Graves Art Gallery
Encyclopedia
Graves Art Gallery is in the centre of Sheffield
above the Central Library
and close to the Millennium Galleries
. It shows permanent displays from the city’s collections of 19th and 20th century British
and European art as well as a programme of temporary exhibitions.
The collection encapsulates the story of the development of Modern Art
. The main trends and movements are traced through works by many well-known artists, from Pablo Picasso
and Pierre Bonnard
to Sir Stanley Spencer and Helen Chadwick
. It is currently administered by Museums Sheffield.
, who made his fortune out of one of the country’s first mail order businesses. Graves also presented his art collection to the city. This went on display in the gallery.
The Graves Art Gallery has always shown temporary exhibitions alongside the permanent displays, a policy established by the first Director
John Rothenstein
, who later went on to become Director of the Tate Gallery
. The painter George Hamilton Constantine
was the next Director, from 1938 until the 1950s.
In 2001 the Graves Art Gallery was refurbished and the galleries restored to their original condition.
'Writers of Influence: Shakespeare to J K Rowling' from the National Portrait Gallery Collection
'Robert Mapplethorpe
' - as part of ARTIST ROOMS on Tour with The Art Fund
21 November 2009 – 20 March 2010
'Comedians: 1940 to Now' - Photographs from the National Portrait Gallery Collection
16 September – 5 December 2009
'A Picture of Us?'
4 April – 7 November 2009
'Hogarth
: Industry and Idleness'
4 April – 7 November 2009
'Graves Gallery 75th Anniversary'
20 May – 29 August 2009
'Moore
, Hepworth
, Nicholson
: A Nest of Gentle Artists'
18 February – 2 May 2009
'A Picture of You?'
10 January – 21 March 2009
'Family Album'
'Tate Visual Dialogues'
12 April 2008 - 31 January 2009
'The Grice Ivories'
6 March - 31 May 2008
'The Diary Room: Characters from the 17th Century'
19 January - 29 March 2008
'Hidden Narratives'
'Where Are We?: Questions of Landscape'
7 July 2007 - 18 October 2008
'Breaking with Tradition'
16 June - 8 September 2007
'Pre-Raphaelite Drawings'
31 March - 16 June 2007
'We the Moderns'
10 March - 3 June 2007
'Lady Mary Wortley Montagu
: an Extraordinary 18th Century Woman'
'Angus McBean
'
24 November 2006 - 25 February 2007
'Richard Long
'
Sheffield
Sheffield is a city and metropolitan borough of South Yorkshire, England. Its name derives from the River Sheaf, which runs through the city. Historically a part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, and with some of its southern suburbs annexed from Derbyshire, the city has grown from its largely...
above the Central Library
Sheffield Central Library
Sheffield Central Library and Graves Art Gallery is a public library in Sheffield. It houses the city library service's single largest general lending and reference collection, as well as hosting an art gallery on the third floor, and a theatre in the basement....
and close to the Millennium Galleries
Millennium Galleries
The Millennium Galleries is an art gallery in the City of Sheffield, England. Opened in April 2001 as part of Sheffield's Heart of the City project, it is located in the city centre close to the city library, Sheffield Hallam University, and the city's theatre district...
. It shows permanent displays from the city’s collections of 19th and 20th century British
British art
British art could refer to:* Art of the United Kingdom - post 1707* English art* Irish art* Scottish art* Welsh art...
and European art as well as a programme of temporary exhibitions.
The collection encapsulates the story of the development of Modern Art
Modern art
Modern art includes artistic works produced during the period extending roughly from the 1860s to the 1970s, and denotes the style and philosophy of the art produced during that era. The term is usually associated with art in which the traditions of the past have been thrown aside in a spirit of...
. The main trends and movements are traced through works by many well-known artists, from Pablo Picasso
Pablo Picasso
Pablo Diego José Francisco de Paula Juan Nepomuceno María de los Remedios Cipriano de la Santísima Trinidad Ruiz y Picasso known as Pablo Ruiz Picasso was a Spanish expatriate painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramicist, and stage designer, one of the greatest and most influential artists of the...
and Pierre Bonnard
Pierre Bonnard
Pierre Bonnard was a French painter and printmaker, as well as a founding member of Les Nabis.-Biography:...
to Sir Stanley Spencer and Helen Chadwick
Helen Chadwick
Helen Chadwick was a British conceptual artist.-Life and work:Chadwick studied at Croydon College of Art, The Faculty of Arts and Architecture Brighton Polytechnic and then at the Chelsea School of Art....
. It is currently administered by Museums Sheffield.
History
The Graves Art Gallery opened in 1934 thanks to the financial support of local business man John George GravesJohn George Graves
John George Graves was a successful English entrepreneur and public benefactor. He became Sheffield's Lord Mayor and an Alderman in 1926 and he was given Freedom of the City in 1929. He was born in Lincolnshire in 1866 and died in 1945, after having settled in Sheffield.Graves moved to Sheffield...
