COOPER GALLERY THE COLLECTION
Balancing Form 1997 Antonia Salmons
Contents Foreword
4
Introduction
5
Timeline Samuel Joshua and Fanny Cooper
6-7 8-27
Sir Michael Sadler
28-41
James and Jane Fox
42-50
Captain Roland Addy
51-56
Charles and Thomas Sutherland
57-59
Malcolm Whittaker
60-67
Collections from other donors
68-69
Visit us today
70
Support us today
71
Front cover image
In the Forest of Fontainebleau, 1864 Narcisse-Virgile Diaz de la PeĂąa
Back cover image
Flowerpiece, early 20th century Vanessa Bell
Foreword My first visit to the Cooper Gallery was in 1957 when my father was the Chair of Trustees and I was a teenager with an avid interest in cricket, but no more than a passing interest in art. In 1957 the Cooper Gallery struck me as a dilapidated place with a few grimy pictures on its walls. It was not the place for me, but time plays its tricks. By 1970 I had given up hope of becoming a marine biologist or cricketer and had become a solicitor. That made me fair game for my Dad and his co-trustees who steered me into becoming a Cooper Trustee. Amid concerns over budgets and repairs, I was able to get a closer look at some of the pictures. Having tried, years ago, to draw my pet Airedale I was awestruck by Augustus John’s masterful drawing of a whippet. With a few pencil lines of perfection he had almost put a living whippet onto the paper.
CP/TR 45 Study of a Whippet Augustus John (1878-1961) Pencil on paper © Estate of Augustus John / Bridgeman Images 4
THE COLLECTION / FOREWORD
Later on I developed an interest in sailing and my attention turned to paintings of the sea. I once sailed the Atlantic, where I found fascination in the changing states of the sea. I was thus enthralled by the mastery of Eugène Isabey. His painting of boats leaving shore in the surf captures the drama and apprehension of man’s encounter with the ocean. What pleases me particularly about the collection is that the benefactors are all local and, while their individual collections represent their personal tastes and preferences, they all share the same spirit of generosity towards the people of Barnsley. This year saw the completion of an ambitious project to improve the Gallery, to explore its heritage and to double the exhibition space. The project was driven by a partnership between the Cooper Trustees and Barnsley MBC, but was only made possible by a generous grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund. If Mr and Mrs Cooper, Sir Michael Sadler, Mr and Mrs Fox, Captain Addy and the Sutherland brothers could look down now upon their legacies I think they would be pleased by what they see: Mr Whittaker has confirmed his own pleasure at seeing the new displays. I also hope that visitors to the Gallery will pause for a moment to thank them for the enjoyment and pleasure they have had from their visit. I know that I shall.
Paul Elmhirst
Chairman, Trustees of the Cooper Gallery, 2016
Introduction The Cooper Gallery was officially opened in 1914 by Earl Fitzwilliam to display the pictures of Mr and Mrs S J Cooper of Barnsley. The Cooper Gallery's fortunes have been interlinked with the history of the 20th century; suffering turmoil during the economic depression of the 1930s and being used as an extension to the Beckett Hospital during the latter years of the Second World War and the post war period. Due to the generosity and forethought of several collectors connected with Barnsley the Gallery now houses a remarkable collection of paintings, drawings and ceramics.
The Gallery was extended in 2016 and now provides bright, modern spaces for the display of the collections.
After the initial gift of 275 paintings by the Coopers the Gallery also benefited from significant donations from the visionary art collector Sir Michael Sadler. The Fox family, who were local brewers, donated paintings as well as funding the construction of the Gallery’s Fox Wing in 1934. The collection was further enriched in 1978 by the Addy Bequest and in 2001 by the donation of pictures previously belonging to the Sutherland brothers. The most recent addition to the Gallery is a selection of studio pottery collected by the local artist, Malcolm Whittaker, displayed in the heart of the newly extended display space. The Gallery today is a vibrant space which highlights the history of art and collecting in Barnsley. INTRODUCTION / THE COLLECTION
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Cooper Gallery Timeline 1660-2016
1660
Thomas Keresforth built a school house and a dwelling near St Mary’s Church
1769
A new school building and dwelling for the headmaster were built opposite St Mary’s Church. The school house formed what is now the front of the current Gallery building on Church Street
1861
Phoebe Locke, widow of Joseph Locke the notable civil engineer, gave £3,000 to the school for ten scholarships, known as the ‘Locke Scholars’
1887
The school applied to the Charity Commission to be combined with the Holgate Grammar School in Hemsworth. The newly combined school became known as the Barnsley and District Holgate Grammar School
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1912
The Grammar School moved to larger premises on Shaw Lane. The building was sold at auction and bought by S J Cooper for approximately £3,400
1913
S J Cooper passed away and in his will left his art collection and the building to a group of trustees. This was on the understanding that the paintings would be displayed in the old school building for the benefit of the people of Barnsley
1914
The Cooper Gallery was officially opened to the public by Earl Fitzwilliam of Wentworth Woodhouse
1923
Sir Michael Sadler gave a group of 19th Century French drawings to the Gallery in memory of his parents Dr and Mrs M T Sadler of Barnsley
THE COLLECTION / TIMELINE
1931
Sir Michael Sadler gave seven French watercolours to the Gallery in memory of his wife, Mary Ann Harvey
1933
Sir Michael Sadler donated a large collection of paintings and drawings to the Cooper Gallery
1934
The Fox family paid for the construction of another exhibition space known as the Fox Wing. The paintings of James and Jane Fox were donated to the Gallery by their children
1937
A booklet written by Sir Michael Sadler about the works he donated to the Gallery was published and he made a further donation of thirteen drawings including one by Henry Moore
1977
2016
The Cooper Trustees leased the Gallery to South Yorkshire County Council, who earmarked ÂŁ20,000 for its renovation
The Gallery re-opened following the construction of new exhibition spaces and further modernisation with the support of the Heritage Lottery Fund. The studio pottery collection of artist Malcolm Whittaker was placed on display for the first time.
1978
A group of paintings collected by Captain Roland Addy was bequeathed to the Gallery by his widow Mrs Joan Thirsk
1939-1945
The building was requisitioned by the war office and used firstly as a recruitment office and then as an emergency hospital
1945
The building was derequisitioned but the Management Committee of the Beckett Hospital in Barnsley requested that it be used for outpatients. Some of the paintings were lent to Wakefield Art Gallery
1957
The Cooper Gallery was re-opened to the public due to a greater demand for leisure activities and sufficient funds being available
1986
The Gallery lease was transferred to Barnsley Metropolitan Borough Council
2000
The Gallery was closed for refurbishment and gained a new frontage with glass entrance panels
2001
A small collection of contemporary works were bequeathed to the Gallery by Charles Sutherland TIMELINE / THE COLLECTION
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S J and Fanny Cooper 1830-1913 & c.1838-1911
Samuel Joshua and Fanny Cooper were a very wealthy Victorian couple who bought paintings and sculpture on their travels across Europe. The donation of their collection to a group of trustees in 1913 enabled the founding of Barnsley’s first public art gallery which was named in their honour. S J Cooper was the son of the wealthy Barnsley industrialist, William Cooper, who had interests in coal, iron and linen. In census returns S J Cooper refers to himself as a ‘Coal Proprietor’ 1 and was also a Director of the Barnsley Gas Company. Despite being a man of business, he and his wife, Fanny, had time to travel. Each spring from 1873 they would travel to Paris for two months. Their receipts show that they bought fine clothing, wine and spirits as well as pictures, sculpture and furniture ². Some years they would travel further into Europe visiting Milan, Florence and Rome as well as Munich. The Coopers obviously had a passion for the work of the contemporary French artists of the period. The collection features numerous works by Baron, Decamps, Frère, and Roybet who were all represented at the Salon in Paris. The Salon operated in a similar way to the Royal Academy in London. Each year pictures would be selected for an exhibition and this process established which artists and styles were considered to be fashionable. 8
THE COLLECTION / S J AND FANNY COOPER
The Coopers did not have children to inherit their collection. They decided they would like their artworks to be part of the cultural heritage of Barnsley. The Coopers also frequented art dealers in the fashionable commercial district of Rue Lafitte in Paris. There are numerous receipts for purchases from the establishments of Emmanuel Weyl and Adolphe Beugniet who both had a reputation for selling paintings by artists of the Barbizon School. The Barbizon School was a group of French landscape painters who took their name from a small village on the outskirts of the Forest of Fontainebleau, south of Paris, and who focussed on romanticised landscapes. The group included Theodore Rousseau, Narcisse-Virgile Diaz de la Peña, Jules Dupré and Constant Troyon amongst others. They painted directly from nature but unlike the Impressionists they painted studies outside and then completed full scale works in the studio. Diaz is often said to have influenced the Impressionists especially Renoir. The Coopers lived at Mount Vernon, Worsbrough just south of Barnsley town. They inherited the house from Samuel Cooper’s parents and it is possible that it came with a group of 17th century Dutch paintings and other Old Master style paintings. Based on the existing receipts it can be assumed that these weren’t bought by SJ Cooper and his wife. An inventory of Mount Vernon
illustrates how the paintings were displayed³, and they must have been hung very densely. For example there were 40 paintings in the Drawing Room, including: Diaz, In the Forest of Fontainebleau, Isabey, Good Friday, The Wreck, Hurricane before St Malo and Entrance to Port, Decamps, Donkeys and Boys, Corot, Landscape with Women Fishing, three paintings by Frère and five by Baron ⁴. As well as Mount Vernon the Coopers also owned Cowick Hall near Goole in the East Riding where they displayed many of their paintings and their collection of classically inspired sculpture⁵. The Coopers did not have children to inherit their collection. They decided they would like their artworks to be part of the cultural heritage of Barnsley. Fanny Cooper passed away in 1911 and in the following year Samuel Cooper bought the premises which had been recently vacated by the Holgate and District Grammar School. In his will Cooper arranged for the works of art to be given to a small group of trustees together with the building on the understanding that a public gallery be opened. The gallery was officially opened by Earl Fitzwilliam on 31st July 1914.
