Events

Leaving Memorial Gardens at 1pm, we will travel by coach to Birdsall House, near Malton for a 2-hour guided tour by a member of the Willoughby family. Set in beautiful parkland, the original Tudor house was enlarged in the mid eighteenth century and later extended by the architect Anthony Salvin in 1870, who added the […]

The next Gallery talk will be on Wednesday 10 June at 11.30 am. The subject will be the sixteenth-century Venetian painting Augustus and the Sibyl.This presentation examines an enigmatic sixteenth-century Venetian oil painting, currently held in storage, by an unidentified artist. Though the work features a characteristic Venetian landscape, the foreground figures depict a surprising […]

Friends of York Art Gallery present curated highlights of the Fine Art Degree Shows at York St John University. The Friends of York Art Gallery (FYAG) are delighted to stage an exhibition of four selected young artists from York St John University at Sliding Water Gallery. The exhibition will open on Weds 17 June 2026 […]

Leaving Memorial Gardens at 9 am we will travel by minibus to Thorns Gallery, arriving at about 11 am in time for tea/coffee and biscuits. This is a rare opportunity to visit this contemporary art gallery opened in 2025 in a beautifully converted cattle shed overlooking Semerwater, near Leyburn, where Jake Attree is holding an […]

*** Fully booked *** This event is a special Friends' preview of the exhibition featuring highlights from the Fine Art Degree Show, York St John University. Refreshments will be provided. Please note that this event is FREE to all Friends but places are limited; it should be a fascinating opportunity to discover the best of […]

*** Fully booked ***Join us for a private tour of Hovingham Hall, a beautiful family home, 17 miles north of York. It was designed and built by Thomas Worsley c1770 and was the childhood home of the late Duchess of Kent. The house has an important collection of furniture and pictures and includes a magnificent […]

The speaker for our next Gallery talk will be Peter Gibbard, one of our most popular and revelatory speakers. His subject will be the portrait of the illustrator Chloe Preston, dated 1909, by James Jebusa Shannon, which has been in the permanent collection since 1949. This beautiful portrait - just reference YORAG: 23 on-line for […]

*** Update: last available room has gone *** The Stourbridge area was a major centre of glassmaking for 400 years and was particularly well known for its fine lead crystal. Established by French refugees in the seventeenth century, the industry thrived for many years, until its decline in the latter part of the last century. […]

The Borthwick is one of the biggest archive repositories outside London. Since 2005 it has been based in a purpose- built building made possible by a grant of £4.4 million by the Heritage Lottery Fund. In this tour, Gary Brannan, the Keeper of Archives and Special Collections will showcase the breadth and importance of the […]

A talk by Sir Nicholas Penny FBA, FSA, Director of the National Gallery 2008-2015. Flaxman as Sculptor and Illustrator. This lecture by Sir Nicholas, together with one by Sir Tristram Hunt in October, has been organised in connection with the exhibition, 'Turner, Wedgwood and Beyond: Inspired by Flaxman', held to mark the bicentenary of Flaxman's […]

This five-day coach tour to Sussex has been arranged for the Friends by Travel Editions. Departing from York Memorial Gardens on Monday 28 September, we will visit Wardown House Museum & Gallery en route. Accommodation will be at the four-star Holiday Inn on Brighton Sea Front. The tour will include Farleys House & Towner Eastbourne […]

‘Wedgwood and Flaxman: A Creative Alliance’, a talk by The Honourable Sir Tristram Hunt, FRHistS, Director of the Victoria and Albert Museum.This lecture in the Tempest Anderson Hall, Yorkshire Museum, has been organised in connection with the exhibition on John Flaxman and his influence held to mark the bicentenary of his death, which will run from […]