Category Archives: Exhibition

Two new exhibitions announced for Spring 2020

Exhibition No Comments
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

Connecting young people with Courtaulds in Coventry

Exhibition Guest blog Volunteers No Comments
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.’

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.