¹ Census 1871 ² Barnsley Archives - SY/261/T1/1 – Receipts from 1871 to 1892 ³ Barnsley Archives - SY/386/B2/3.1 – An Inventory and Valuation of the Pictures and Drawings at Mount Vernon, Barnsley. ⁴ These titles were given by the compiler of the inventory and do not necessarily reflect their true titles. ⁵ Barnsley Archives - SY/386/B2/7 – An Inventory and Valuation of the Statuary and Ornaments of a similar nature at Mount Vernon, Barnsley and Cowick Hall, Snaith.
S J AND FANNY COOPER / THE COLLECTION
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The Coopers and Eugène Isabey
The Coopers had a particularly interesting relationship with the Parisian marine artist Eugène Isabey.
Isabey was well known in the 19th century for his dramatic marine views, most of which show the coast of north-west France. Isabey liked to paint outdoors and he is associated with the Barbizon School who had a focus on landscape painting often completed ‘en plein air’. Isabey was appointed court painter to King Louis Phillippe and was also an official painter to the French navy. Although his works are less well-known in Britain his paintings are represented by many important collections including the Louvre and the Musée d’Orsay in Paris. The Coopers would visit Isabey at his studio and in his notebook SJ Cooper notes an instance where he suggested changes to a painting which he subsequently bought: "Isabey La Visite au Chateau Msr. Isabey altered the architecture of the tonelles [garden buildings] on the right at my request and the paws of the dog. I bought it of Frere for £100⁶" 10
CP/TR 183 Boats Leaving Shore c. 1860-70 Eugène Louis Gabriel Isabey (1803-1886) Oil on panel
CP/TR 184 The Duel 1863 Eugène Louis Gabriel Isabey (1803-1886) Oil on panel
S J Cooper, 1891 ‘I bought this in his studio from Msr. Isabey himself who was at work upon it.’
THE COLLECTION / S J AND FANNY COOPER
S J Cooper, 1891 ‘I bought it of Msr. Weyl Picture Dealer, Rue Lafitte. Weyl had it on loan from Baron Meyer of Frankfurt. I saw Msr. Isabey in his studio after and told him I had it and he said it was the finest marine picture he had painted.’ CP/TR 228 Hurricane Before St Malo 1860 Eugène Louis Gabriel Isabey (1803-1886) Oil on canvas
CP/TR 194 The Wreck 1860 Eugène Louis Gabriel Isabey (1803-1886) Oil on canvas ⁶ Barnsley Archives - SY/386/B2/2 – Notebook belonging to S J Cooper dated 1891
S J AND FANNY COOPER / THE COLLECTION
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CP/TR 041 A Gateway Early-mid 19th century Samuel Prout (1783-1852) Watercolour and ink on paper Prout was a very popular landscape painter in the earlymid 19th century who exhibited work at the Royal Academy and the Old Watercolour Society. He first travelled to the continent in 1819. He sketched in the open air and added watercolour to his drawings later.
CP/TR 034 Ghent Late 19th century Myles Birket Foster (1825-1899) Pencil, watercolour and gouache on paper Birket Foster trained as an illustrator and worked as a painter and engraver contributing to many publications. He was a member of the Royal Watercolour Society and his works were very sentimental in nature. 12
CP/TR 093 Head of a Lady Mid-late 19th century Jean Leon Gerome (1824-1904) Chalk on paper S J Cooper owned many pictures by the French artist Gerome. He was both commercially successful and critically acclaimed, exhibiting at the Salon in Paris regularly. Sketches like this would have been made in preparation for a finished work of art.
THE COLLECTION / S J AND FANNY COOPER
CP/TR 110 Palazzo Rezzonico, Venice 1906 Arthur Joseph Meadows (1843-1907) Oil on canvas Meadows exhibited his landscapes at the Royal Academy between 1863 and 1872 so his name would have been familiar to the Coopers. He was best known for coastal scenes of Britain, France and Holland but this picture indicates that he also spent time in Italy. CP/TR 113 In the Grindlewald 1861 Alexis de Fontenay (1813-1892) Oil on canvas The Grindlewald is an area of great beauty in Switzerland which was popular with both artists and tourists. Fontenay was well known for pictures of dramatic landscapes and this piece is recorded as having been shown at the Salon in Paris in 1861. CP/TR 118 Sancho Panza Recounting his Adventures c.1860-1885 Henri Baron (1816-1885) Oil on panel Baron was well known for painting fanciful scenes inspired by myths and literature. Sancho Panza acted as squire to Don Quixote in the book by the Spanish author Cervantes. In this picture Panza is entertaining ladies with tales of his adventures. S J AND FANNY COOPER / THE COLLECTION
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CP/TR 124 Evening Landscape with Cattle Mid 19th century Frederick William Watts (1800-1862) Oil on canvas Watts was a landscape painter who was greatly influenced by the work of John Constable. The picture’s atmosphere comes from the rendering of the setting sun reflected in the clouds. CP/TR 120 View in Algeria Mid 19th century Alexandre-Gabriel Decamps (1803-1860) Oil on panel Decamps was a French artist who spent time travelling in the Middle East and North Africa from 1828. He is credited as being one of the first painters to depict these places in Western art. Decamps’ paintings were often less idealised and more realistic than the works of other artists. CP/TR 129 Shipping in an Estuary c. 1655-64 Reinier Nooms called Zeeman (16241664) Oil on canvas Reinier Nooms was a Dutch painter and printmaker but had been in the Navy for many years before he became established as an artist. He gained the nickname ‘Zeeman’ (the Dutch for Seaman) and his paintings reflect his first-hand knowledge of shipping. 14
THE COLLECTION / S J AND FANNY COOPER
CP/TR 141 In the Forest of Fontainebleau 1864 Narcisse-Virgile Diaz de la PeĂąa (known as Diaz) (1808-1876) Oil on panel Diaz was born in France to Spanish parents and trained as a porcelain painter before becoming a prominent landscape artist. He was closely associated with the Barbizon School which was based near the Forest of Fontainebleau shown in this painting. CP/TR 130 Portrait of a Lady, possibly Anne of Austria c.1660 Manner of Phillippe de Champaigne (1602-1674) Oil on canvas Champaigne was born in Flanders but arrived in Paris in 1621. He became a well-Âestablished artist and fulfilled commissions for King Louis XIII. It has been suggested that the lady in the portrait is Queen Anne of Austria who was the wife of Louis XIII. CP/TR 152 A Flock of Sheep c.1840-1865 Constant Troyon (1810-1865) Oil on panel Troyon was a member of the Barbizon School who were a group of painters keen to express their emotions through their paintings of the landscape around them. The artists of the Barbizon School had a great influence on the Impressionists including Renoir. S J AND FANNY COOPER / THE COLLECTION
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CP/TR 153 Women Fishing c.1860-1875 JB Camille Corot (1796-1875) Oil on canvas Corot spent a great deal of time in both France and Italy painting landscapes and investigating the works of other artists. He started exhibiting at the Salon in 1827. By the 1850s his works were demonstrating his focus on atmosphere rather than topographical accuracy.
CP/TR 155 Portrait of a Lady, possibly the Duchess of Portsmouth c.1673-4 Attributed to the School of Sir Peter Lely (1618-1680) Oil on canvas Lely was a painter of Dutch origin, who worked mostly in England. The sitter is believed to be Louise de Keroualle, who was a Maid of Honour to the sister of King Charles II. She became the King’s mistress and in 1673 was made the Duchess of Portsmouth. CP/TR 159 The Chateau at Chambord 1847 David Roberts RA (1796-1864) Oil on panel The Chateau at Chambord is one of the largest castles in the Loire Valley region of France. Construction was started in 1519 under the instruction of King Francis I but it was not completed by the time of his death in 1547. 16
THE COLLECTION / S J AND FANNY COOPER
CP/TR 166 CP/TR 162 Mary of Burgundy 1855 Attributed to Baron Hendrik Leys (RA Belgium) (1815-1869) Oil on panel Baron Leys was an important artist in Belgium. He was awarded the title Royal Academician and was subsequently made a Baron in 1865. Mary, Duchess of Burgundy, ruled areas of the Netherlands during the late 15th century.
Piazza Navona, Rome 1869 Keeley Halswelle (1832-1891) Watercolour on paper Halswelle worked as an illustrator and painter. He exhibited at the Royal Academy as well as becoming an Associate of the Royal Society of Artists. Halswelle first went to Rome in 1868 and visited again in 1869 when he painted this view.
CP/TR 169 Study of a Seated Boy Mid 17th century Adriaen van de Velde (1632-1672) Pencil and wash on paper Van de Velde was born in Amsterdam into a family of painters. He was well known for producing landscapes and marine views but he was also contracted by other artists to paint figures in their paintings. It is possible that this sketch is a preparatory drawing for a figure in an oil painting. S J AND FANNY COOPER / THE COLLECTION
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CP/TR 170 Portrait of Henry VIII 17th century After Hans Holbein the Younger (1497-1543) Oil on panel Henry VIII was King of England from 1509 until his death in 1547. He is most famed for his six marriages and for his role in the separation of the Church of England from the Catholic Church. This portrait of King Henry VIII is by an unknown English artist and is a copy of a similar painting by Holbein the Younger. CP/TR 177 A Wooded Valley c.1862 John Atkinson Grimshaw (1836-1893) Oil on millboard Atkinson Grimshaw was born in Leeds and is best known for his moonlit pictures, but his landscapes were also very popular during his lifetime. Although the Coopers bought many of their paintings on the Continent this indicates that they were also interested in the work of British artists. The conservation of this painting was generously funded by NPS Barnsley
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CP/TR 185 Portrait of Queen Elizabeth I 17th century English School Oil on panel Elizabeth I was Queen of England from 1558 until her death in 1603. She was the daughter of King Henry VIII by his second wife, Anne Boleyn. This portrait shows the Queen in formal costume with a delicately embroidered dress and pearls.
THE COLLECTION / S J AND FANNY COOPER
CP/TR 196 Portrait of a Gentleman Early-mid 17th century Follower of Jusepe De Ribera (1591 – 1652) Oil on canvas
CP/TR 193 St Maclou, Rouen Mid 19th century Edwin Thomas Dolby (1824-1902) Watercolour on paper The church of St. Maclou is in the French city of Rouen and is popular because of its extravagant Gothic architecture. This picture was painted before the addition of the spire which is thought to have taken place in the 1860s.
