Author Archives: Katherine

Two new exhibitions announced for Spring 2020

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Braintree Museum staff looking at Gauguin Prints

We are thrilled to be working with our partners on two exhibitions due to run through the spring of 2020. Both exhibitions are the result of long-term collaborations, that have included months of planning, research and visits to our collection. They are a fantastic opportunity for us to share great works from the Courtauld collection with our partners across the UK and to look at these works in new contexts.

From 1st February Braintree Museum will be focusing on the history of the Courtauld family and the textile business in Courtaulds: Origins, Innovation, Family. Alongside some fascinating artefacts, including a suffragette poster designed by Catherine Courtauld and the remains from Augustin Courtauld’s Arctic flag, will be a display devoted to the art collection of Samuel Courtauld centered around four Gauguin prints from the Courtauld Gallery. The original woodblock prints from Gauguin’s Noa Noa series were purchased by Samuel Courtauld shortly after they were printed by Gauguin’s youngest son in 1925.

New stories of past Courtauld company employees and family members recorded by volunteers as part of the Courtauld National programme will be woven into the exhibition alongside newly uncovered documents, images and testimonies.

In Preston, the Harris Museum, Art Gallery and Library will explore drawing in all its forms in The Artful Line: Drawings from the Harris Collection and The Courtauld Gallery, which opens on 15th February. Featuring works from the 17th century to the present day, the exhibition includes drawings by Angelica Kauffman, William Blake, Dante Gabriel Rossetti, Frank Auerbach and Deanna Petherbridge. Each drawing offers a unique insight into the mind of the artist and the process of making art.

The latest in a series of projects with the Harris to celebrate our links through the Courtaulds textile factory, this exhibition marks the 40th anniversary of the closure of the factory in Preston. Inspired by the site, the history of the company and the people who worked there, local artists Gavin Renshaw, Kathryn Poole and Anita George have made new work for the exhibition.

To find out more about the exhibitions please visit our partner websites:

Braintree Museum: https://www.braintreemuseum.co.uk/exhibitions/

The Harris: http://www.harrismuseum.org.uk/exhibitions

GCSE History students investigate Courtaulds Ltd sources

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Lorna Kernahan discussing sources with students

In November and December 2019 we worked with Greenfield Valley Heritage Centre to deliver two day-long workshops with year 10 and year 11 students at Ysgol Treffynnon in Holywell, Flintshire. The sessions were designed to develop students’ skills in analysing historical sources and communicating and presenting their ideas to others. Investigating a handling collection of Courtaulds Ltd artefacts and photographs, as well as oral history recordings from people who worked in the local Courtaulds Ltd factories and images of works from The Courtauld Collection, students made some relevant and creative connections and prepared some very informative and well-planned presentations. Students from Ysgol Treffynnon are now looking forward to visiting London to experience works from the Collection first hand in the Spring term.

“Very useful! Really good use of sources, consideration of inference, reliability and different mediums. We do actually study aspects of mid-19th Century industry and economy.” – Head of Humanities, Ysgol Treffynnon

“I learned the way that different sources are collected and used to create new ideas about the past and what certain things were using the evidence from the sources” – year 11 student

“I learnt how to analyse sources better and analyse objects by linking them to their history” – year 11 student

Connecting young people with Courtaulds in Coventry

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A tv screen shows the film made by young volunteers in the Radical Drawing exhibition space

Guest Blog by Thanh Sinden – Inclusion and Engagement Specialist

Over the summer of 2019 I brought together 10 young people to produce a short film about former employees and their working memories at Courtaulds factories in Coventry. The film project focussed on supporting the young people to gain media and interviewing skills and knowledge such as optimum environment settings, lights, sounds and camera settings as well as how to approach and draw out the best interviews from interviewees. Making people feel comfortable and the type of questions that would get a good story, being sensitive and ethical about recording people’s oral history. The project had to take place on a short and tight timescale due to filming schedules and availabilities of the volunteers. ‘I particularly enjoyed the social element to this project, from getting to know the team members and working together, to meeting the interviewees and know their varied and interesting stories.’

The young people felt proud and a great sense of achievement having no prior experience of doing this type of projects before. ‘I definitely feel more connected to the local population and their history and learned more about the community than I would’ve from merely reading.’

Looking ahead at future projects I would like to support the further engagement, development of skills and interest of the young people and widen participation to more young people in Coventry. It would be great for future projects to enable more people to connect with a creative and heritage project like the Courtaulds film project. Creating more opportunities to work with a great team of people at the Herbert to support the building of skills, knowledge and develop confidence and enjoyment of Coventry’s history with young people.

‘Last but not least, helping on a project that contributes to the local social and historic heritage was very satisfying and sparked my interest in joining similar projects in the future.’

Wolverhampton Art Gallery

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People looking closely at 3 paintings

Our partners from Wolverhampton Art Gallery joined us recently to explore our collections, ahead of our contribution to their exhibition celebrating the centenary of the Wolverhampton Society of Artists (WSA).