, who made his fortune out of one of the country’s first mail order businesses. Graves also presented his art collection to the city. This went on display in the gallery.
The Graves Art Gallery has always shown temporary exhibitions alongside the permanent displays, a policy established by the first Director
Curator
A curator is a manager or overseer. Traditionally, a curator or keeper of a cultural heritage institution is a content specialist responsible for an institution's collections and involved with the interpretation of heritage material...
John Rothenstein
John Rothenstein
Sir John Knewstub Maurice Rothenstein CBE was an English art historian. He grew up in London the son of Sir William Rothenstein. The family was loosely connected to the Bloomsbury Set. John Rothenstein studied at Oxford University and became friends with T. E. Lawrence...
, who later went on to become Director of the Tate Gallery
Tate Gallery
The Tate is an institution that houses the United Kingdom's national collection of British Art, and International Modern and Contemporary Art...
. The painter George Hamilton Constantine
George Hamilton Constantine
George Hamilton Constantine was a British painter of landscapes with figures and seascapes.Born in 1878 in Sheffield, he was the son of Francis Alfred Constantine, a saw maker. His uncle William Hattersley paid for his education at Sheffield School of Art...
was the next Director, from 1938 until the 1950s.
In 2001 the Graves Art Gallery was refurbished and the galleries restored to their original condition.
2010
17 April – 3 July 2010'Writers of Influence: Shakespeare to J K Rowling' from the National Portrait Gallery Collection
2009
19 December 2009 – 27 March 2010'Robert Mapplethorpe
Robert Mapplethorpe
Robert Mapplethorpe was an American photographer, known for his large-scale, highly stylized black and white portraits, photos of flowers and nude men...
' - as part of ARTIST ROOMS on Tour with The Art Fund
21 November 2009 – 20 March 2010
'Comedians: 1940 to Now' - Photographs from the National Portrait Gallery Collection
16 September – 5 December 2009
'A Picture of Us?'
4 April – 7 November 2009
'Hogarth
Hogarth
-People:* Burne Hogarth, American cartoonist, illustrator, educator and author* David George Hogarth, English archaeologist* Donald Hogarth, Canadian politician and mining financier* Paul Hogarth, English painter and illustrator...
: Industry and Idleness'
4 April – 7 November 2009
'Graves Gallery 75th Anniversary'
20 May – 29 August 2009
'Moore
Henry Moore
Henry Spencer Moore OM CH FBA was an English sculptor and artist. He was best known for his semi-abstract monumental bronze sculptures which are located around the world as public works of art....
, Hepworth
Barbara Hepworth
Dame Barbara Hepworth DBE was an English sculptor. Her work exemplifies Modernism, and with such contemporaries as Ivon Hitchens, Henry Moore, Ben Nicholson, Naum Gabo she helped to develop modern art in Britain.-Life and work:Jocelyn Barbara Hepworth was born on 10 January 1903 in Wakefield,...
, Nicholson
Ben Nicholson
Benjamin Lauder "Ben" Nicholson, OM was a British painter of abstract compositions , landscape and still-life.-Background and Training:...
: A Nest of Gentle Artists'
18 February – 2 May 2009
'A Picture of You?'
10 January – 21 March 2009
'Family Album'
2008
10 November 2008 - 14 March 2009'Tate Visual Dialogues'
12 April 2008 - 31 January 2009
'The Grice Ivories'
6 March - 31 May 2008
'The Diary Room: Characters from the 17th Century'
19 January - 29 March 2008
'Hidden Narratives'
2007
21 September 2007 - 6 January 2008'Where Are We?: Questions of Landscape'
7 July 2007 - 18 October 2008
'Breaking with Tradition'
16 June - 8 September 2007
'Pre-Raphaelite Drawings'
31 March - 16 June 2007
'We the Moderns'
10 March - 3 June 2007
'Lady Mary Wortley Montagu
Lady Mary Wortley Montagu
The Lady Mary Wortley Montagu was an English aristocrat and writer. Montagu is today chiefly remembered for her letters, particularly her letters from Turkey, as wife to the British ambassador, which have been described by Billie Melman as “the very first example of a secular work by a woman about...
: an Extraordinary 18th Century Woman'
2006
1 December 2006 - 10 March 2007'Angus McBean
Angus McBean
Angus McBean , was a Welsh photographer, associated with surrealism.-Biography:Angus McBean was born in South Wales in June 1904. Despite the surname and the family's claim to be head of the sub-clan McBean, they had been Welsh for generations. Clem McBean was a surveyor in the mines and the family...
'
24 November 2006 - 25 February 2007
'Richard Long
Richard Long (artist)
Richard Long is an English sculptor, photographer and painter, one of the best known British land artists. Long is the only artist to be shortlisted for the Turner Prize four times, and he is reputed to have refused the prize in 1984...
'