Ribera was a Spanish born painter who spent much of his later life in Italy. He was one of the so called ‘tenebrosi’ or 'shadow painters' who, like the artist Caravaggio, used a strong contrast of dark and light in his paintings for dramatic effect. CP/TR 201 A Frozen River Scene 1870s Adolphe Stademan (1824-1895) Oil on canvas Stademan lived most of his life in Munich, Germany, and was part of the important artistic movement called the Munich School. Later in his artistic career he painted winter landscapes such as this one which were inspired by Dutch paintings of the 17th century.
S J AND FANNY COOPER / THE COLLECTION
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CP/TR 217 A Sacrifice to Cupid Late 19th century Attributed to Gustave de Beaumont (1851-1922) Oil on canvas Gustave de Beaumont was a Swiss artist and designer. It is possible that he trained with the French artist J L Gerome whose work was favoured by S J Cooper. He also copied Old Master paintings at the Louvre in Paris as a way of learning new techniques. CP/TR 221 Girl with a Lamb 1860-65 Henri Baron (1816-1885) Oil on panel The Coopers were very keen on the work of Henri Baron and at least ten of his paintings hung in the most prominent rooms of their Barnsley home. The artistic movement known as ‘Romanticism’ was important to Baron’s work. This is shown by the idealised view of a young girl walking with a lamb and collecting flowers in the French countryside. CP/TR 218 The Bridge of the Apostles, Venice 1880s Alberto Pasini (1826-1899) Oil on canvas In 1891 S J Cooper wrote about this painting in his notebook. He says he bought the work at the Venice Exhibition in the 1880s from Scipio Bescuccia (Director of Fine Arts). This note not only confirms the fact that the Coopers went to Venice but it all also dates the picture to the 1880s. 20
THE COLLECTION / S J AND FANNY COOPER
CP/TR 225 The Call to Breakfast c.1887 Sallustio Fornara (1852-1922) Oil on canvas Fornara was an Italian artist who was influenced by the Barbizon School of painters. He focussed on painting the rural landscape and its people. The light of the Mediterranean gives a slightly different feel to his paintings than those of his French contemporaries.
S J AND FANNY COOPER / THE COLLECTION
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CP/TR 230 Head of a Boy Mid–late 19th century Ferdinand Roybet (1840-1920) Oil on canvas Roybet was born in the South of France and trained in Paris. He was heavily influenced by the paintings of Rubens and Velázquez and emulated the style of their work often using a strong contrast of dark and light. Roybet often painted his figures in 17th century style clothing.
CP/TR 238 A Street in Lerici c.1891 Frederick Lord Leighton PRA (1830-1896) Oil on panel Lord Leighton was a remarkably successful artist in the Victorian period and became President of the Royal Academy in 1878. The street shown here is in Lerici on the north-west coast of Italy. It is close to where the poet Shelley drowned in 1822 and this reference to the poet has always been associated with the picture. 22
CP/TR 231 Portrait of a Gentleman Early 17th century Circle of Michiel Jansz van Miereveld (1567 – 1641) Oil on canvas Miereveld was a successful Dutch portrait painter and it is said he painted over 10,000 portraits. He received commissions from many important people associated with the Dutch royal court. It is not certain who the gentleman in the picture is but it has been suggested it is a posthumous portrait of the explorer Christopher Columbus.
THE COLLECTION / S J AND FANNY COOPER
CP/TR 245 Portrait of Mary Queen of Scots 17th century Circle of Paul van Somer (c.1576-1621) Oil on canvas Van Somer was a Flemish artist who came to England in the early 17th century and became court painter to King James I and VI (England 1603-25 and Scotland 15671625). Van Somer painted portraits of the royal family and courtiers and this painting is in his style even if it cannot be directly attributed to him.
CP/TR 246 Dancing Children (after Giacomo Mantegazza) 1890s – 1910s Madeline Moore (nÊe de Mirimonde) (1869-c.1917) Oil on canvas Madeline de Mirimonde was a Barnsley based artist who had a talent for copying Old Master paintings. Her family were friends with the Coopers. Giacomo Mantegazza (1853-1920) was an Italian artist whose work would have been known in Britain in the late Victorian period. S J AND FANNY COOPER / THE COLLECTION
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CP/TR 248 Evening Gleams Late 19th century James Smetham (1821-1889) Watercolour on paper Smetham is not well-known today, but his small scale studies such as this one were very popular during his lifetime. He trained at the Royal Academy and then taught at Ruskin’s Working Men’s College. His atmospheric works were informed by his Methodist background and often have a religious overtone. CP/TR 253 Portrait of King Christian II of Denmark Mid-late 16th century Follower of Lucas Cranach the Elder (1472 – 1553) Oil on canvas Cranach was best known for his portraits of prominent Germans. This portrait is of King Christian who was the son of King John of Denmark and Christina of Saxony. King Christian is wearing the Order of the Golden Fleece, (an order of chivalry founded in 1430 by Duke Philip III of Burgundy to celebrate his marriage to the Portuguese princess, Isabel of Aviz). 24
THE COLLECTION / S J AND FANNY COOPER
CP/TR 252 Christ Bearing the Cross with the Virgin Mary Late 16th- early 17th century Bartolomè González y Serrano (1564-1627) Oil on copper González was an important painter in Spain in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. He was well known for producing history paintings and portraits. He also completed a number of commissions for King Philip III of Spain. This picture is typical of the Mannerist period in art where the figures are compressed within the picture for dramatic effect.
CP/TR 257 Camels and Figures Resting in the Desert c.1860 Victor Pierre Huguet (1835-1902) Oil on canvas Huguet was a French painter who travelled extensively and undertook his first visit to Egypt in 1853 at the age of 17. He produced paintings showing a perceived view of life in North Africa and the Middle East, which were very popular in the 19th century. CP/TR 261 The Meeting Mid-late 19th century Marcelin Delachaux (1838-1902) Oil on canvas This painting by Delachaux is a copy of the original by Pierre Charles Comte which is in the Chateau de Blois in France. On 23rd December 1588 King Henry III had the Duc de Guise assassinated. This painting depicts the moment earlier in the day when the two men met and the tension on the faces of the crowd is very evident. CP/TR 276 Cafè de Galata, Constantinople 1865-1882 Charles Theodore Frère (1814-1888) Oil on canvas Frère was an important French artist, trained in the Classical manner. From the 1830s through to the 1860s he spent a great deal of time travelling in the Middle East and North Africa. Frère’s paintings were part of the art movement known as ‘Orientalism’. This was art that emphasised the exotic and romantic aspects of life in Asia and Africa. S J AND FANNY COOPER / THE COLLECTION
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CP/TR 293 Horses in a Landscape 1827 John Frederick Herring, Snr (1795-1865) Oil on canvas Herring started his working life as a coachman in Doncaster but was encouraged in his painting by Rev. Charles Spencer-Stanhope of Cannon Hall, just outside Barnsley. He became a very popular painter of horses and racing events and exhibited at the Royal Academy between 1818 and 1844. CP/TR 298 King Philip IV of Spain After 1656 After Diego Velรกzquez (1599-1660) Oil on canvas The original painting on which this copy is based was made in 1656. The original was one of the last portraits that Velรกzquez painted of King Philip IV of Spain. It was not unusual for paintings of royalty to be copied so that they could hang in grand homes and official buildings. 26
THE COLLECTION / S J AND FANNY COOPER
CP/TR 286 Leaving the Pew 1877 Carl Probst (1854-1924) Oil on panel Probst was an Austrian painter who worked in the French academic style of the period and exhibited his paintings at the Salon in Paris. Like many of his paintings his focus on the wealthy allowed him to depict luxurious fabrics with great skill.
CP/TR 307 Interior of the Palace of the Caesars 1876 Domenico Amici (1808-c.1890) Watercolour and pencil on paper The Palace of the Caesars is on the Palatine Hills overlooking Rome. It was a popular destination for tourists in the 19th century and it is possible that Mr and Mrs Cooper visited when they went to Rome. Paintings like this would have been bought as a way of remembering visits and for studying the detail of the architecture and interiors. CP/TR 335 Study of Stonework at Amiens Cathedral Mid-late 19th century John Ruskin (1819-1900) Ink, wash and pencil on paper Ruskin was a highly influential art critic and writer in Victorian England. He supported the work of JMW Turner and the artists of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood. When he travelled he liked to produce his own sketches of views and architecture.
CP/TR 376 Marble Bust of a Veiled Lady 19th Century Sculptor Unknown Marble on an alabaster column This remarkable sculpture was acquired by the Coopers to be displayed in the Georgian setting of Cowick Hall, near Goole which was their country house. The sculptor Rafaelle Monti (1818-1881) based in Milan was well known for producing these veiled ladies. The Coopers visited Milan in 1879 but there is no evidence amongst their receipts that they purchased this from him and unfortunately the sculpture is unsigned.
S J AND FANNY COOPER / THE COLLECTION
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Sir Michael Sadler 1861-1943
Sir Michael Sadler was a passionate educationalist who believed that art could enlighten and benefit everyone. The motivations for Sadler's collecting were numerous and included his passion for art, his wish to support living artists and his desire to make art accessible to those around him. In his youth he was inspired by the ideas and values of John Ruskin.
Henry Lamb (1883-1960) Sir Michael Ernest Sadler, KCSI, CB, LLD, DLitt (Vice-Chancellor 1911-23) 1924 Oil on canvas University of Leeds Art Collection © Estate of Henry Lamb/Bridgeman Images
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The Sadler family had been in Barnsley for a number of generations before Michael Sadler was born in 1861. His father was the local GP, Dr M T Sadler. Initially Sadler worked for the government where he developed educational policies. In 1911 he became the ViceChancellor of the University of Leeds where he used his own art collections to adorn the offices, teaching rooms and corridors of the university. Sadler believed that everyone should have access to high quality art throughout their lives. He left the University in 1923 and became the Master of University College, Oxford. Sadler started collecting art in the 1890s whilst he was studying at Oxford and he later expressed his views about why art was so important to him. In a letter to his father of 14th October 1909, he said, ‘…for the first time in my life pictures really begin to mean very much to me. I thought I liked them before, but this is quite different. It is as though quite a new lot of doors have opened in my mind.’⁷.
