Kimono by Philip Wilson Steer

This month’s chosen artwork is The Kimono (1894) by Philip Wilson Steer. Helena Cox, who is Curator at Beverley Art Gallery and currently completing a Doctorate at the University of York, discusses this small masterpiece, setting it in the context of Japonism,...

Portrait of a young man, 1556

November’s Artwork of the Month has been chosen by Jeanne Nuechterlein, Reader in History of Art at the University of York, and member of the FYAG committee. This intriguing portrait of a young man, painted in 1556, featured in the exhibition  ‘Making a...

Portrait of Henry Baines, Botanist of York

The portrait of Henry Baines, the botanist and creator of York’s Museum Gardens, was painted in 1874 by the Yorkshire artist Thomas Banks (1828-1896). Its recent conservation has been fully funded by the Friends of York Art Gallery. Peter Hogarth, a member of...

Alfred Wolmark by Henri Gaudier-Brzeska

The bust of Alfred Wolmark by Henri Gaudier-Brzeskaby attracts the attention of visitors to the Burton Gallery at York Art Gallery, but who was he, and why was he sculpted by Gaudier-Brzeskaby? Dorothy Nott investigates the background to this exceptionally striking...

Ann Stokes, Potter (1922-2014)

The CoCA collection at York Art Gallery includes four ceramic pieces by Ann Stokes – The White Wall Mounted Swan, The Trigger Fish Serving Platter, the Globe Fish, and the Swan Looking Glass. Hannah Savage, a member of York Art Gallery’s Visitor Experience Team,...

Artwork of the Month – August 2020

Liverpool Docks at Night by John Atkinson Grimshaw (1836-1893). Charles Martindale discusses this important new acquisition by the Gallery. Click Here Atkinson Grimshaw (1836-1893), Liverpool Docks at Night, 1870s, oil on canvas. York Museums...

Q&A: Helen Whittaker, Barley Studio

Helen Whittaker, stained glass artist and sculptor, is Creative Director at Barley Studio, Dunnington, York. Here, in dialogue with Judith Glover, she talks about her artistic practice and creative influences. Click...

Art as Therapy

Art galleries normally organize their hangs on chronological, historical, or thematic principles, and the labels which guide our looking follow established art-historical priorities and help to determine our response. Ronald Clayton, a members of the Friends comittee,...

Artwork of the Month – July 2020

Egyptian Head Disappearing into Descending Clouds (1961) by David Hockney Peter Miller, President of the Friends, writes about this preparatory oil sketch by David Hockney, which was acquired by the Gallery in 1999, with financial support from the Friends. Click...