Despite the best efforts of the stormy weather to disrupt the day, we were very pleased to welcome eight visitors from Wolverhampton to take a look at our collections with an introduction from Barnaby Wright, followed by networking and meetings with other members of the Courtauld team in the afternoon.

In December, the Wolverhampton Society of Artists exhibition will feature a special display celebrating the influence of Samuel Courtauld on the art world in Britain in the early 20th Century, and exploring the artistic context in which the WSA came to be formed. Included in the display will be exceptional works by C.R. Nevinson, Vanessa Bell and Roger Fry, as well as archive material relating to Courtaulds Ltd which began operating in Wolverhampton in 1927.

During the research day we were all able to get up close to these works and engage in lively discussion about the many links between the artists, Wolverhampton and the Courtauld collections. As well as planning an exciting programme of public events and volunteering opportunities to run alongside the exhibition and throughout 2020.

The exhibition runs from 14th December to 16th February. Find out more about the exhibition and how to get involved in volunteering on the Wolverhampton Art Gallery website: http://www.wolverhamptonart.org.uk/whats-on/wolverhampton-society-of-artists-centenary-exhibition/

Herbert Art Gallery and Museum visit the Courtauld

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stundents and researchers looking at a print on a woodern stand

In preparation for the opening of Radical Drawing in October, the Herbert team joined us at the Courtauld on August 6th to take a look at our prints and drawings collection.

We were delighted to host members of the curatorial, learning, conservation and marketing teams at the Herbert, and we were joined by a wide variety of Courtauld staff from the Gallery and Public Programmes. In the morning we got a chance to take a close look at the 16 amazing works travelling to Coventry in October, where they’ll join works from the Herbert and the University of Warwick. Expert guidance was on hand from Rachel Sloan (Assistant Curator of Works on Paper), Kate Edmondson (Conservator of Works on Paper) and Barnaby Wright (Deputy Head of The Courtauld Gallery and Daniel Katz Curator of 20th Century Art).

The prints and drawings in the exhibition range in date from the 16th to the 21st Century and demonstrate a variety of techniques and themes, united by their innovative and creative approaches to drawn marks and lines.

After a great lunch, provided by Good Measure, we got to work on the details with meetings about the public engagement, events and marketing for the exhibition, as well as the opportunity to research the background of the works and some of the techniques used to create them. The highlight of the day was the opportunity to work so closely and collaboratively with colleagues to develop this exciting exhibition and associated programme of activities.

Radical Drawing: Works from the Courtauld and Coventry opens on 18th October 2019 at the Herbert Art Gallery and Museum and runs until 19th January 2020. Check back soon for details of events and ways to get involved.

Partner Networking Day

Events Networks No Comments
a person delivering a powerpoint presentation for the partners networking day

On 26th April we welcomed 18 staff members and volunteers from the Courtauld National Programme’s eight partner organisations to take part in the first of our annual networking events.

The partners from across the UK, which include The Herbert, Ulster Museum, The Harris, Braintree District Museum, Ashton College, Greenfields Heritage Site, Wolverhampton Art Gallery and The Ferens, are at the heart of the National Programme (part of the larger Courtauld Connects project) collaborating with the Courtauld Gallery on exhibitions, oral history projects, volunteer activity and workshops with schools and colleges. A key aim of the national programme is to build relationships that allow for the sharing of ideas and experiences across a variety of cultural and educational partners, and the networking days are an essential part of developing these connections.

The activities during the day were highly interactive, with a focus on developing relationships, sharing best practice and discussion around two significant strands of the programme; engaging new audiences and communities, and engaging young people aged 14-25. The workshops included input from members of the gallery, public programmes and digitisation teams at the Courtauld and presentations from partners about their experiences with the programme so far. The team at the Harris shared their approach to engaging new audiences through a café at the former Courtaulds Ltd site; Anna Liesching from Ulster Museum introduced us to innovative event programming, such as feminist Wiki-edit-a-thons; and Sarah Way spoke about volunteer recruitment and retention in the Courtauld digitisation project. We also heard about a successful pilot run by our own public programmes team with Greenfields Heritage Site to engage secondary school students with their local heritage through drawing.

Held at the new Vernon Square campus, there was also an opportunity to introduce our partners to the work of our staff and students, through a tour of the conservation facilities and Resfest. We were able to speak to and observe the work of third year Conservation of Easel Paintings students and to learn more about how the department could support the partner’s own collections through student projects. In the evening, Robert Rose, Museums Manager of Braintree District Museum, presented on the legacy of the Courtauld family in the local area to a large and diverse audience at Resfest, while other partners were able to find out more about the work of the Research Forum and get to know each other better in an informal setting.

The ideas and enthusiasm generated by the event show how important the networking aspect of the programme is and over the next four years we will offer more formal and informal opportunities for our partners to share their expertise and learn from each other.