THE COLLECTION / SIR MICHAEL SADLER
The artist John Piper described Sadler as a ‘creative collector’ who collected for ‘spiritual enrichment’ not financial gain⁸. Almost as soon as he began collecting he also started sharing his pictures through exhibitions and loans. He became a member of the Executive Committee of the Contemporary Art Society and his own home was used as the meeting place for the Leeds Art Club. Sadler delivered many lectures promoting modern art and bettering the understanding of it. Sadler bought works from contemporary artists who are now revered as being important names in the history of art such as Paul Nash, Duncan Grant, Henry Moore and Stanley Spencer. Sadler was a friend and correspondent of the art critic Roger Fry who was instrumental in the development of the Bloomsbury Group. Sadler bought works by Vanessa Bell and Duncan Grant from exhibitions held by Fry. A more modernist approach to art was developing in the late 19th and early 20th centuries and many artists were moving away from painting a realistic version of their subject matter towards abstracted views of people, objects and landscapes. This approach was accelerated by the tragedies of the First World War. Many artists were involved in active service during the war and their experiences influenced their thinking about art. For some such as the ‘Vorticists’ their approach was more brutal and
focussed on the impact of the machine in society. For other artists such as the Camden Town Group the focus was on expressing the realities of life through their art. Sadler embraced these modernist movements in his collecting. During the 1920s and 1930s many artists were suffering due to the economic depression of the post war period. Collectors like Sadler would buy works from artists to help support them financially and he even maintained Jacob Kramer for a year whilst he established himself as an artist.⁹ Henry Moore recalled being invited to Sadler’s house when he was a student at Leeds School of Art. He recalled the experience many years later, ‘I first met Sir Michael when I was a student at the Leeds School of Art when, along with other students, I was invited to his home to see his pictures. It was a tremendous experience for me as they were the first Impressionist and Post-Impressionist works I had seen.’ ¹⁰ In 1885 Sadler married Mary Ann Harvey who was also born and raised in Barnsley. The two had known each other for a long time. Mary’s father was Charles Harvey who had part owned a large linen manufactory in Barnsley with his brothers. Sadler gave a group of seven French watercolours and drawings to the Cooper Gallery in 1931 in memory of his wife. In 1923 he had also given a group of nine 19th century French drawings to the gallery in honour of this parents.
⁷ Letter from M E Sadler to his father dated 14th October 1909 (Tate Gallery Archive) quoted in ‘The Stanley and Audrey Burton Gallery: The Sadler Gift 1923’ by Hillary Diaper, p. 11 ⁸ ‘The Stanley and Audrey Burton Gallery: The Sadler Gift 1923’ by Hillary Diaper, p. 11 ⁹ A Commemorative Exhibition of Paintings and Sculpture from the collection of Sir Michael Ernest Sadler KCSI, 1861-1943, Leeds City Art Gallery, 1962-3 ¹⁰ As above
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Notes on a Collection of English Drawings Sadler’s educational background seems to have informed his collecting as he was interested in building surveys of British and French art as an instructive tool for educational development. The collection donated to the Cooper Gallery in 1933 was a conscious effort to create a chronology of art from the mid-18th century to the 1930s. In 1937 Sadler decided to supplement his gift with another handful of drawings, including some by Henry Moore, and also by writing a catalogue entitled; ‘Notes on a Collection of English Drawings’¹¹. In this catalogue Sadler sets out his motivations for collecting and his hopes that the pictures will inspire the people of Barnsley for many generations. When the drawings were first displayed at the Cooper Gallery they were arranged in groups of approximate date order so that people could
see how art had changed in response to differing times in society. The addition of the drawings in 1937 moved the collections at the Gallery away from traditional art of the 19th century and enabled people to see how life and art were changing dramatically in the early 20th century. In the catalogue Sadler talked about how artists responded to the First World War and discusses how shocking some of the styles and images were. ‘To some of those who look at them today, their idiom may be unfamiliar and disconcerting – even repellent. It strikes one at first as subversive, but may prove to be less revolutionary than one supposed.’¹² CP/TR 063 Woman in a Cabbage Field, Belgium 1914-16 Christopher Richard Wynne Nevinson ARA (1889-1946) Charcoal and chalk on paper During the First World War Nevinson served with the Red Cross in France and the Royal Army Medical Corps. His work was exhibited in London during the War and this inspired more artists to create images of the War and explore its impact on people. Nevinson was officially appointed a war artist by the British government in 1917.
¹¹ Notes on a Collection of English Drawings: With Five Illustrations by Michael Sadler, Cooper Art Gallery, Barnsley, 1937 ¹² As above
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The conservation of this drawing was generously funded by John and Kathy Bostwick.
All works gifted in 1933 unless stated otherwise
CP/TR 008 Tiverton, Devon 1813 Francis Towne (1740-1816) Ink, pencil and colour wash Although Towne spent some time in both London and Italy he spent most of his life in Exeter. From here he painted landscapes and the country houses of Devon and Cornwall. In this picture Towne has put together two pieces of paper to create a broad, panoramic view.
CP/TR 004 Wick Church, Bath Late 18th – early 19th century Dr Thomas Monro (1759-1833) Charcoal and watercolour on paper
CP/TR 003 Bay of Salerno c.1782 John Robert Cozens (1752-1797) Watercolour on paper The aristocrat, author and art collector William Beckford was a friend and patron of the artist, Alexander Cozens. In 1782 Beckford took Alexander’s son, J R Cozens to Italy with him and commissioned him to paint the views they saw on their travels. J R Cozens became an influential artist in his own right.
Dr Monro was a great supporter of artists like JMW Turner and Thomas Girtin. They would meet at his establishment to draw as well as to discuss art. Dr Monro would provide commissions for young artists as well as providing introductions to patrons. He also liked to travel and draw landscapes and architecture.
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CP/TR 010 A Town on the Italian Coast c.1820s Joseph Mallord William Turner RA (1775-1851) Pencil and watercolour on paper JMW Turner is one of the most influential and best known British artists. Although he was one of many artists working in watercolour he elevated the status of watercolour paintings to a new level. He first visited Italy in 1819-20 travelling to Rome, Venice and Naples. It is possible this drawing dates from that period in his life.
CP/TR 016 CP/TR 009 Scoulton Church, Norfolk (from the west) c.1810-1812 John Sell Cotman (1782-1842) Pencil and watercolour wash Cotman’s style of working with watercolours was both bold and distinctive. He originated from Norwich and became associated with the Norwich School of Painters who were significant in the early 19th century. He also toured Wales and Yorkshire producing drawings and paintings of the landscape. 32
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Atcham Church, Shrewsbury c. 1841-3 Peter de Wint (1784-1849) Watercolour and pencil on paper De Wint was a landscape painter born to a Dutch family in Stoke-on-Trent. Like many artists at the time he travelled Britain sketching and producing watercolours of the landscape and medieval architecture. Sadler considered De Wint a key artist in the collection that he presented to the Cooper Gallery. The conservation of this painting was generously funded by Paul and Philippa Elmhirst
CP/TR 023 San Michele, Taormina 1847 Edward Lear (1812-1888) Ink and watercolour on paper
CP/TR 020 A Wooded Landscape Late 18th – early 19th century Dr Thomas Monro (1759-1833) Charcoal and wash on paper As well as being a supporter of young artists Dr Monro also liked to draw. His drawing style was greatly influenced by Thomas Gainsborough. In fact Sadler bought this work thinking it was by Gainsborough and it has only later been attributed to Dr Monro.
Lear is probably best known for his nonsense poems such as ‘The Owl and the Pussycat’ and ‘The Jumblies’ but he was also a talented artist and illustrator. He travelled extensively and sketched frequently. The small church in this dramatic location is in the town of Taormina on the east coast of the Italian island of Sicily. The conservation of this painting was generously funded by an anonymous donor.
CP/TR 017 A View of Old Bregenz, Austria 1840 Joseph Mallord William Turner RA (1775-1851) Pencil, watercolour and chalk on toned paper Sadler Gift 1923 Sadler would not have been able to create his survey of British art for the Cooper Gallery without including an example of the work of the great British landscape artist JMW Turner. Bregenz is a small city in the west of Austria and Turner toured this area in the 1840s. SIR MICHAEL SADLER / THE COLLECTION
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CP/TR 039 Portrait of John Baring 1839 George Richmond RA (1809-1896) Pencil and pastel on paper The subject of this portrait is John Baring who was the eldest son of a German clothier. Upon his father’s death in 1748, Baring and his brother inherited the large cloth business. This business evolved into Barings Bank; one of the oldest merchant banks in Britain until it collapsed in 1995. CP/TR 030 Cetara on the Gulf of Salerno c.1786 John ‘Warwick’ Smith (1749-1831) Watercolour and pencil on paper Smith gained the nickname ‘Warwick’ as he travelled to Italy between 1776 and 1781 with the financial support of the 2nd Earl of Warwick. He painted the views that he saw on his travels and later sold engraved copies. Salerno is on the west coast of Italy south of Naples and was a popular destination for tourists. CP/TR 027 The Hospice of St. Bernard, Great St. Bernard Pass 1830-1840s John Ruskin (1819-1900) Ink and watercolour on paper Ruskin was a famous art critic, painter, collector and theorist of the Victorian period. He was a great supporter of the work of JMW Turner. Ruskin travelled to this area of the Alps in both the 1830s and the 1840s. The hostel was established by monks who allowed travellers to stay on their journey through the mountainous region. The conservation of this painting was generously funded by Paul and Philippa Elmhirst.
