A selection of web postings by members of the Friends about the Gallery and its holdings and the art world in general
Artwork of the Month
May 2021 Portrait of a Young Man with a Book by Parmigianino (1503-40)
April 2021 Charlotte Fitzroy by Peter Lely (1670s)
March 2021 A Stafford Pottery Plaque
February 2021 Sculptures formerly at Wentworth Woodhouse, c. 1755
January 2021 Gulliver Reprimanded and Silenced by his Master when Describing the Horrors of War by Sawrey Gilpin (1733 – 1807)
December 2020 ‘The Kimono’ by Philip Wilson Steer OM, (1894)
November 2020 Portrait of a Man Aged 27 by an Unknown Netherlandish Artist (1556)
October 2020 Portrait of Henry Baines by Thomas Banks (1874)
September 2020 Alfred Wolmark by Henri Gaudier-Brzeska
September 2020 Albert Moore’s A Venus (1869)
August 2020 Liverpool Docks at Night by J Atkinson Grimshaw
July 2020 David Hockney – Egyptian Head Disappearing into Descending Clouds (1961)
June 2020 The John Cheere Busts in York Art Gallery
May 2020 ‘Preparing for a Fancy Dress Ball’, by William Etty (1787-1849)
April 2020 Study for ‘Nameless and Shameless’ by Emily Mary Osborn (1828-1925)
Q&A – Interviews with practising artists
Helen Whittaker, York-based stained glass artist and designer
Occasional Essays
Ann Stokes, Potter (1917-2014) by Hannah Savage
Charles Martindale, Interim Chair, writes about a favourite painting in the Gallery’s collection. The Portrait of Monsignor Agucchi in York Art Gallery and the Question of Portraiture
Charles Martindale, reflects on the importance of the Friends for the past and future of York Art Gallery. The Friends in Lockdown
Dr Richard Keesing writes about a favourite modern artist closely associated with York, some of whose works might be described as Neo-Romantic.
Dudley Holland: The Artist and the Man
Ronald Clayton discusses the different ways in which gallery displays might be conceived and organized. Art as Therapy
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Gulliver and the Houyhnhnms
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 anthropomorphism is...
Q&A: Alison Taylor seascape photographer
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.
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, the...
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 Masterpiece:...
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 the...
Q&A: Tim Pearce, painter, ceramicist
Judith Glover interviews Tim Pearce, a painter and ceramicist who is based near York.
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. Atkinson Grimshaw (1836-1893), Liverpool Docks at Night, 1870s, oil on canvas. York Museums Trust
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.