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Grace England: MA student bursary report

16 Jun 2021

Each year the Friends sponsor an internship at York Art Gallery for an MA student in the History of Art, University of York, to research an aspect of the collection. The most recent bursary was awarded to  Grace England whose research adds greatly to our understanding...

Early history of York School of Design

19 May 2021

Simon Spier, a former bursary student of the Friends, has recently published research into the early history of York School of Design. Established in 1842, the school was one of the first provincial branches of the Government School of Design which was set up with the...

Portrait by Parmigianino

6 May 2021

The Portrait of a Young Man with a Book by Parmigianino is our Artwork of the Month for May 2021. The painting is a treasure of the Gallery’s collection and a significant example of the work of this great artist. It is also a personal favourite of Anne Hall, a...

Artist Q&A: Ealish Wilson textiles artist

6 May 2021

Ealish Wilson is a York-based textiles artist whose work is created with traditional skills such as smocking and pleating and complemented by the tools of modern technology like digital printing. Here she is in conversation with Judith Glover, former Secretary of the...

Portrait of Charlotte Fitzroy

5 Apr 2021

Artwork of the Month for April 2021 is one of the highlights of the Gallery collection, the portrait, by Sir Peter Lely, of Charlotte Fitzroy, the illegitimate daughter of King Charles II. The child is shown accompanied by an unidentified page boy. The painting was...

Stafford Pottery Plaque

3 Mar 2021

Artwork of the Month for March 2021 is an earthenware plaque which is on display in the Wall of Pots at York Art Gallery. Sammi Scott, a PHD student at the University of York, explores how this unassuming tile relates to a complex history of copies, forgeries,...

Artist Q&A: Angus Vasili, printmaker

2 Mar 2021

Angus Vasili is a York-based artist and printmaker whose work combines the abstractions of printmaking with the monumental forms of modern architecture.  Here he describes his artistic practice to Judith Glover, a former Secretary of the Friends.   Click...

Wentworth Woodhouse Centaurs

15 Feb 2021

Peter Brown, formerly Director of Fairfax House, York, writes about two beautiful sculptures in the Gallery’s collection, the Wentworth Woodhouse Centaurs. Almost certainly the work of Bartolomeo Cavaceppi, they were acquired by the Marquis of Rockingham in 1761...

Gulliver and the Houyhnhnms

6 Jan 2021

This month’s chosen artwork is ‘Gulliver reprimanded and silenced by his master when describing the horrors of war’ by Sawrey Gilpin (1733-1807) The Friends’ Secretary Benjamin Hilliam, describes how the artist’s interest in animal welfare and...

Q&A: Alison Taylor seascape photographer

6 Jan 2021

Alison Taylor is a seascape photographer and Associate of the Royal Photographic Society, whose work creates dramatic images of the Yorkshire coast. Here she is in conversation with Judith Glover, a former secretary of the Friends.   Click...