Leeds Art Gallery in

Leeds Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by populati ...

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, is a gallery, part of the

Leeds Museums & Galleries Leeds Museums and Galleries is a museum service run by the Leeds City Council in West Yorkshire. It manages nine sites and is the largest museum service in England and Wales run by a local authority. Visitor attractions * Abbey House Museum *Ki ...

group, whose collection of 20th-century

British Art The Art of the United Kingdom refers to all forms of visual art in or associated with the United Kingdom since the formation of the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707 and encompasses English art, Scottish art, Welsh art and Irish art, and forms ...

was designated by the British government in 1997 as a collection "of national importance". Its collection also includes 19th-century and earlier art works. It is a grade II

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

owned and administered by

Leeds City Council Leeds City Council is the local authority of the City of Leeds in West Yorkshire, England. It is a metropolitan district council, one of five in West Yorkshire and one of 36 in the metropolitan counties of England, and provides the majority of l ...

, linked on the West to

Leeds Central Library Leeds Central Library is a public library in Leeds. Situated in the city centre, on Calverley Street, it houses the city library service's single largest general lending and reference collection and hosts the Leeds Art Gallery. Services avai ...

and on the East via a bridge to the

Henry Moore Institute Henry may refer to: People *Henry (given name) *Henry (surname) * Henry Lau, Canadian singer and musician who performs under the mononym Henry Royalty * Portuguese royalty ** King-Cardinal Henry, King of Portugal ** Henry, Count of Portugal, ...

with which it shares some sculptures. A

Henry Moore Henry Spencer Moore (30 July 1898 – 31 August 1986) was an English artist. He is best known for his semi- abstract monumental bronze sculptures which are located around the world as public works of art. As well as sculpture, Moore produced ...

sculpture, ''Reclining Woman: Elbow'' (1981), stands in front of the entrance. The entrance hall contains Leeds' oldest civic sculpture, a 1712 marble statue of Queen Anne. In front of the gallery is ''Victoria Square'', at the eastern end of which is the city's

war memorial A war memorial is a building, monument, statue, or other edifice to celebrate a war or victory, or (predominating in modern times) to commemorate those who died or were injured in a war. Symbolism Historical usage It has ...

. This square is often used for rallies and demonstrations because of the speakers' dais provided by the raised entrance to the gallery.

History

The original concept of this gallery was initiated by an executive committee formed in 1876 for the purpose, by Leeds Fine Art Society. The original committee included its president, the Marquis of Ripon, Hon. Sec. John Joseph Willson, Rev. John Gott (vicar of Leeds, and son of

Benjamin Gott Benjamin Gott (24 June 1762 – 14 February 1840) was one of the leading figures in the industrial revolution, in the field of textiles. His factory at Armley Mills, Armley, Leeds, was once the largest factory in the world and is now home to the ...

John Atkinson Grimshaw John Atkinson Grimshaw (6 September 1836 – 13 October 1893) was an English Victorian-era artist best known for his nocturnal scenes of urban landscapes.Alexander Robertson, ''Atkinson Grimshaw'', London, Phaidon Press, 1996 H. J. Dyos and ...

, and architect

William Henry Thorp William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of Engl ...

(1852–1944). The gallery was built between 1886–88 by Thorp, as an extension to the Municipal Buildings to the west (built 1878–84 by

George Corson George Corson (1829–1910) was a Scottish architect active in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. Background He was born in Dumfries, where he was articled to Walter Newall before moving to Leeds in 1849 to work with his brother William Reid Cor ...

, now housing

). It opened on 3 October 1888 as Leeds City Art Gallery and was paid for by public subscription, collected in honour of

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 21 ...

's Golden Jubilee in 1887. It was opened by the

Mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well a ...

, Alderman Archibald Witham Scarr (1827–1904), with the artist

Hubert von Herkomer Sir Hubert von Herkomer (born as Hubert Herkomer; 26 May 1849 – 31 March 1914) was a Bavarian-born British painter, pioneering film-director, and composer. Though a very successful portrait artist, especially of men, he is mainly remembered fo ...

in attendance. What is now the Tiled Hall Café was the sculpture gallery, having been modified from the Reading Room of the adjacent public library, to be illuminated by electricity. All other galleries were lit by daylight from rooflights. The new building had a central court of two storeys with a glass roof and a fountain of Burmatofts faience. (A floor was later put in to create additional space.) In 1912, the Leeds Art Collections Fund (now known as the

Leeds Art Fund The Leeds Art Fund (LAF), formerly the Leeds Art Collections Fund (LACF) is one of Britain's oldest supporting art gallery "friends" organisations. It was founded in Leeds on 11 November 1912 by Frank Rutter, who was the newly appointed curator of ...

