History of the Ferens Art Gallery (part 1)
Hull Corporation owned very few paintings before the start of the twentieth century, apart from civic portraits that were hung in the old Town Hall (now part of the Guildhall collection). The first paintings were given for the city's permanent collection in 1902 by the Hull Society of Arts and Sir Albert Rollit. In 1905, Thomas Robinson Ferens began contributing to the city's art collection by offering £5,000 in five annual instalments, for purchasing works of art. The early collection of paintings was exhibited in the top floor of the Municipal Museum on Albion Street. Ferens was dissatisfied with the display space and began to campaign for a purpose built art gallery. In 1910 he opened a small suite of rooms, later known as the 'Victoria Galleries', above shops in the newly built City Hall. This new display space was gradually filled with works bought mainly by Ferens but also included a few works from the Municipal Museum. By 1917 Ferens felt that this gallery space was no longer sufficient and urged for a separate larger gallery to be built. #SUBHEADING# A site and a design for a new gallery #SUBHEADINGEND# Ferens bought the redundant Church of St. John the Evangelist and offered the site for the construction of a new art gallery and gave 35,000 pounds towards the building costs. The church had been the first post-Reformation church to be built in Hull in 1792 and was last used in 1917. It was demolished during the first half of 1924. It was decided to hold a competition to find suitable plans and designs for a new art gallery. Seventy nine designs were submitted, many of which were more ambitious than the funding that was available. The London-based architects S.N. Cooke and E.C. Davies were chosen and they also designed chairs and other furnishings for the gallery and court spaces. #SUBHEADING# Building Work commences #SUBHEADINGEND# Work started on the building in 1926 and on 13th October of the same year, the Prince of Wales, later Edward VIII, laid the gallery's foundation stone. This ceremony was part of a two day visit which also included visiting various factories and institutions across the city and a trip on the River Humber on the s.s. 'Brocklesby'. It is estimated that around 200,000 people turned out for the royal event. The gallery was built by the local firm of G.H. Panton & Sons who had also been responsible for building the City Hall which was completed in 1910. The gallery was built in classical style, with interior columns and Greek key borders. There are also twin Corinthian columns, a pedimented doorway; a classical swag frieze and stone balustrading along the roofline at the front entrance. The main entrance door is made of bronze with cast lion ornaments. The gallery was built of Portland stone and the central and entrance hall were of a grey-coloured mottled marble called 'Bianco del Mare'. This marble was almost lost at sea due to fire on board ship on its way from Italy but fortunately, the ship was able to dock at Brest harbour and transfer its cargo to another boat that was bound for Hull.
History of the Ferens Art Gallery (part 2)
The Ferens Art gallery was completed in eighteen months and opened in 1927. Read about the changes and develpments the gallery has been through from its opening to the present day.
'Interior of a Wallpaper Manufacturers Workshop'
The painting depicts the interior of Hardy's wallpaper printing workshop at Junction Dock Street, Hull. It is thought to show work being carried out at the premises around 1840-45. It is of particular interest because it shows the three main stages involved in the production of printed wallpaper using woodblocks at this time.
Late 18th and early 19th British and European Landscapes
Read on to discover how the genre of landscapes developed in eighteenth and nineteenth century Britain and Europe.
Dutch 17th Century Landscapes
The Ferens Art Gallery collection has a particularly good representation of the 17th century Dutch landscape tradition. Read on to find out more about how this genre developed and who was involved.
Peter Howson
Peter Howson is one of Britain's most important contemporary artists and the country's most recent Official War Artist. Although born in London in 1958, Howson is commonly associated with the new 'Glasgow Boys', a group of figurative artists who rose to fame during the 1970s and '80s.
Ulysses and the Sirens
One of the most popular works in the Ferens Art Gallery, it was purchased from the artist in 1910 for 600 pounds (the equivalent of 42,000 pounds at today's prices). However when it was first exhibited at the Royal Academy it received rather poor reviews. The Times newspaper was critical because it was not faithful to Homer's tale.
T. R. Ferens (part 2)
The name of Ferens is well-known throughout Hull. The city's Art Gallery bears his name, as does one of the main roads through the city, 'Ferensway'. It is quite surprising then that although he was a generous benefactor, successful businessman and M.P. in the city, he was not actually born in Hull, but in County Durham. Read on to find out more about his life.
Early 20th Century British Art - The Rise of Modernism
The period of British Art dating from the turn of the 20th century, marked the rise of modernism in response to the influences of French Impressionism and reaction against the Art establishment in the form of the Salon in Paris and the Royal Academy in London. This gave rise to the various movements into which impressionism divided through the works of Cezanne, Degas, Renoir, Van Gogh, Gauguin. It also led to the recognition of 'Post-Impressionism' and the ideas and methods of European modernism from Fauvism to Cubism.
Hull & Barnsley Railway Albums
Wonderful photographic images of the construction of the Hull & Barnsley Railway, now available to view on our collections website.
Early 20th Century British Art - Artists Groups
From the creation of 'Post-Impressionism' by Roger Fry in London, further groups began to form around the studios of particular artists, following the example of the leading independent artists in France. It is from this point that London began to contribute to the direction and development of modernism on an equal footing with Paris, with radical artists moving easily between both cities.
Early 20th Century British Art - Between the Wars
After the devastation of WWI, radical movements in art had retreated to more conservative forms that celebrated the local and familiar, representing a national character in relation to European art movements. However, some developments were completely original responses to the art that had gone before and an attempt to encompass the state of the natural and human world as it appeared to British artists of the time. This led to new forms of visual expression that represented the cutting edge of the Art World at the outbreak of WWII.
T. R. Ferens (part 1)
The name of Ferens is well-known throughout Hull. The city's Art Gallery bears his name, as does one of the main roads through the city, 'Ferensway'. It is quite surprising then that although he was a generous benefactor, successful businessman and M.P. in the city, he was not actually born in Hull, but in County Durham. Read on to find out more about his life.