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CP/TR 036 Near Oxford (after Peter de Wint) Mid-late 19th century Hercules Brabazon Brabazon (1821-1906) Pencil and watercolour on paper Brabazon was financially independent and spent part of each year travelling. He visited Europe as well as North Africa and the Middle East. Brabazon was largely self-taught and he learnt by copying pictures by other artists. This picture of Oxford is copied from an original by Peter de Wint. CP/TR 037 Study after Turner Mid-late 19th century Hercules Brabazon Brabazon (1821-1906) Watercolour on paper This picture by Brabazon is a watercolour painted in the style of JMW Turner. Brabazon admired Turner’s use of colour and sought to emulate it. He was successful in many of his pictures and the art critic Ruskin championed the work of both Turner and Brabazon. CP/TR 047 Crucifixion 1920s William Roberts RA (1895-1980) Ink, watercolour and pencil on paper Š Estate of John David Roberts, by permission of the Treasury Solicitor Roberts started his artistic career designing posters and this linear quality is evident in his drawings and paintings. This picture of the Crucifixion shows the angular nature of his drawing which was influenced by the Cubism of artists such as Picasso and Braque. SIR MICHAEL SADLER / THE COLLECTION
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CP/TR 053 Dead Tree Early-mid 20th century Paul Nash (1889-1946) Ink and gouache on paper Paul Nash was a highly influential figure in the history of modernism in British art. In 1933 he founded Unit One which was a group of avantgarde artists. Nash served in the Artist’s Rifles from 1914-17 and was appointed an official war artist from 1940-45. Nash’s paintings, such as this stark tree, have been interpreted as representing the desolation of war.
CP/TR 106 Vieux Laboreur Late 19th century Alphonse Legros (1837-1911) Pencil on paper Sadler Gift 1937 Legros was a French painter and engraver born in Dijon. He drew extensively and used his sketches as inspiration for future works. He worked and studied in Paris, attending evening classes at the Ècole des Beaux Arts. Legros moved to England in 1863 and became a teacher of etching at the South Kensington School of Art. 36
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CP/TR 049 A Boy’s Head Early 20th century Gilbert Spencer RA (1892-1979) Pencil on paper © Estate of Gilbert Spencer. All Rights Reserved, DACS 2016. Gilbert Spencer was the younger brother of Sir Stanley Spencer. Like his elder brother, Gilbert served in the Royal Medical Corps in Greece and experienced the atrocities of the First World War. He was an official war artist from 1940 until 1943 and became a Royal Academician in 1960.
CP/TR 057
CP/TR 058
A Street in Mentone 1909 Charles Maresco Pearce (1874-1964) Ink and watercolour on paper © The estate of Charles Maresco Pearce
Mother and Child 1918 Bernard Meninsky (1891-1950) Ink and wash on toned card © Estate of Bernard Meninsky Bridgeman Images
Mentone is on the French Riviera and was a popular destination for artists because of the strong light in the region. Pearce was well-known for his architectural pictures but also brought in human aspects to this picture through the people going about their daily business and the washing hanging from the windows. CP/TR 066 Study for Sculpture: Reclining Nude Woman 1929 Henry Spencer Moore O.M. (1898-1986) Charcoal and watercolour on paper © Reproduced by permission of the Henry Moore Foundation. Moore was born in Castleford, Yorkshire. He expressed a desire to become a sculptor at the age of eleven and became hugely important in this field. It is thought that the sketch of the Reclining Nude Woman provided inspiration for several of his sculptural works. Some of these can be seen at the nearby Yorkshire Sculpture Park.
Meninsky was born in the Ukraine but his family moved to Liverpool when he was still a baby. At fifteen, he attended the Liverpool School of Art and then moved to the Slade School of Fine Art. During the First World War, Meninsky served in the Royal Fusiliers and in 1919 he was commissioned to produce a series of paintings based on his experiences.
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CP/TR 078 Flowers Early 20th century Duncan Grant (1885-1978) Watercolour on paper © Estate of Duncan Grant. All rights reserved, DACS 2016 Grant was closely associated with the Bloomsbury Group as well as a number of modernist art movements such as the Camden Town Group and the London Group. The strong colours and bold brush strokes in this picture show his affiliation with the Post-Impressionist movement.
CP/TR 102 Portrait of the Artist’s Sister, Sarah c.1917 Jacob Kramer (1892-1962) Pastel on paper © Estate of John David Roberts, by permission of the Treasury Solicitor Kramer was born in the small Ukrainian town of Kilnay but in 1900 the family moved to England and settled in Leeds. Kramer started his formal art training at Leeds School of Art in 1907. Sadler was a great supporter of Kramer’s and encouraged his artistic talent. 38
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CP/TR 070 Study of a Breton Boy c.1910 Henry Lamb RA (1883-1960) Pencil on paper © Estate of Henry Lamb/Bridgeman Images Lamb was born in Australia but he was brought up in Manchester. In 1905 he moved to London to attend the Chelsea School of Art and then served in the army during the First World War. He was appointed an Official War Artist during the Second World War.
CP/TR 104 View of Wednesbury 1919 Edward Wadsworth ARA (1889-1949) Ink and wash on paper © Estate of Edward Wadsworth. All rights reserved, DACS 2016 Along with many other artists Wadsworth contributed drawings to an exhibition entitled ‘Black Country’ at the Leicester Galleries, London in 1920. The focus of the exhibition was the industrial towns and landscapes of the Midlands. Wednesbury is located north of Birmingham and was known for the mining of metals. CP/TR 105 CP/TR 092 The Shepherdess 1840s Jean Francois Millet (1814-1875) Charcoal on paper Sadler Gift 1923 Millet was born into an impoverished family in Northern France and his paintings often depict the rural, hardworking people who were familiar to him. Many artists in this period romanticised the notion of poverty through their paintings but Millet preferred to take a more realistic approach.
Study of a Girl’s Head c.1898 James Havard Thomas (1854-1921) Pencil on paper Thomas was born in Bristol and studied at the Royal College of Art, London and the École des Beaux-Arts, Paris. Thomas’ reputation as an artist and sculptor developed slowly and reached its peak after the First World War. He was the first Professor of Sculpture at the Slade School of Art from 1915.
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CP/TR 337 Composition with a Shell 1930 Edward Wadsworth ARA (1889-1949) Gouache and pencil Š Estate of Edward Wadsworth. All rights reserved, DACS 2016
CP/TR 290
Wadsworth was born in West Yorkshire and trained at the Slade School of Art. He was part of several important art movements of the early 20th century including the Unit One Group alongside Paul Nash, Henry Moore and Barbara Hepworth. Wadsworth was interested in exploring both geometry and abstraction through his paintings.
Folkestone Early 20th century Walter Taylor (1860-1943) Charcoal and watercolour on paper Taylor trained as an architect but also developed his artistic skills as a painter. He spent time with many influential artists of the late 19th and early 20th centuries including Walter Sickert and other members of the Camden Town Group. Taylor had a significant private income and he supported other artists by collecting their works. CP/TR 292 Interior of the Mosque of Suleiman the Magnificent, Constantinople c. 1840 John Frederick Lewis RA (1805-1876) Pencil and watercolour on paper Lewis spent a great deal of his life living in Spain and Egypt. He also visited a number of other places including Constantinople (now Istanbul) in about 1840. The mosque was constructed in the 1550s during the reign of Suleiman the Magnificent. 40
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CP/TR 203 A Gypsy Encampment 1833 William James Müller (1812-1845) Watercolour on paper Müller was born and raised in Bristol to a Prussian father and was apprenticed at the age of 15 to the artist J B Pyne. He was a keen traveller on the Continent and North Africa. Like many other artists he sketched and painted the landscapes and people he saw on his travels. CP/TR 305 Flowerpiece Early 20th century Vanessa Bell (1879-1961) Watercolour, body colour and pencil on paper © Estate of Vanessa Bell, courtesy Henrietta Garnett Vanessa Bell was an important artist but she is perhaps better remembered for being part of the Bloomsbury Group. This was an unofficial association of writers, artists and critics in the early part of the 20th century. The group included Vanessa’s sister, the writer Virginia Woolf, as well as many artists including Clive Bell (Vanessa’s husband), Roger Fry and Duncan Grant.
CP/TR 336 Mother and Child 1911 Rudolph Ihlee (1883-1968) Brown chalk on toned paper © Copyright Holder Untraced Ihlee was born in London and attended the Slade School of Art (1905-1910), where he won a number of prizes. Ihlee made friends with a group of students including Nevinson, Spencer and Wadsworth who are also represented in the Cooper Gallery collection. He staged successful solo exhibitions in England and Wales including at the Graves Gallery, Sheffield in 1978.
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James and Jane Fox 1828-1885 & 1837-1932
The paintings bought by James Fox and his wife Jane tell a fascinating story of Victorian taste. Although the artists represented are less well known now, they were well respected in their time and most exhibited at the Royal Academy on a regular basis. James Fox was born and spent his early years at The Windmill Inn on Shambles Street, Barnsley with his family. His father, Thomas, had been a miner but had been the only survivor of the Norcroft mining disaster in 1821¹³. With the compensation he was awarded Thomas took over the tenancy of the Windmill Inn and managed to apprentice his son to a chemist in Barnsley. James later established himself in the brewing business. He married Jane prior to 1861 and they had many children together of whom four survived to adulthood. In about 1870 Fox bought a plot of land on Regent Street and built the Queen’s Hotel which he opened around 1873. The hotel was divided into different areas with functions including a traditional bar area, retail establishment, lounge and billiard room. It is clear that many of the paintings owned by James Fox were displayed in the hotel for the benefit of the customers. The building can still be seen at the bottom of Regent Street, opposite the railway station. 42
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The list of pictures belonging to the ‘late Jas. Fox Esqr’ indicates a total of 87 paintings¹⁴. Many of these were landscape paintings by British artists or those working in the British landscape tradition including J B Ladbrooke, F W Watts, Ralph Stubbs and J C Bell. There are also a few continental artists represented in the collection including Louis Thienon. The majority of the works date from the 1830s through to the 1870s. Many of the artists chosen by Fox had exhibited at the Royal Academy or the Society of British Artists in the second half of the 19th century. James Fox was buying from contemporary artists but the majority of his choices would not have been seen as controversial or financially extravagant at the time. There were also a significant group of works that didn’t fit into the landscape tradition and these include portraits such as one of Queen Victoria as a young lady. Some of these pictures fit the notion of Victorian sentimentality which was important in the period. Other choices such as the portraits of Peggy Airey and Watter Joe by Abel Hold, and the work of CH Cook indicate an interest in artists who were working in Barnsley and across Yorkshire. James Fox was a self-made man whose main energy would have been devoted to his business interests. He would not necessarily have had the time to travel and it is still uncertain where the paintings were acquired from. At his death in 1885 James stipulated that the oil paintings were to be enjoyed by his wife during her lifetime but he considered them to be an important
collection and perhaps intended them to be gifted to a public gallery in the future.¹⁵ The collection of paintings was gifted to the Cooper Gallery by James’ eldest son, Thomas Fox and his two sisters in 1934. In 1933 a very large bequest had been received from Sir Michael Sadler so the Cooper Gallery would have been very full. In 1934 the Fox Wing of the gallery was opened to allow for the display of more works from the expanding collection. ‘This wing to be erected and hung with an artistic collection of pictures, is to be known as the Fox Wing, in honour of it being presented to the trustees by Mr T Fox, J.P.’ ¹⁶
Thomas Fox d. 1956 James and Jane’s eldest son Thomas was also a significant figure in Barnsley history. He was 15 when he joined the family business and was aged 25 when his father died. Thomas took over the business and in 1917 it became a limited company with Thomas as one of the Directors. Thomas was a town councillor and local magistrate and lived most of his adult life at Hall Bank, north of Barnsley. Thomas married Mary Emily McLintock who was part of another local business family famous for their award winning quilts. Thomas joined the board of McLintock’s as well as continuing with his own business interests.
