Graves Art Gallery facts for kids
The Graves Art Gallery is a cool place to see art in Sheffield, England. You can find it right above the Central Library in the middle of Sheffield city. This gallery shows off amazing art from both British and European art artists. They have a permanent collection, which means some art is always there, and they also have special shows that change often.
The art here tells a story about how art has changed over time. You can see different styles and movements through works by famous artists. These include J. M. W. Turner, Alfred Sisley, and Sir Stanley Spencer. More modern artists like Helen Chadwick, Marc Quinn, and Bridget Riley are also featured. The gallery is looked after by an organization called Museums Sheffield.
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History of the Gallery
How Graves Gallery Started
The Graves Art Gallery was built thanks to a generous businessman named John George Graves. He became rich from one of the first mail-order businesses in the country. Mr. Graves also gave nearly 700 paintings from his own art collection to the gallery. Many of these paintings are still on display today! Other people, like John Newton Mappin from Mappin and Webb, also helped the gallery.
The Central Library and the Graves Gallery (which is on the third floor) first opened in July 1934. It was created to help people learn and enjoy art. It was a very modern building for its time. It had special heating, air conditioning, electric clocks that all showed the same time, and five lifts!
Growing the Art Collection
The gallery's first director was John Rothenstein, who later became the director of the famous Tate Gallery. After him, the painter George Hamilton Constantine took over from 1938 until the 1950s. Both Rothenstein and Constantine were very important in making the gallery's collection of 20th-century British art even bigger. They looked for unique and high-quality artworks.
They bought pieces by many important artists for the city. Some of these artists include Walter Sickert, Harold Gilman, Gwen John, C. R. W. Nevinson, Jacob Epstein, Stanley Spencer, William Roberts, Paul Nash, Christopher Wood, David Bomberg, L. S. Lowry, John Minton, Henry Moore, Keith Vaughan, Prunella Clough, and Frank Auerbach.
New Art for the Gallery
In the late 1980s, the gallery almost stopped buying new art because of money problems. But in 1999, Museums Sheffield started buying art again. They got help from groups like the Contemporary Art Society, the Heritage Lottery Fund, and the National Art Collections Fund. Private donors also helped.
In recent years, there's been a lot of excitement about adding more modern art. This has allowed the gallery to buy important works. For example, they acquired Marc Quinn’s Kiss and Sam Taylor-Wood’s Self-Portrait Suspended VII. These purchases were made possible with support from the J.G. Graves Charitable Trust, the Art Fund, and the V&A Purchase Grant Fund.
In 2009, the gallery was updated and the art was re-arranged around different themes. Some important recent temporary shows included "The Blk Art Group" and "Andy Warhol: Late Self-Portraits."
Past Exhibitions
The Graves Art Gallery often hosts special exhibitions that change over time. These shows bring new and exciting art for visitors to enjoy. Here are a few examples of past exhibitions:
Exhibitions in 2012
- 11 April – 1 December 2012: Andy Warhol-Late Self-Portraits
Exhibitions in 2011
- 27 August 2011 – 24 March 2012: The Blk Art Group
- 31 March – 13 August 2011: The Triumph of Maximillian
Exhibitions in 2010
- 21 July 2010 – 19 March 2011: Paul Nash and Fay Godwin
- 17 April – 3 July 2010: 'Writers of Influence: Shakespeare to J. K. Rowling' from the National Portrait Gallery Collection
Exhibitions in 2009
- 19 December 2009 – 27 March 2010: 'Robert Mapplethorpe' – as part of ARTIST ROOMS on Tour with The Art Fund
- 21 November 2009 – 20 March 2010: 'Comedians: 1940 to Now' – Photographs from the National Portrait Gallery Collection
- 16 September – 5 December 2009: 'A Picture of Us?'
- 4 April – 7 November 2009: 'Hogarth: Industry and Idleness'
- 4 April – 7 November 2009: 'Graves Gallery 75th Anniversary'
- 20 May – 29 August 2009: 'Moore, Hepworth, Nicholson: A Nest of Gentle Artists'
- 18 February – 2 May 2009: 'A Picture of You?'
- 10 January – 21 March 2009: 'Family Album'
