![Cartwright Hall and fountain, Bradford (22nd October 2010)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5d/Cartwright_Hall_and_fountain%2C_Bradford_%2822nd_October_2010%29.jpg)
Cartwright Hall is the civic
art gallery
An art gallery is a room or a building in which visual art is displayed. In Western cultures from the mid-15th century, a gallery was any long, narrow covered passage along a wall, first used in the sense of a place for art in the 1590s. The lon ...
in
Bradford
Bradford is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Bradford district in West Yorkshire, England. The city is in the Pennines' eastern foothills on the banks of the Bradford Beck. Bradford had a population of 349,561 at the 2011 ...
,
West Yorkshire
West Yorkshire is a metropolitan and ceremonial county in the Yorkshire and Humber Region of England. It is an inland and upland county having eastward-draining valleys while taking in the moors of the Pennines. West Yorkshire came into exi ...
,
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
, situated about a mile from the city centre in the
Manningham district. It was built on the former site of Manningham Hall using a gift of £40,000 donated by
Samuel Lister
Samuel Cunliffe Lister, 1st Baron Masham (1 January 1815 – 2 February 1906), was an English inventor and industrialist, notable for inventing the Lister nip comb.
Early life
He was born in Calverley Hall (now Calverley House Farm- not to be ...
and it is named after
Edmund Cartwright
Edmund Cartwright (24 April 174330 October 1823) was an English inventor. He graduated from Oxford University and went on to invent the power loom. Married to local Elizabeth McMac at 19, he was the brother of Major John Cartwright, a politic ...
. The gallery which opened in 1904 initially had a display of artworks loaned from other galleries and private collections until it was able to purchase a permanent collection of
Victorian and
Edwardian
The Edwardian era or Edwardian period of British history spanned the reign of King Edward VII, 1901 to 1910 and is sometimes extended to the start of the First World War. The death of Queen Victoria in January 1901 marked the end of the Victori ...
works using money raised by the 1904 Bradford Exhibition.
Cartwright Hall stands in
Lister Park
Lister Park (also known as Manningham Park) is a picturesque public park in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England, between Manningham, Heaton and Frizinghall. It has won various national awards.
About the park
It is situated about a mile outsid ...
and enjoys scenic views of the city. Cartwright Hall has been held to represent ''"Bradford Baroque"'', a style of architecture typical of Bradford. It is however designed by the same architects as Glasgow's
Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum
Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum is a museum and art gallery in Glasgow, Scotland. It reopened in 2006 after a three-year refurbishment and since then has been one of Scotland's most popular visitor attractions. The museum has 22 galleries, h ...
(
Sir John W. Simpson and E.J. Milner Allen), also in the Baroque style.
The purpose-built gallery is home to a collection of permanent works, from Old Masters to 20th-century British paintings and sculpture.
Cartwright Hall also has a biennial open exhibition and contemporary and historical exhibitions by local, national and international artists. Since the mid 1980s the Bradford museum group has collected works that are associated with the cultural background of many post-war migrants to the Bradford area. Acquisitions include contemporary South Asian Art -
Islamic calligraphy
Islamic calligraphy is the artistic practice of handwriting and calligraphy, in the languages which use Arabic alphabet or the alphabets derived from it. It includes Arabic, Persian, Ottoman, and Urdu calligraphy.Chapman, Caroline (2012). '' ...
,
phulkari
Phulkari ( pa, ਫੁਲਕਾਰੀ) refers to the folk embroidery of the Punjab. Although Phulkari means floral work, the designs include not only flowers but also cover motifs and geometrical shapes.
The main characteristics of Phulkari embr ...
style illustrated textiles and items of contemporary Sikh art, including a portrait of
Guru Nanak
Gurū Nānak (15 April 1469 – 22 September 1539; Gurmukhi: ਗੁਰੂ ਨਾਨਕ; pronunciation: , ), also referred to as ('father Nānak'), was the founder of Sikhism and is the first of the ten Sikh Gurus. His birth is celebrated wor ...
.
In 1983 Cartwright Hall was briefly used as part of the musical number ''
Every Sperm is Sacred
"Every Sperm Is Sacred" is a musical sketch from the film ''Monty Python's The Meaning of Life''. A satire of Catholic teachings on reproduction that forbid masturbation and contraception, the song was released on the album '' Monty Python Sings ...
'' in the
Monty Python
Monty Python (also collectively known as the Pythons) were a British comedy troupe who created the sketch comedy television show '' Monty Python's Flying Circus'', which first aired on the BBC in 1969. Forty-five episodes were made over four ...
film, ''
The Meaning of Life''.
In 2003 an Unreal Tournament map was created featuring the inside of the hall as part of a contest for PC Format Magazine.
Notable holdings
*Tristram and Isoude stained-glass panels, by
Morris, Marshall, Faulkner & Co., 1862. Acquired via Cartwright Hall in 1917, they are now permanently on display at Cliffe Castle Museum, Keighley (also run by Bradford Museums and Galleries)
Notable staff
*
Nima Poovaya-Smith
Dr Ammanichanda Nima Poovaya-Smith OBE is a museum curator, art historian and writer. She is known for her work on transcultural and post-colonial South Asian museum collections in Bradford.
Early life and education
Poovaya-Smith was born in ...
, curator
See also
*
Listed buildings in Bradford (Manningham Ward)
Manningham is a ward in the metropolitan borough of the City of Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. It contains 76 listed buildings that are recorded in the National Heritage List for England. Of these, one is listed at Grade II*, the m ...
References
External links
Cartwright Hall on Bradford Museums and Galleries website
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Art museums and galleries in West Yorkshire
Tourist attractions in Bradford
Museums in Bradford
Buildings and structures in Bradford
Edwardian architecture
Art museums established in 1904
1904 establishments in England
Manningham, Bradford