) was formed to support the gallery's acquisitions. At its centenary exhibition in 2012, it displayed the 430 works it had helped to acquire for the city. In 1982 it was modified, turning the entrance from the East side to the South, on the Headrow, with an extension for the sculpture collection. A further development was the conversion of three Victorian houses on Cookridge street to the Henry Moore Institute, which is now linked by a bridge to the gallery and contains the main sculpture collections. The new building was opened by Her Majesty the Queen on 26 November 1982. A £1.5 million renovation was completed in June 2007, including opening up the magnificent Victorian Tiled Hall (used as a café and bookshop) which links the gallery and the library, and the former Queen's Gallery was named after local businessman and patron of the arts,

Arnold Ziff Israel Arnold Ziff OBE (31 January 1927 – 14 July 2004) was a British businessman and philanthropist, who particularly donated to good causes within Leeds, West Yorkshire. He was made a Freeman of the City of London in 1979 and received an OB ...

. At first floor level there is direct access from the gallery to the Art Library. The gallery includes a ground floor lecture theatre named after Henry Moore which is used for a variety of events. It closed again in January 2016 for extensive renovation, re-opening 13 October 2017. The renovation uncovered the glass roof in the Central Court Gallery, which had been covered by a false ceiling. An abstract wall painting by Lothar Götz was provided to brighten up the Victorian staircase. File:LCAG Interior 26 June 2018 Queen Anne.jpg, 1712 statue of Queen Anne File:Leeds City Art Gallery plaque 26 June 2018.jpg, 1982 commemorative plaque File:LCAG Interior 26 June 2018 Ziff Gallery.jpg, Ziff Gallery (formerly the Queen's Room) File:LCAG Interior 26 June 2018 upper gallery 1.jpg, The glass roof uncovered in 2016 File:LCAG Interior 26 June 2018 1.jpg, Main staircase and lecture theatre File:LCAG Interior 26 June 2018 sculpture gallery.jpg, Ground floor sculpture gallery File:LCAG Interior July 2018 Landing 4.jpg, First floor landing and exhibition area

On display

Works on display in the galleries include : Scotland Forever!

*Paintings ** ''

The Shadow of Death ''The Shadow of Death'' is a religious painting by William Holman Hunt, on which he worked from 1870 to 1873, during his second trip to the Holy Land. It depicts Jesus as a young man prior to his ministry, working as a carpenter. He is shown ...

'' (1870–73),

William Holman Hunt William Holman Hunt (2 April 1827 – 7 September 1910) was an English painter and one of the founders of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood. His paintings were notable for their great attention to detail, vivid colour, and elaborate symbolism. ...

** ''

Scotland Forever! ''Scotland Forever!'' is an 1881 oil painting by Lady Butler depicting the start of the charge of the Royal Scots Greys, a British heavy cavalry regiment that charged with other British heavy cavalry at the Battle of Waterloo in 1815. The paint ...

'' (1881),

Elizabeth Thompson Elizabeth Southerden Thompson (3 November 1846 – 2 October 1933), later known as Lady Butler, was a British painter who specialised in painting scenes from British military campaigns and battles, including the Crimean War and the Napoleonic ...

** ''The Bridesmaid'' (1883–85),

James Tissot Jacques Joseph Tissot (; 15 October 1836 – 8 August 1902), anglicized as James Tissot (), was a French painter and illustrator. He was a successful painter of fashionable, modern scenes and society life in Paris before moving to London in 1871 ...

** ''

The Lady of Shalott Looking at Lancelot ''The Lady of Shalott Looking at Lancelot'' is an oil-on-canvas painting by John William Waterhouse, completed in 1894. It measures . The artist presented it to Leeds Art Gallery in 1895. Description This is the second of three major paint ...

'' (c.1894),

J. W. Waterhouse John William Waterhouse (6 April 184910 February 1917) was an English painter known for working first in the Academic style and for then embracing the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood's style and subject matter. His artworks were known for their dep ...

