The Collection (Lincolnshire) facts for kids
The Collection is a cool museum and art gallery in Lincolnshire, England. It's actually two places joined together: the Usher Gallery and the City and County Museum. The museum part is in a new building right next to the Usher Gallery in the city of Lincoln.
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Discovering The Collection's Past
The Collection started in 2005. It was created by combining two older places. One was the 'Usher Gallery,' which opened in 1927. The other was the 'City and County Museum,' founded in 1906.
The first person in charge of the Lincoln City and County Museum was Arthur Smith. He was born in 1869 and passed away in 1947. Arthur Smith loved nature and moved to Lincoln for his job. He helped the museum get many important collections. These included collections of bugs, flies, and butterflies. The museum also got many bird specimens.
Arthur Smith retired in 1935. He moved away from Lincoln.
Where is The Collection Located?
The city of Lincoln has two main parts. One part is at the top of a big hill called the cliff. The other part is down in the Witham valley. The Collection museum is built on the steep slope between these two areas. It's also in the old Roman city. This area connected the Roman army fort to the river for trade.
Exploring The Collection's Buildings
The Usher Gallery Building
The Usher Gallery was built to hold the art collection of James Ward Usher. He left money in his will for this special purpose. A famous architect named Sir Reginald Blomfield designed it. The Prince of Wales, who later became Edward VIII, officially opened it on May 25, 1927.
The Usher Gallery is a simple building made of stone and brick. It has tall, flat columns and a decorated top edge. The main entrance has a fancy porch with a broken top. The gallery sits in a small park. It looks out over the lower part of the town.
The Usher Gallery is the only art gallery built specifically for public use in Lincolnshire. It is a very important historical building. The Lincoln City Council owns it, but the Lincolnshire County Council manages it.
The New Museum Building
A competition was held to find the best design for the new museum building. Panter Hudspith Architects won this competition. The new building opened its doors in October 2005. Before building started, archaeologists dug up the area. They found a piece of a Roman mosaic floor! This was exciting because the building was designed to sit above old Roman layers.
The new building uses a lot of local stone called Ancaster stone. It has a cool glass-covered area inside. This area is like a modern version of a medieval alleyway. It reminds people of the big glass roof at the British Museum.
The main entrance is at the top of the hill. When you enter, you'll see a cafe on your left. It looks out over a courtyard. On your right is the museum shop. After the reception desk, you enter a glass-covered hallway. This hallway goes from east to west. From here, you can go to the auditorium. Here, you might watch videos or get an introduction to the museum. You can also visit the education rooms. Or you can explore the archaeological collection. There's also the New Curtois Gallery, which hosts special traveling art shows.
What You Can See at The Collection
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Archaeological Treasures
The piece of Roman mosaic found during digging is now on display. It's part of a bigger exhibit. This exhibit shows history from the Ice age all the way to more recent times. The mosaic is the biggest one found in Lincoln in over 100 years!
The archaeological exhibit is set up like a timeline. You can see items from the Stone Age. Then you move through Roman, Anglo-Saxon, and Viking times. It even includes the Horncastle boar's head. There's also a lot of Iron Age material from a dig at Fiskerton. This includes the Fiskerton log boat. You can also see a huge satellite photograph of Lincolnshire. It's so big you can find fields and villages. It also shows how the land was formed and where the old Roman roads were.
Art and Decorative Arts
The Usher Gallery has many long-standing displays. These include furniture, clocks, and other beautiful decorative items. These came from James Ward Usher's original collection. There are also fine art paintings by famous artists. These include J. M. W. Turner, John Piper, and L. S. Lowry. The gallery is especially known for works by Peter De Wint. He used to live in Lincoln. Other artists whose works are displayed include Ivon Hitchens and Grayson Perry. The gallery also has four different-sized rooms for temporary art shows.
Modern Art Shows
The Usher Gallery often invites modern artists to show their work. These new pieces are displayed alongside the Usher's older collection. For example, in 2014, prints by Andy Warhol, Pablo Picasso, Salvador Dalí, and Henri Matisse were shown. These were part of a traveling exhibit called Modern Masters. In 2013, Professor Raimi Gbadamosi helped arrange a special show. It featured art from The Arts Council Collection and other modern artists.
Awards and Recognition
In May 2006, The Collection was chosen as one of four top museums. It was considered for the 2006 Gulbenkian Prize. This award celebrates new and exciting museums. The prize that year went to the SS Great Britain.
Future of the Usher Gallery
In 2019, there were ideas to close the Usher Gallery. The Lincolnshire County Council thought about turning the building into a place for weddings. They also said some of the artwork might move to the museum next door. Many people who love art were not happy about these plans. The council wanted to save money from its heritage budget. They thought they could save £100,000 each year by not running the Usher as an art gallery.
People held a public meeting on April 2, 2019, to talk about this. On April 13, an art march was held. This showed how much people wanted to keep the Usher Gallery open as an art space.
See also
In Spanish: The Collection (museo) para niños
