Collection: Rugby Art Gallery and Museum

Collection-level records:

• Collection history (Collection development policy)

  Visual Arts

  Rugby Collection

  The Rugby Collection of 20^th and 21^st century British art is made up of a variety of paintings, prints, drawings, photography and film works that have been purchased and collected by Rugby Borough Council since 1946. The founding principle of the collection intended that: “The collection will grow each year…the net will be cast wide, policy being limited only by funds available. Rugby will never be able to acquire works of the masters by purchase, but the committee will try to build up a lively and interesting collection of works of artists of promise and renown”. The collection was developed with the support and input of art advisors, industry experts who made recommendations for purchases and helped with finding funding. Eric Newton, art historian and critic for the Manchester Guardian and the Sunday Times was the first to advise Rugby from 1945 – 1964. Joanna Drew, who held several key positions in the Arts Council of Great Britain, succeeded Eric Newton in 1965 and supported the collection until 1974. The curator Monika Kinley joined Rugby in 1974 and stayed as art advisor until 1982. Throughout the 1980s and 90s active collecting slowed down with the reduction of purchasing budgets. During this period the collection moved temporarily to the University of Warwick where it was cared for and exhibited by the Mead Gallery. From 1988 – 1995 Contemporary Art Society (CAS) acted as art advisors for the collection. The opening of Rugby Art Gallery and Museum in 2000 saw a new acquisition budget established and collecting has continued ever since. Experienced visual art staff at the art gallery now act as art advisors for purchases. The collection offers a unique view of this period of British art through the eyes of the series of experienced art advisors who supported the acquisition process on a regular basis since 1946. Throughout the life of the collection it has benefitted from regular gifts from the Contemporary Art Society through its membership scheme. Many of the significant works in the collection are CAS gifts including works by Bridget Riley, Ceri Richards, Louis Le Brocquy, Barbara Hepworth and Gillian Wearing.

  Local Collection

  The local art collection is a small collection of works of art produced by local artists, which was acquired by the Borough Council from 1979 to 2003.

  Topographical Collection

  This collection, which dates largely from the mid-19^th century onwards, includes mainly drawings, paintings and prints, which depict local scenes and people. Most were created by local artists including Edwin Brown and Gertrude Hayes.

  Archaeology

  The archaeology collection is dominated by the Tripontium collection, which was excavated by members of Rugby Archaeological Society over a forty-year period from the Roman site located 5 miles from Rugby along the original Watling Street. This collection is divided into two specific collections. The first part is a collection of significant finds, which is on loan to Rugby Art Gallery and Museum for the purpose of display and was a key part of the museum’s development when first opened in 2000. The second part is the bulk finds which were donated to the permanent collection and is largely in storage. Prior to moving to Rugby Art Gallery and Museum in 2000 the collection was housed at Warwickshire County Museum.

  In 2008 Rugby Art Gallery and Museum became an established archaeological depository for excavated material.

  Social History

  The collection’s origins date from the late nineteenth century when the old Rugby Library was given to the town in 1890 by Richard H Wood and a museum collection was set up alongside the library collection. A small part of the collection dates from this time.

  The social history collection aims to document the social and economic history of the borough of Rugby. It has been formally collected since 1999 and comprises of material evidence and associated information relating to the history of the borough of Rugby and of the people who have lived and worked here in the past and present.

  Source: Collection development policy

  Date: 2022

  Licence: CC BY-NC

• Collection overview (Collection development policy)

  Rugby Collection

  The collection is now made up of 224 works, all of which were created by nationally known artists. It is an eclectic mixture of styles and mediums including painting, print, photography and film. The Rugby collection contains important works by many significant artists of the 20^th century such as Lowry, Hepworth, Sutherland, Spencer etc and many important contemporary works by artists such as Lubaina Himid, Claudette Johnson and Gillian Wearing.

  Local Collection

  The Local collection is of mixed media, which includes watercolours, oils, pastels, prints, acrylics and ceramics. Active collecting was ceased in December 2003 in order to redirect funds to support local artists in an alternative way through the annual Rugby Open exhibition.

  Topographical Collection

  Many works in the Topographical collection were acquired from the original Rugby Library, which had collected them as part of their ‘museum’ collection.

  Archaeology

  The Tripontium collection includes approx. 37,0000 Roman ceramics, metalwork, bone work, animal bones, human remains, and a very small amount of leather and textile. Key pieces from the collection include a peacock belt buckle, a lead ingot and locally made Roman tiles inscribed with the Latin alphabet and the Corieltauvi tribe dating from the 3^rd century. The Tripontium archaeological archive is not held by Rugby Art Gallery and Museum but remains with Rugby Archaeological Society.

  The museum continues to be an archaeological depository for excavated material currently totalling 60 archives.

  Social History

  The majority of the collection dates from the 20^th century although there is a small Victorian collection dating from the time of the founding of the library. The collection consists of approximately 50,000 objects, which fall within the four SHIC categories of:

  • Community life – includes education, health, entertainment, sport, community organisations.
  • Personal Life – includes clothing, shoes and costume accessories, personal correspondence, keepsakes and photographs.
  • Domestic and Family Life – includes items related to the home and living environment such as kitchen and laundry, toys and games.
  • Working Life – including objects used for or created in a working environment and the local industries such as the railway and electrical engineering industries including Willans & Robinson, English Electric, British Thomson-Houston (BTH), AEI and GEC. Includes tools, patents, certificates, products, receipts, advertising and oral histories.

  There are key photographic collections including:

  • Redding’s photographic studio collection of glass plates and cellulose acetate negatives dating from 1958-1972 and featuring family, community and working life in the town and surrounding area.
  • Projector slides from BTH lighting department (Mazda Lamps) dating from 1940s.
  • BTH publicity department glass plate negatives.

  There is a reference collection alongside the social history collection with books, local publications and accompanying reference material.

  The museum also holds a small collection of born digital objects consisting of images and oral history recordings.

  Source: Collection development policy

  Date: 2022

  Licence: CC BY-NC