¹³ Leeds Intelligencer May 28th 1821 ¹⁴ Barnsley Archive - SY/386/B7/7 – Collection of Pictures belonging to the Jas. Fox Esqr. - undated ¹⁵ Will of James Fox, late of Harboro’ Hill House, died 20th May 1885 ¹⁶ Barnsley Chronicle, January 1934
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Abel Hold 1815 - 1896
The artist Abel Hold was very prominent in Barnsley during the Victorian period. He lived on Church Street (near the Cooper Gallery building) for a few years and then moved to the village of Cawthorne close to the estate of Cannon Hall. Hold exhibited his paintings regularly at the Royal Academy from 1849-71. It is claimed that he never had an entry rejected. Hold was befriended by Rev. Charles Spencer-Stanhope and later Walter SpencerStanhope of Cannon Hall became his patron. He was a popular and famous painter whose work was sought after during his lifetime. CP/TR 297 Watter Joe 1841 Abel Hold Oil on canvas This portrait is of a man called Joseph Broadhead (1772-1852) who made his living by selling water. When he started in 1816, Barnsley, like many other towns and cities, did not have a direct water supply so ‘Watter Joe’ would collect the water from a natural spring. With the assistance of his horse ‘Old Duke’ he would bring it to the people of Barnsley in exchange for payment. Joe was well known for his quick wit and his love of a drink.
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CP/TR 296 Peggy Airey 1843 Abel Hold Oil on canvas This portrait is of a lady called Margaret Maggott (1759-1848). She was a local character in Barnsley known as Peggy Airey. She would find and collect items that could be sold for small change and for a fee she would tell your fortune. These pictures are often seen as companion pieces even though they were painted a few years apart. It is interesting to consider why Hold chose to paint these two people. Unlike many portraits it can be assumed that Peggy and Joe did not pay the artist to paint their likenesses. Maybe Hold felt that their popularity as local characters would ensure the paintings would sell. At one time the portraits were owned by Mr H Jackson of Darfield Rectory¹⁷ before being bought by James Fox who hung them in the bar at the Queen’s Hotel, Regent Street. Hold was a well-respected artist both locally and nationally and Fox was occasionally criticised for hanging these paintings in a place some considered to be an inappropriate setting for the work of such an artist: ‘As we looked at them we had only one regret, and it was that they should be hanging amongst dust and cobwebs with their rich carved frames…’ ‘Peggy Airey and Watter Joe personally might not be entitled to enter dining rooms or parlours, but it is scarcely fair to their spirited reflections that they should be relegated to a spot redolent of sawdust and gin, and this treatment is all the more inexplicable that their owner possesses several other specimens of Mr Hold’s art, not to say the works of others, although Peggy and Joe are the gems of the lot.’ ¹⁸
¹⁷ Catalogue of the … Furniture….. To be sold by auction … at Darfield Rectory, The residence of H Jackson esq. … October 5th-9th 1863 ¹⁸ The Fine Arts and Mr Abel Hold of Brook House Cawthorne, near Barnsley. Barnsley Times, March 30, 1872.
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CP/TR 109 The Doge’s Palace, Venice 1843 Louis Thienon (1812- after 1884) Oil on canvas Thienon was a French artist who spent a great deal of time travelling around Europe and North Africa. He was taught initially by his father and then later by Eugène Isabey, the great French marine artist favoured by S J Cooper. Venice was a very popular location for both tourists and artists in the 19th century just as it is today.
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CP/TR 115 Sandpits near London (bottom right) Mid 19th century Edmund John Niemann (1813-1876) Oil on canvas Niemann was born in London to a German father and worked as a landscape painter. He was well respected and exhibited at the Royal Academy from 1844-1872. He is known to have travelled to Yorkshire and painted a number of views around the historic market town of Richmond.
CP/TR 114 Spring Morning in the Park Mid 19th century John Berney Ladbrooke (1803-1879) Oil on canvas Ladbrooke is associated with the Norwich School of Artists. They were a group of painters based in and around the city who focussed on landscape painting. His father Robert Ladbrooke was one of the earliest members. J B Ladbrooke exhibited regularly at the Royal Academy between 1821 and 1872.
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CP/TR 202 The Flower Girl Mid-late 19th century Edward Charles Barnes (1830-1890) Oil on canvas Barnes was a London based painter of domestic scenes and interiors. His works could be very small and intimate or they could be large panoramas of life in the Victorian period. This picture is a rather romanticised view of a young girl selling flowers to earn enough money to buy food.
CP/TR 200 An Irish Character 19th century C H Cook (c.1830-1905) Oil on canvas Cook was an Irish artist who made his way to England and spent some time in West Yorkshire before eventually settling in Scarborough. This painting and another similar one hung in the bar at the Queen’s Hotel, Regent Street. CP/TR 144 Italianate Landscape with Classical Ruins Late 17th –early 18th century Circle of Jan Baptist Huysmans (1654-1716) Oil on canvas Huysmans was a Flemish based artist who was part of the Guild of St Luke in Antwerp. It was normal for artists to join a guild such as this as part of their apprenticeship. It allowed artists to work together to protect their interests and promote their city. 48
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CP/TR 280 The Performing Monkey Mid-late 19th century M W Lejin (dates unknown) Oil on canvas Very little is known about Lejin other than the fact the artist was active in the 19th century. This painting depicts a monkey entertaining a family group inside a worker’s cottage. The style of the painting is copied from 17th century Dutch interior scenes which were very popular in the Victorian period. CP/TR 268 Charcoal Burners Hut in the New Forest 1870s-80s Attributed to Frank Buchser (1828-1890) Oil on board This painting has been attributed to the Swiss born artist Frank Buchser because of the initials FB scratched into the surface of the paint. Buchser visited most countries in Europe as well as spending many years in North America. It is believed that he was in Britain in the 1870s which may have been when this picture was painted.
CP/TR 278 Partridges in the Snow 1860s John Christopher Bell (1823-1881) Oil on canvas J C Bell was a popular artist in the Victorian period. He lived in Scarborough and specialised in paintings of animals and scenes associated with sports such as hunting and shooting. These partridges would have been admired for their feathers as well as being a reminder of sporting activities. JAMES AND JANE FOX / THE COLLECTION
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CP/TR 299 Greenwich Park 1857 George William Mote (1832-1900) Oil on canvas George Mote started his working life as a gardener and taught himself to paint. Mote completed this painting in 1857 which was also the same year he started exhibiting at the Royal Academy. James Fox seemed to have particularly liked Mote’s paintings as he owned a number of them. CP/TR 331 Portrait of a Young Queen Victoria 1837 Edward Thomas Parris (1793-1873) Oil on millboard This portrait of Queen Victoria was painted by Parris when the young Victoria was on her first state visit to the theatre in Drury Lane, London. The picture was also reproduced as an engraving and was very popular in the period. The painting must have impressed Victoria and her court as the following year Parris was invited to paint the Queen on the occasion of her coronation. CP/TR 333 The Berkshire Boy Mid-late 19th century Eliza Turck (1832-after 1901) Oil on panel Eliza Turck worked as a painter, miniaturist and illustrator at a time when it could be difficult to work as a female artist. Her paintings were accepted for exhibition at the Royal Academy from 1854 and she continued to exhibit for many years. The portrayal of the little boy in this painting shows her high level of skill and her sensitivity towards her subject. 50
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Captain Roland Addy 1892-1963
Captain Roland Addy formed a collection of 18th and 19th century oil and watercolour paintings in the middle of the 20th century with a focus on the important landscape artists of the period. Addy spent most of his working life as the Managing Director of the Carlton Main Colliery. He was also Chair and MD of the Hodroyd Coal Co. Ltd. and Joint MD of the Hatfield Main Colliery Co. Ltd. He inherited his interests in these companies from his father James Jenkin Addy. Roland attended Jesus College, Cambridge but did not complete his studies as he joined the army during the First World War. Roland achieved the rank of Captain but sadly his elder brother, James Carlton Addy, was killed in action in May 1917. Addy lived at Brierley Hall, outside of Barnsley for the middle part of his life. The Hall is a typical Regency villa and would have been a very suitable setting for his collection of paintings.
Italian classicism. David Roberts was a very important Orientalist painter and he is thought to be one of the first European artists to travel to the East and express his experiences through his art.
Many of the artists whose works were bought by Addy were associated with the Royal Academy either as founder members, being Academicians such as JMW Turner, or exhibiting their work there like Thomas Girtin. There are many pioneering artists in Addy’s collection: Richard Wilson is often considered to be the first British artist to focus solely on landscape as a genre and was inspired by
The paintings were transferred to Scarborough in the late 1940s when Addy retired there with his second wife. After Addy’s death his wife Joan remarried and moved to North Yorkshire where she remained until her death in 1978. Addy had left the paintings to her in his will and she decided to leave the paintings to the Cooper Gallery in her own will. This became known as ‘The Addy Bequest’.