** ''The Tin Mine'' (1942),

Graham Sutherland Graham Vivian Sutherland (24 August 1903 – 17 February 1980) was a prolific English artist. Notable for his paintings of abstract landscapes and for his portraits of public figures, Sutherland also worked in other media, including printmaking ...

* Sculpture ** ''Hieroglyph'' -

Barbara Hepworth Dame Jocelyn Barbara Hepworth (10 January 1903 – 20 May 1975) was an English artist and sculptor. Her work exemplifies Modernism and in particular modern sculpture. Along with artists such as Ben Nicholson and Naum Gabo, Hepworth was a leadi ...

** ''Mother and Child'' -

** ''The Leeds Brick Man'' -

Anthony Gormley Sir Antony Mark David Gormley (born 30 August 1950) is a British sculptor. His works include the ''Angel of the North'', a public sculpture in Gateshead in the north of England, commissioned in 1994 and erected in February 1998; ''Another Pl ...

"Ten key works"

The gallery's visitor leaflet suggesting "Ten key works" for a short visit lists the following items (listed here in date order): *''Retribution'',

Edward Armitage Edward Armitage (20 May 1817 – 24 May 1896) was an English Victorian-era painter whose work focused on historical, classical and biblical subjects. Family background Armitage was born in London to a family of wealthy Yorkshire industrialis ...

, 1858 *''

The Age of Bronze ''The Age of Bronze'' (french: L'Âge d'airain) is a bronze statue by the French sculptor Auguste Rodin (1840–1917). The figure is of a life-size nude male, 72 in. (182.9 cm) high. Rodin continued to produce casts of the statue for ...

'',

Auguste Rodin François Auguste René Rodin (12 November 184017 November 1917) was a French sculptor, generally considered the founder of modern sculpture. He was schooled traditionally and took a craftsman-like approach to his work. Rodin possessed a uniqu ...

, 1877 (cast 1906) *''The Valley of Shadows'',

Evelyn De Morgan Evelyn De Morgan (30 August 1855 – 2 May 1919), née Pickering, was an English painter associated early in her career with the later phase of the Pre-Raphaelite Movement, and working in a range of styles including Aestheticism and Symbolis ...

, 1899 * ''Maternity'',

Jacob Epstein Sir Jacob Epstein (10 November 1880 – 21 August 1959) was an American-British sculptor who helped pioneer modern sculpture. He was born in the United States, and moved to Europe in 1902, becoming a British subject in 1911. He often produc ...

, 1910 *''Praxitella'',

Wyndham Lewis Percy Wyndham Lewis (18 November 1882 – 7 March 1957) was a British writer, painter and critic. He was a co-founder of the Vorticist movement in art and edited ''BLAST,'' the literary magazine of the Vorticists. His novels include ''Tarr'' ( ...

, 1921 *''Reclining Figure'',

, 1929 * ''Painting'',

Francis Bacon Francis Bacon, 1st Viscount St Alban (; 22 January 1561 – 9 April 1626), also known as Lord Verulam, was an English philosopher and statesman who served as Attorney General and Lord Chancellor of England. Bacon led the advancement of both ...

, 1950 *''Postcard Flag (Union Jack)'',

Tony Cragg Sir Anthony Douglas Cragg (born Liverpool 9 April 1949) is an Anglo-German sculptor, resident in Wuppertal, Germany since 1977. Early life and training Tony Cragg was born in Liverpool."Tony Cragg." ''Contemporary Artists''. Farmington Hills, ...

, 1981 *''Maquette for Leeds Brick Man'',

Antony Gormley Sir Antony Mark David Gormley (born 30 August 1950) is a British sculptor. His works include the ''Angel of the North'', a public sculpture in Gateshead in the north of England, commissioned in 1994 and erected in February 1998; ''Another Pla ...

, 1986 *''The Artist in her Studio'',

Paula Rego Paula or PAULA may refer to: Arts and entertainment Fictional characters * Paula, in video game ''EarthBound'' * Paula, in ''The Larry Sanders Show'' * Paula Campbell (''EastEnders''), in 2003 Film and television * ''Paula'' (1915 film), a si ...

, 1993

Notes and references

External links

Leeds Art Gallery website
* {{Authority control Museums in Leeds Art museums and galleries in West Yorkshire Grade II listed buildings in Leeds Grade II listed museum buildings Art museums established in 1888 1888 establishments in England Arts in Leeds

History

On display

"Ten key works"

See also

Notes and references

External links