Russell-Cotes art gallery

The Russell-Cotes’ Art Museum and Gallery will be opening a new exhibition on 29th October that will feature rare 20th century art.

The new exhibition, Meeting Modernism, will present some of the Russell-Cotes’ most popular paintings from the early 20th century that have been collected by curators.

The art gallery’s new display will include portraits such as those by William Rothenstein, and Charles Goldie, scenes of modern life by William Roberts, landscapes by Graham Sutherland, and spiritual life depicted in the works of Joseph Southall, to name just a few.

20th century sculptures, ceramics and miniatures will also appear in Meeting Modernism

Another focus of the new exhibition will be tempera works by Norman Sylvester, which will be on display alongside Dorset landscape art by local artists such as Henry Lamb and Leslie Moffatt Ward.

There will also be an array of paintings that have been donated by the War Artist’s Advisory Committee.

Sarah Newman, programmes officer at The Russell Cotes Arts Gallery and Museum, said: “This fascinating new exhibition is an idiosyncratic perspective on 20th century art in the best tradition of the Russell-Cotes, contrasting modernity against continuity, and asks the visitor to consider the choices the curators made in the 20th century.”

The exhibition will run until 24th April 2017.

More about Russell-Cotes

In 1901, Merton Russell-Cotes gave the building, which is located on top of the cliffs in Bournemouth, to his wife Annie and the pair lived there until their deaths in the 1920s. The house was filled with art and relics from their travels around the world. 

The lavish house, known as East Cliff Hall, continued to house art even after the Russell-Cotes’ deaths, where it became a museum, open to the public.

Throughout the 1920s and 1930s, the Russell-Cotes gallery collected an array of work and from the 1930s the curators tried to encourage more contemporary art in the area.

For more information visit www.russellcotes.com or phone 0120-2451747 or email pr@bournemouth.gov.uk.