Unlike Sadler and Cooper, Addy seems not to have been interested in collecting the works of living artists. A few of the paintings have labels for the art dealers Agnews of London, established in 1817 in Old Bond Street and still retailing today. Other paintings have labels for London based dealers including Parker & Sons and MacConnal, Mason & Son, both based in the St. James’ area of London. Addy obviously travelled to London regularly and purchased his works from well-established dealers.
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The Salisbury Turners JMW Turner’s precocious talent was noted early and he started studying at the Royal Academy schools in 1789 when he was in his mid-teens. Along with other young artists, such as Thomas Girtin, he would visit the salon of Dr Thomas Monro who provided tuition and opportunities for sketching the works of other artists. Dr Monro also provided young artists with introductions to members of the aristocracy and others who wanted to commission works of art or support them.
CP/TR 353 The Ancient Market Place, Salisbury c.1799 Joseph Mallord William Turner RA (1775-1851) Watercolour and pencil on paper
In the 1790s Sir Richard Colt Hoare of Stourhead commissioned JMW Turner to draw a series of views of Salisbury. The buildings and surrounding landscape were sketched between about 1795 and 1799. Turner then spent some time developing these sketches and created a number of finished paintings. Addy later acquired two of the watercolours that form part of this group of works known as ‘The Salisbury Turners’. Turner is well known for his later, highly atmospheric works but many of his early paintings were landscape or architectural views. Turner was highly skilled at this as he managed to indicate the details of the building whilst keeping an overall harmony in the picture. In these two sketches the buildings are architecturally accurate but they have been enlivened by the social activities happening all around them. 52
CP/TR 354 The New Council Room, Salisbury c.1805 Joseph Mallord William Turner RA (1775-1851) Watercolour and ink on paper The group of sketches and finished paintings were sold from Stourhead by the Colt Hoare family in 1883. They were eventually bought by Agnews in London and were sold to Addy separately in 1935 and 1936. ¹⁹ I. Warrell, ‘The Salisbury Commission: Poems in Stone’ in Turner’s Wessex: Architecture and Ambition
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CP/TR 357 A Farmyard with a River in the Foreground Late 18th century Thomas Girtin (1775-1802) Watercolour and pencil on paper The location of this picture has not been identified but Girtin went on many sketching tours in his short life. Between 1796 and 1801 he spent a great deal of time in the North of England seeking out dramatic views.
CP/TR 355 The East Window of Melrose Abbey c.1796 Thomas Girtin (1775-1802) Watercolour, pencil and ink on paper Girtin was a friend and rival of the great watercolour artist JMW Turner. The two men often travelled together to sketch the romantic ruins of the countryside. Girtin toured the North of England and the Scottish Borders in 1796. It is likely this is when he made the sketch of Melrose Abbey which was a popular place for tourists to visit. CP/TR 359 A View of Weymouth Early-mid 19th century Henry Warren (1794-1879) Watercolour and gouache on paper Warren started his artistic career working with the London based sculptor, Nollekens. He later changed his focus and started painting whilst also working as a draughtsman and illustrator. His watercolour paintings show his combination of the expert handling of paint and the linear work associated with being a draughtsman. CAPTAIN ROLAND ADDY / THE COLLECTION
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CP/TR 370
CP/TR 361 Irun, from the Bidasoa 1836 David Roberts RA (1796-1864) Watercolour on paper Roberts became a Royal Academician in 1841 and regularly exhibited his work there. He spent the years 1832-3 in the Basque region of Northern Spain where the Bidasoa river is located. An engraved copy of this painting, along with many others by Roberts, was used to illustrate a guide to Spain published in 1837 called ‘The Tourist in Spain: Biscay and the Castiles’.
The Drinker 19th century English School Oil on canvas Very little is known about the subject of the portrait other than the interests shown in the picture. There is a betting slip tucked into the brim of his hat and on the table are a jug and a pipe. The man in question could have been a coachman or even a squire as he is wearing a thick overcoat.
CP/TR 364 Portrait of John George Lambton, 1st Earl of Durham c.1830s George Richmond RA (1809-1896) Watercolour on paper George Richmond began studying at the Royal Academy School at the age of 15. He was best known as a portrait artist working in both oil and watercolour. Richmond often created these studies of the head and shoulders of a person to catch a likeness or to prepare for a final painting. 54
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CP/TR 365 Piazza San Marco, Venice Mid 19th century Edward Pritchett (active 1828-1864) Oil on canvas Little is known about Pritchett as an artist. He was British born but seems to have worked for most of his life in Venice. His views of Venice were obviously popular amongst Victorian collectors and his work is represented in many public galleries across the United Kingdom.
CP/TR 362 Shipping Off a Jetty 1836 Anthony Vandyke Copley Fielding (1787-1855) Watercolour and ink Copley Fielding was a prolific artist and skilled watercolourist. He exhibited 1,671 pictures at the Old Watercolour Society alone. Alongside JMW Turner and a handful of other artists he was supported by the art critic John Ruskin.
CP/TR 369 Oberwesel on the Rhine 19th century J B Pyne (1800-1870) Oil on canvas The town of Oberwesel is located on the river Rhine in the west of Germany. Its remarkable mixture of dramatic landscape with interesting architecture made it a popular site for artists. The tall, central tower in the picture is the ‘Ochsenthum’ or Ox Tower.
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CP/TR 371 Winter Sunshine c.1954 Frederick William Elwell RA (1870-1958) Oil on canvas Š The artist's estate Fred Elwell lived in Beverley in the East Riding of Yorkshire with his artist wife, Mary. He may have been known to Addy who lived in Scarborough in the later years of his life. This painting was exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1954 and it is the only example of Addy buying a painting from a living artist.
CP/TR 372 Italianate River Landscape c.1655-1659 Gaspard Dughet (called Gaspard Poussin) (1615-1675) Oil on canvas Gaspard Dughet was the brother-in-law of the famous artist Nicolas Poussin and he decided to adopt the same surname. Both artists worked in Rome for a substantial portion of their lives.
CP/TR 373 Dolbadarn Castle and Llanberis Lake 1760s Attributed to Richard Wilson RA (1714-1782) Oil on canvas Richard Wilson was an important artist in the Georgian period and was a founder member of the Royal Academy alongside Sir Joshua Reynolds. In the 1750s Wilson travelled to Italy and was heavily influenced by the classical approach to landscape painting that he saw there. He is reputed to be the first major British artist to focus on landscape as an art form.
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Photograph of Thomas Sutherland, right, at his retirement presentation from the University of Leeds. Image Courtesy of Prof M F Dixon, University of Leeds
The Sutherlands
Charles Sutherland (1918-2001) was a solicitor based in Barnsley for the majority of his working life. He lived with his brother, Dr Thomas Sutherland (1916 -1989), near Wakefield and together they formed a small art collection.
The collection was focussed on contemporary British artists working in the two decades following the Second World War. The brothers were very private about their collecting and displayed the artworks in their modern home for their personal enjoyment. Despite their modest means the two brothers owned some interesting works by well-known artists including Patrick Heron, Kenneth Armitage and Prunella Clough. As part of the modernist movement of the post war period,
these artists are representative of the spirit of experimentation which characterises that time. Moving away from traditional methods and subjects they often favoured abstraction; seeing colour, form and technique in a radical new light. When Charles died, the collection was bequeathed to both the Cooper Gallery and to Wakefield City Art Gallery (now The Hepworth Wakefield). These bequests were made because of the brothers’ longstanding connections with both places.
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CLS 1 Composition 1960 Adrian Heath (1920-1992) Oil on paper © Estate of Adrian Heath. All Rights Reserved, DACS 2016 Heath was an archetypal modernist painter of the mid 20th century. He trained at some of the most influential art schools of the period including the Newlyn School of Art in Cornwall. This picture shows his interest in organic forms represented in an abstracted way.
CLS 2 Porthleven 1950 Patrick Heron (1920-1999) Pencil on paper © The Estate of Patrick Heron. All rights reserved, DACS 2016 Heron was born in Leeds and studied at the Slade School of Art in London. He was greatly influenced by the landscape of Cornwall and became part of the St Ives group of painters which included Barbara Hepworth, Ben Nicholson and Terry Frost. He was a lifelong socialist and refused the knighthood he was offered in the 1980s for services to art.
CLS 3 The Natural and the Geometrical Mid-late 20th century Jack Smith (1928-2011) Oil on canvas © Jack Smith, Flowers Gallery, London and New York Smith was born in Sheffield and attended the Royal College of Art in the early 1950s. He quickly established his reputation as an artist and represented Britain in the Venice Biennale in 1956. Smith was very interested in abstraction and used colour and geometric features to create balance and harmony. 58
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CLS 6 Hand Rolling Mill Operator Mid 20th century Keith Vaughan (1912-1977) Print © The Estate of Keith Vaughan. All rights reserved, DACS 2016 Vaughan began his career in advertising before becoming an important artist and writer. He was heavily influenced by a number of mid-century artists including Henry Moore. He combined both figurative and abstract elements within his work.
Enclosed Landscape Mid-late 20th century Prunella Clough (1919 -1999) Oil on canvas © Estate of Prunella Clough. All Rights Reserved, DACS 2016 Clough trained at the Chelsea School of Art from 1938-9 and during the Second World War used her artistic skills working as a draughtsman and mapper. After the war she became well-known for her work as a painter and printmaker. This example of Clough’s later work shows her fascination with abstraction but references her interest in mapping the landscape or cityscape.
CLS 4 Reclining Nude 1954 Ceri Richards (1903-1971) Ink and wash on paper © Estate of Ceri Richards. All rights reserved, DACS 2016 Richards was born in Wales and trained at Swansea before moving to the Royal College of Art. He taught for many years at Cardiff College of Art and often said there was a Celtic influence in his work. This nude is typical of the distortion of the female form prevalent in mid 20th century art. THE SUTHERLANDS / THE COLLECTION
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Image Courtesy of Kyte Photography
The son of a miner, Malcolm Whittaker was born in Hoyland, South Yorkshire in 1937. He studied art at Barnsley School of Art in the 1950s and completed his National Service with the RAF. From 1959 to 1962 he studied at the Royal College of Art in London. He taught extensively in Yorkshire starting at Bradford College of Art in 1962 and concluding at the Faculty of Art for Sheffield City Polytechnic. He took early retirement in 1989 to paint full time.
