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Compton Verney Art Gallery

Coordinates: 52°10′24″N 1°32′49″W / 52.1732°N 1.547°W / 52.1732; -1.547
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Lot and his daughters by Lucas Cranach the Elder in the Compton Verney Art Gallery.

Compton Verney Art Gallery is an art gallery at Compton Verney, Warwickshire, England. It is housed in Compton Verney House, a restored Grade I listed 18th-century mansion surrounded by 120 acres (49 ha) of parkland which was landscaped by Lancelot 'Capability' Brown.[1]

Overview

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The Art Gallery is home to six permanent collections including Neapolitan art from 1600 to 1800; Northern European medieval art from 1450 to 1650; British portraits including paintings of Henry VIII, Elizabeth I and Edward VI and works by Joshua Reynolds; Chinese bronzes including objects from the Neolithic and Shang periods; British folk art;[2] and the Enid Marx/Margaret Lambert Collection of folk art from around the world which inspired the textile designs of 20th century artist Enid Marx.[3]

History

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In 1993, the Peter Moores Foundation (PMF) bought the site, including the near-derelict mansion, and gifted it to the specially-created charitable trust Compton Verney House Trust (CVHT).[4]

Following a £45 million building project to restore the Grade-I listed Georgian mansion[5] and add a Stanton Williams designed modern wing to house exhibition spaces and visitor facilities,[6] Compton Verney staged a preview season in 1998 on the newly restored ground floor rooms, showcasing the important British Folk Art Collection, which the PMF had already bought from collector Andras Kalman.[7]

Following this Compton Verney continued to engage with people in the local area via a series of outreach projects and art installations within the grounds. Compton Verney fully opened to the public as a major, nationally accredited art gallery in March 2004.[5] The special exhibitions programme offers both historic and contemporary shows and is designed to appeal to a wide audience.

Art exhibitions

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The following art exhibitions have been held:[8]

2000
2001
  • Folk Art in Village Halls - Compton Verney took the British Folk Art Collection on a tour around South Warwickshire as part of Museums and Galleries Month
  • John Frankland: Untitled Boulder – a vast climbing boulder within the 18th-century 'Capability' Brown landscape.
  • Tim Brennan: Three Manoeuvres - Brennan's 'manoeuvres' take the form of journeys and walks. Using the model of the historical guided tour, Brennan devised a series of walks in response to the transient state of Compton Verney
  • Marcus Coates: CB3CV ChiffChaff - Coates is particularly interested in the relationship between animals and humans. GB3CV ChiffChaff was an attempt to search for parallels between the communication systems of wild birds and amateur radio enthusiasts
2002
  • John Kippin: Beauty Harmony Truth: Navigating the English Country House
2003
  • Jacqueline Donachie, Ben Sadler, Graham Parker, Matthew Thompson: 'Walkabout' – a series of artists' walks inspired by the local area
  • Aleksandra Mir: Plane Landing - Working in partnership with Cameron Balloons in Bristol, Mir created a giant inflatable plane (20 m by 15 m) that hovered above the grounds of Compton Verney as if about to land.
  • Keith Wilson: Cattle Market – a series of temporary sculptures created for the grounds of Compton Verney.
  • Bob and Roberta Smith: Mobile Reality Creator
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
  • Fatal Attraction: Diana and Actaeon – The Forbidden Gaze
  • Georgian Portraits: Seeing is Believing
  • Constable Portraits: The Painter and His Circle
  • The Artists Studio – works by: J. M. W. Turner, Eric Ravilious, Gwen John, Paula Rego, Lisa Milroy and Jeremy Deller.
2010
2011
  • Alfred Wallis and Ben Nicholson
  • Wool Work: A Sailors Art
  • What the Folk say: Contemporary Artist interventions
  • Stanley Spencer and the English Garden
  • 'Capability' Brown and the landscapes of Middle England
  • Quentin Blake: As Large as Life
  • Remember, remember: A history of fireworks in Britain
2012
2013
2014

2015

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  • The Nonconformists: photographs by Martin Parr - organised in collaboration with La Fabrica, Madrid.
  • Canaletto - Celebrating Britain
  • The National Gallery's Masterpiece Display - The National Gallery’s Masterpiece Tour for 2015
  • The Hart Silversmiths: A Living Tradition - organised in collaboration with The University of Warwick and The Hart Silversmiths Trust
  • The Arts & Crafts House: Then and Now
  • Periodic Tales

Location

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Compton Verney Art Gallery is situated on the B4086 between the villages of Kineton and Wellesbourne. Stratford-upon-Avon lies 14.4 kilometres (8.9 miles) northwest of Compton Verney, with Warwick and Leamington 14.4 kilometres (8.9 miles) to the north.[10]

The nearest railway stations to Compton Verney Art Gallery are: Warwick Parkway about 16 kilometres (9.9 miles), Leamington Spa 16 kilometres (9.9 miles) and Banbury 22 kilometres (14 miles) It is 10 kilometres (6.2 miles) from junction 12 of the M40 motorway and is also close to Birmingham Airport.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Compton Verney". UK: Historic Houses Association. Retrieved 9 February 2015.
  2. ^ Previously displayed in the former chapel subsequently occupied by the Museum of Bath Architecture. "Compton Verney". The Art Fund. Retrieved 9 February 2015.
  3. ^ Sweet, Fay (19 May 1998). "Obituary: Enid Marx". The Independent. Retrieved 9 February 2015.
  4. ^ "Compton Verney: A House Reborn". UK: Peter Moores Foundation. Archived from the original on 23 December 2005. Retrieved 16 February 2015.
  5. ^ a b "UK's newest art gallery opens right here". UK: BBC. Retrieved 16 February 2015.
  6. ^ "Stanton Williams Project at Compton Verney". Stanton Williams. Retrieved 16 February 2015.
  7. ^ "Andras Kalman Obituary". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 16 February 2015.
  8. ^ "Past exhibitions at Compton Verney". UK: Compton Verney. Retrieved 16 February 2015.
  9. ^ Jones, Jonathan. "British Folk Art Review (Tate & Compton Verney)". The Guardian.
  10. ^ "Directions to Compton Verney". UK: Compton Verney Art Gallery. Retrieved 9 February 2015.
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52°10′24″N 1°32′49″W / 52.1732°N 1.547°W / 52.1732; -1.547