Wednesbury Museum and Art Gallery is a purpose-built

Victorian Victorian or Victorians may refer to: 19th century * Victorian era, British history during Queen Victoria's 19th-century reign ** Victorian architecture ** Victorian house ** Victorian decorative arts ** Victorian fashion ** Victorian literature ...

art gallery in Wednesbury in the West Midlands of England. It is notable for its Ruskin Pottery collection and for hosting the first public display of the Stuckism art movement.

Building

The building was built in 1891 to house a collection of paintings, drawings and watercolours donated by Mrs Mary Ann Richards on behalf of her late husband Edwin, and cost £5821 to build. It was designed by West Bromwich architects Wood and Kendrick, and built by Henry Wilcock of Wolverhampton. Four panels on the building's facade show the heads of Sir Christopher Wren to represent Architecture, Sir Joshua Reynolds for Art,

John Flaxman John Flaxman (6 July 1755 – 7 December 1826) was a British sculptor and draughtsman, and a leading figure in British and European Neoclassicism. Early in his career, he worked as a modeller for Josiah Wedgwood's pottery. He spent several yea ...

for Sculpture, and Sir Isaac Newton for Science. Two busts sit in recesses above the entrance, of Alderman Williams and Alderman Lloyd, both mayors of Wednesbury and chairmen of the Art Gallery Committee. Following the Second World War, the museum was used by the council as offices, but returned to use as a museum in 1972, modernised and renovated.

Permanent exhibitions

The museum holds a number of permanent displays:

The Ruskin Pottery collection

Ruskin Pottery was made in Sandwell, and is sought by collectors globally. The pottery on display exemplifies numerous types of glaze, including Bleu Soufflé, Lustre, Flambé and Crystalline.

The Richards Gallery

The gallery was originally built to display a large collection of works owned by Wednesbury residents, Edwin and Mary Richards. The couple were prolific collectors of art and especially favoured landscapes. In her will, Mary donated her and her husband's collection of paintings to the town of Wednesbury. These are displayed in the Richards Gallery. The works were stored in caves in Kinver,

Staffordshire Staffordshire (; postal abbreviation Staffs.) is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. It borders Cheshire to the northwest, Derbyshire and Leicestershire to the east, Warwickshire to the southeast, the West Midlands Cou ...

during the Second World War. Only some of the paintings were returned to public display when the war ended. The collection now consists of fifty-four paintings, following a large sale by Wednesbury Borough Council in 1948.

Old toys and games

This gallery stores toys and games from Victorian to 20th century. Toy-handling activities are provided for

Key Stage 1 Key Stage 1 is the legal term for the two years of schooling in maintained schools in England and Wales normally known as Year 1 and Year 2, when pupils are aged between 5 and 7. This Key Stage normally covers pupils during infant school, although i ...

classes.

Joseph Gibbs

The museum has a significant collection of the works of local artist, Joseph Gibbs, including a probably posthumous portrait of Mary Ann Richards, dated 1891.

Kilvert medals

The museum holds the two Crimean War medals of former Wednesbury mayor, Alderman John Ashley Kilvert JP. They were noted missing in 1974, believed stolen. After passing through several hands, they were bought, innocently, by a medal collector from Walsall. After his death, his widow put them up for auction, when their origin was identified and she agreed to donate them back to the museum. The museum also has his portrait, in oil, in which he is wearing civic regalia. The artist is unknown.

Temporary exhibitions

The Museum hosts a lively series of temporary exhibitions which change every six months. 2003 Stuck in Wednesbury (1)

In 2003, the museum staged ''Stuck in Wednesbury'', the first show in a public gallery of the Stuckism international art movement.Milner, Frank ed., ''The Stuckists Punk Victorian'', p.210, National Museums Liverpool 2004, . An essay from the book is online a
stuckism.com
Between July and December 2013, the museum hosted an exhibition of works by the international video artist, Bill Viola. This exhibition was organised through the Artist Rooms programme in conjunction with the Tate Gallery and the National Galleries of Scotland. The works on display included ''Catherine's Rooms'', ''Four Hands'' and ''Surrender''. During the first half of 2014, the museum hosted an exhibition of portraits on loan from

Ingestre Hall Ingestre Hall is a Grade II* 17th-century Jacobean mansion situated at Ingestre, near Stafford, Staffordshire, England. Formerly the seat of the Earls Talbot and then the Earls of Shrewsbury, the hall is now owned by Sandwell Metropolitan Bor ...

, the 17th-century Jacobean mansion and seat of the

Earls Talbot Earl Talbot is a title that has been created twice in the Peerage of Great Britain. This branch of the Talbot family descends from the Hon. Sir Gilbert Talbot (died 1518), third son of John Talbot, 2nd Earl of Shrewsbury. His great-great-great ...

and the

Earls of Shrewsbury Earl of Shrewsbury () is a hereditary title of nobility created twice in the Peerage of England. The second earldom dates to 1442. The holder of the Earldom of Shrewsbury also holds the title of Earl of Waterford (1446) in the Peerage of Irelan ...

References

External links

Wednesbury Museum and Art Gallery website (Sandwell MBC microsite)
{{authority control Museums in the West Midlands (county) Art museums and galleries in the West Midlands (county) Toy museums in England Decorative arts museums in England Local museums in the West Midlands (county) Wednesbury Ceramics museums in the United Kingdom Art museums established in 1891 1891 establishments in England