox Brown and John Ruskin and Rossetti such as his pastel drawing ‘La Donna della Finestra’ (1870). There is also a good collection of Old Master drawings and an important group of French 19th- and early 20th-century drawings, including some fine Impressionist and Post-Impressionist works. Regional and provincial schools are represented by a few works such as watercolours from the Norwich and Bristol Schools. The print collection covers the history of printmaking in Europe from the 15th century onwards and includes the Gallery’s key 20th-century and contemporary Continental European and American art. It is the largest and most important print collection in the north of England and also of national importance. The British prints from the 17th century to present day account for half of the collection and include one of the most complete collections of Hogarth’s work outside London. Other important work of the 17th-19th century includes an extensive collection of British portrait mezzotints and landscape prints and a complete set of early states of Turner’s ‘Liber Studiorum.’The George Thomas Clough collections donated in the 1920s form part of the museum’s important range of Italian, Northern Renaissance and 17th century works. This includes a sizeable group of work by Piranesi, associated with the Grand Tour. European 19th and 20th century prints are less extensive but do include a small but significant group of prints by Northern European artists such as Manet, Renoir, Gaugin, Czanne, Toulouse-Lautrec, Bonnard, Picasso, L?(c)ger, Matisse, Munch and Ernst. The collection of late 19th-early 20th century British wood engravings representing nearly every major artist is of national importance and among the best in the county. There are also Japanese woodblock prints from the 18th century to the present day, a small number of American prints, and a small collection of books, printmaking tools and plates. The Modern Art collection includes works on paper, oil paintings and sculpture from c.1880 to present, the core part being the group of drawings representing the major UK art movements, especially neo-Romanticism. European artists such as Czanne, Van Gogh, Pissarro and Picasso are all well represented. There is also an important group of works by Walter Sickert who was particularly associated with the Camden Town Group and also works by Degas and Whistler. The small collection of 20th century oil paintings compliments the collection of drawings by the same or comparable artists such as Lucien Freud, Francis Bacon, Roger Hilton and Paul Nash. There are also 2 abstract gouaches by Winifrid Nicholson (1933) influenced by Mondrain. 20th century British art includes pop art such as Peter Blake’s ‘Got A Girl’ (1960-61) recognised as one of the major images of the British Pop Art movement. There is also a strong section on Surrealism in the collection. The 20th sculpture collection is small but is being developed to compliment works in other parts of the collection by artists such as Paolozzi, Moore, Hepworth, Frink, Armitage and Chadwick. The fine art collections include drawings, watercolours, oils and sculpture. Of greatest significance are the works on paper and especially the internationally recognised collection of pre-1880 drawings and watercolours. The collection is strongest in English watercolours predominantly of the 18th and 19th centuries and especially landscapes.

  Subjects

  Watercolours; Fine Art; Prints

  Textile Collection

  The large group of post-Pharaonic Egyptian costume, mainly associated with Flinders Petrie, is among the best of its type in the world. It represents all the main textile techniques in use between 300 and 1000 AD and includes examples of whole or partial items of dress. The textile collections held by the gallery are of international importance and range in date from the Roman period to present. They include collections placed on loan from the Manchester Museum, UMIST and the Manchester Metropolitan University. There are examples of techniques and styles of British dress but generally excluding English dress collected by other institutions such as the Manchester Art Galleries. The collections aim to present stylistic and technological developments in Western Europe and also the techniques, styles and social function of textiles within various cultures on a worldwide scale. The gallery also holds European woven and embroidered textiles and vestments dating from the 15th-18th centuries. These are part of a larger collection developed by Sir John Charles Robinson in his capacity as the first Superintendent of the collections at the South Kensington Museum (1852-1869) during which time he travelled widely. The collection is dispersed throughout five major nation and international museum venues. The Mediterranean and Islamic embroideries dating from the 17th-19th centuries are also part of a wider collection of international scope and significance, developed by the Egyptologist, Professor P.E Newberry (The Ashmolean Museum holds half of this collection). The strong collection of British Arts and Crafts textiles are mainly purchases from the original exhibitions of the 1890s and early 1900s. The collection particularly associated with William Morris is almost comprehensive in scope and contains original weavings (Flora and Pomona) of the first large-scale figure tapestries designed by Morris and Burne-Jones. The Whitworth also holds a series of unique pattern books recording the dye experiments carried out by Thomas Wardle of Leek, Staffordshire for Morris. The 20th century furnishing textiles (industrially produced) collection is the only one of its kind in the UK outside the V&A and has been assembled since 1960. It is growing in importance as a national reference collection.

  Subjects

  Costume and Textile; Archaeology; Ancient Egypt

  Wallpaper Collection

  The wallpaper collection dates from the 17th century to present but the majority of wallpapers and sample books dates mainly from the 1850s to the 1960s. It is unparalleled in size and scope outside London and among the few collections of its type in Great Britain – pattern books alone contain more than 5,000 examples. In terms of quality and historical significance, the collection is of international comparison. The collection is representative of all the major developments and includes rare plate-printed imitations of Chinese wall decorations, in addition to luxury products by important 19th-20th century English manufacturers. The main part of the Wallpapers was donated by The Wall Paper Manufacturers Ltd in 1967 and emphasis is therefore on UK production of mainly the 17th to early 20th century. However the collection also contains important French examples such as arabesque panels by the famous Parisian manufacturer, J-B Reveillon and other European examples, together with some from the USA. There is a small collection of important 18th-19th century embossed leather wall coverings and also 18th century European flocked canvas wallhangings. There is also a collection of photos, ephemera, printing and other equipment and a handling collection of 20th century samples. The museum aims to include representative samples of wallpaper related to the major artistic movements and to enhance the collection of artist-designed papers. The work of Abigail Lane is a more recent acquisition and similar examples in the collection include those by contemporary artist Edward Bawden, together with work associated with major artists such as William Morris and Walter Crane.

  Subjects

  Textiles; Decorative and Applied Arts

  Source: Cornucopia

  Date: Not known, but before 2015

  Licence: CC BY-NC