Malcolm Whittaker
Malcolm Whittaker is a highly successful artist who has spent the majority of his time living and working in the Barnsley area. He is a significant collector of contemporary studio pottery.
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Whittaker has fond memories of studying art at both Barnsley School of Art and Hoyland Secondary School. His teachers and tutors encouraged and enthused him in all things ‘Art’. This is what prompted him, with the support of his wife Ella, to give his paintings and to bequeath the collection of Studio Ceramics to the Cooper Gallery. It’s his way of saying ’Thank You’ to them. He feels that his career owes so much to these people. Whittaker has exhibited his works in many galleries either individually or alongside the work of other artists and makers. His long standing friendship with the potter David Roberts led to the acquisition of his first piece of studio pottery. The pair agreed to swap a pot for a painting. Whittaker has an ability to find the beauty in objects all around him whether they be natural wonders such as fossils, wasp’s nests and corals, or handmade objects such as ceramics. He cites their tactile nature as being as important as the visual aesthetic in their appeal. He says, ‘As you turn them around in your hand you can follow the imprint of the potter’s hand and gain infinite pleasure from a changing view of each object.’
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Whittaker’s art often makes interesting comments about the way in which objects are displayed in museums. This particular piece references votive boats. These replica vessels, often in beaten gold, are found in tombs and burial mounds and believed to be the means by which the soul was transported to the afterlife. Whittaker initially saw photographs of these in a book about early European art. At that stage he had no idea how big they were and only later discovered that their exquisiteness was enhanced by their small size. The way in which it is displayed emphasises its precious nature. The image of the boat in this piece is based ‘loosely’ on the multi oared gold boat from the hoard of Celtic gold found at Broighter in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland, and is part of Whittaker’s deep interest in ancient landscapes. He cites archaeology, geology, museums, maps, text and book forms amongst the sources of his work. The deposition of cultural layers and changing topography through years of history act as a metaphor for the physical act of painting. Archaeological processes, scraping, finding, preparing and displaying behind glass, also mirrors the way in which he constructs the work. There is a connection between Whittaker’s collecting and his own artistic practice. He has an interest in the way in which curators approach and display objects. His own paintings are often cased or framed to reflect the way that objects in a museum are displayed. He also places a great deal of importance on the imagination: ‘Before anything else, a painting is a place: a site for imaginative possibilities.’ (Tony Godfrey) . Whittaker would like people to enjoy the pieces in their own way and use them as a spring board for their own imaginative journeys.
CP/TR 402 Gold Boat 2008 Malcolm Whittaker (bn. 1937) Mixed media © Malcolm Whittaker
²⁰ Tony Godfrey is an art critic and writer best known for his book ‘Conceptual Art’ which was published in 1998.
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David Roberts (bn. 1947)
Roberts has been largely responsible for the development of Raku in this country. Influenced at first by American Raku potters, he went on to create a highly personal and recognisable style. Although he spends a lot of time in Italy his roots are in Yorkshire where he finds inspiration in the landscape around his home in Holmfirth. Whittaker and Roberts have exhibited their work together and share a love for ancient landscapes. Roberts’ observation of the natural processes and overlay of human activity in the landscape is expressed through line, form and texture in his work. The technique of Raku is an ancient Japanese art where items are fired at a relatively low temperature and then placed in a container with wood or paper which ignites to create a smoky finish. The process is unpredictable but can create remarkable results. Many studio potters have developed the technique in different ways but Roberts is seen as one of the most important.²¹
Beaker Form 1991 'T' material
²¹ L. Green, Painting with Smoke: David Roberts Raku Potter, 2009
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Large Bottle Form 1991 'T' material
Vessel with Stripes 1998 'T' material
Vessel on Black Pedestal 1997 'T' material
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Brown and White Vessel 1998 John Ward (bn. 1938) Stoneware Ward trained at Camberwell College of Art, London and then established himself as a very important potter in the later 20th century. His pots are normally hand built and decorated with matt glazes.
Three White Bowls 2004 Horst Gรถbbels (bn 1939) Porcelain Gรถbbels is a German potter who has taught for many years and exhibited his ceramics internationally. He specialises in porcelain and produces very refined potted vessels.
Tea Bowl 1999 Robin Welch (bn. 1936) Stoneware Welch originally trained as a painter and then started making ceramics. He initially worked at the Leach pottery in the 1950s and later established his own pottery in Suffolk in 1965. The way he applies glazes is very similar to the way in which a painter would apply paint to canvas. The glazes stimulate an interest in both texture and colour.
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Balancing Form 1997 Antonia Salmons (bn 1959) Stoneware
Figure on a Plinth 1995 Mo Jupp (bn. 1938) Porcelain Jupp trained at Camberwell College and then the Royal College of Art and was influenced by many potters including Lucie Rie and Hans Coper. His figural ceramic forms are highly distinctive and can be found in many galleries and museums both nationally and internationally.
Salmons has been based in Sheffield since 1989. She creates abstracted forms and uses Raku firing to create the very distinctive surface finishes on the pieces. Whittaker is fascinated by this piece as it is contradictory in its nature. Although the piece is rigid its burnished finish gives it a gentle texture that Whittaker describes as ‘cold velvet’. Three Raku ‘Vases’ 2001 Kate Schuricht (bn 1973) Earthenware Schuricht graduated from the University of Brighton in 1996 and has established herself as a well-respected potter. Her residency in Japan allowed her to explore the traditional technique of Raku firing which is a key feature of many of her works. MALCOLM WHITTAKER / THE COLLECTION
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Tiger and Angel 2002 John Maltby Stoneware
Angel and Lion 2000 John Maltby Stoneware
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Wise Man and Bird 2008 John Maltby (bn. 1936) Stoneware Born in the 1930s Maltby established his own pottery near Crediton, Devon in 1964. His works are very sculptural and also very quirky. They often combine real and mythical animals or reference imaginary worlds. Maltby’s works are very popular and can be seen in a number of museums and galleries including the V&A in London.
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Collections from other Donors In addition to the collectors already discussed in this catalogue a number of local families donated one or two artworks rather than large collections. ‘The Beggar Girls’ was donated by Mr and Mrs Lowrance in 1927. The Lowrances were a local family who owned an ironmongers in Barnsley. Collecting art seems to have been a family tradition because a few years later H B Lowrance (1882-1939) donated ‘A Lady Holding a Book’ by Sabatini. It is believed that H B Lowrance was the son of Mr and Mrs Lowrance. Barnsley Art School was thriving and highly creative in the post war period under the influence of artists such as John Kenneth Long. A number of students studied there and went on to institutions such as the Royal College of Art. There are some, like Malcolm Whittaker, who became professional artists in their own right. Whittaker attributes his own career and his desire to support the Gallery, by donating his paintings and studio pottery, to the inspiration of his tutors in his formative years. In 1956 a number of paintings by the students were featured in the Barnsley Chronicle as they had been chosen to be included in the West Riding Artists’ Exhibition in Wakefield. In 1957 the decision was made to donate a number of pictures by the tutors and students to the Cooper Gallery to represent art in Barnsley in the 1950s.
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CP/TR 265 The Beggar Girls c.1870 P A Cot (1837-1883) or Juliette Cot (c.1850-1937) Oil on canvas Given by Mr and Mrs Lowrance 1927 This picture has been the subject of a number of different interpretations throughout its history. For many years it was thought to have been painted by the French artist Pierre Cot but recent research has shown that it might be by his wife, Juliette Cot, who was a painter in her own right.
CP/TR 077 The Weir Mid 20th century Ronald Ossory Dunlop RA (1894-1973) Oil on canvas Humphries Bequest (Mr C A Humphrey through the NACF) © The Estate of Ronald Ossory Dunlop. All rights reserved. DACS 2016 Dunlop was born in Dublin and studied art in both London and Paris. He founded the Emotionist Group of artists and writers who were interested in expressing the essence of life through art.
CP/TR 126 Still Life 1956 Malcolm Whittaker (bn. 1937) Oil on hardboard Given by Barnsley Art School c. 1957 © Malcolm Whittaker This picture was painted by Whittaker whilst he was a student at Barnsley Art School and was used by him as part of his portfolio when he applied to the Royal College of Art in 1957. The painting is influenced by the Cubist art of Picasso and Braques and shows how engaged the art school was with the modern movements of the 20th century.
CP/TR 351 A Winter Market Scene, Barnsley 1950s John Kenneth Long (1924-2006) Oil on hardboard Given by Barnsley Art School c. 1957 © Estate of John Kenneth Long Long studied art in Manchester before serving in the Royal Navy during the Second World War. In the late 1940s and early 1950s he taught at Barnsley School of Art where he tutored Malcolm Whittaker and inspired a generation of young artists. His interest in painting industrial landscapes and Cubism encouraged the students to investigate these areas in their own paintings.
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Visit Us Today Every year we welcome over 70,000 visitors to the Cooper Gallery. Art lovers, families, schoolchildren and students are just some of the people enjoying the Gallery transformed by the extension created in 2016. The permanent displays highlight the stories of the collectors and selections from the wealth of artworks they gave to the Gallery. Our temporary exhibition spaces show a wide range of national, regional and local artists, as well as exhibitions drawn from the Gallery’s fine art collections and other collections around the country. Events, workshops and activities take place throughout the year for all ages and all levels of artistic talents and range of interests.
Pick up a leaflet, ask our staff or visit our website to see what’s coming up for you. Acknowledgements Research and text by Melissa Gallimore Photography by Norman Taylor Design by Script Media
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Support Us Today The Cooper Gallery was created and has grown through the generosity of Barnsley people. There are many different ways you can continue this tradition. Join the Barnsley Museums and Heritage Trust and become part of Barnsley’s creative future. Make a donation in our gallery or online, or adopt one of our artworks in need of conservation.
Buy gifts in our shop or online, or hire our venue for a special day.
Join us in an activity, workshop or become a volunteer.
For more information about any of the above visit www.barnsley-museums.com. You can also discover more about the work of Barnsley Museums and our other inspiring arts and heritage venues across the borough.
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© Estate of Vanessa Bell, courtesy Henrietta Garnett
Church Street, Barnsley, S70 2AH • 01226 242905 www.cooper-gallery.com • coopergallery@barnsley.gov.uk