|
History of the Fine Art Collection
The current collection, now well documented, comprises some 400 paintings, 2000 drawings and watercolours, 2800 prints and a small collection of sculpture.
Given the right circumstances Exeter City Museums and Art Gallery may look to extend the collection in a number of ways. These include the acquisition of works by Nicholas Hilliard (1547-1619) - an important local artist; preparatory drawings, sketches, notebooks and archival material relating to the artists mentioned above and development of the relatively small collection of photography. |
The Fine Art collection at the Royal Albert Memorial Museum and Art Gallery was not formed to any specific plan during the early years of the Museum's history (1868-1912), but mainly constituted donations and bequests from key local figures such as John Lane, Sir Harry Veitch and Kent and Jane Kingdon. Later it was realised that this policy was too narrow for a major regional museum and in 1968 the collecting policy was broadened to take in the collecting of British Art as a whole and European art whenever it proved financially possible. This ambition was not realised, partly due to financial issues and collecting continues to be limited to donations, bequests and grant aided purchases.
The vast majority of works in the collection are related to the region in one of three main ways: there are a large number of Exeter and Devon landscapes - important just as much for their topographical or historical interest as for their artistic merit; some works have connection with the region through ownership or provenance and there are many items in the collection made by artists born, trained or resident in Exeter or Devon.
The collection is particularly strong in 18th and 19th century local artists, particularly Francis Towne, John White Abbott and John Gendall. While 20th century paintings, prints and drawings are less well represented, the collection does include works by Barbara Hepworth, Walter Sickert, Paul and John Nash and Duncan Grant.