Art collections overview
Bolton’s art collections were initially accumulated in the late 19th century; however poor conditions and a fire at Mere Hall Art Gallery in the 1920s led to the loss of much of the early collection. Most of the current art collection has been built up from the late 1930s and was intended to fill the new civic centre art gallery. A particularly important bequest from this period was the Lucas Collection (150 works).
Curators of the early 20th century to the 1960s built up the collection of English watercolours and drawings, focusing on 18th and 19th century practitioners. From the 1960s a more active focus on acquiring works of the 20th century took place.
During the 1980s and early 1990s the focus was on acquiring British works of the mid 20th century, tying in with Mass Observation. The Sycamore collection of prints was a major acquisition at this time. Around 100 contemporary ceramics dating from the 1970s to mid 1990s were also acquired during this period . These were augmented with contemporary works by outstanding British craft makers from 2000.
The rising cost of art collection made new acquisition difficult, but significant acquisitions were made. These include Thomas Moran’s watercolour of the River Schuylkill and his large oil painting of Nearing Camp, Evening on the Upper Colorado River.Most recently acquired have been a number of locally significant paintings, drawings and photographs, including works by Jennings, Spender, Carse, Fletcher, Lofthouse, Lee and Barlow. The most important donations have been an oil painting by John Bratby, and a group of prints and related material by the Morans and their relatives. Through the Contemporary Art Society subscription we acquired four works by Turner Prize winner, Michael Landy.
Contemporary craft acquisitions have included several pieces of glass, which is sculptural, rather than functional, and several ceramics, including a commission of a piece for the museum by David Cleverly.
Over the past 100 or so years a lot of work has been acquired through donation and bequest, however a significant proportion has been acquired through outside funding, from bodies such as the National Art Collections Fund, V&A Purchase Grant Fund, The Bradshaw Gass Trust, the HLF, the National Heritage Memorial Fund, and various other charities.
The vale of art makes it increasingly difficult to acquire major works of art for the collection, as funding is so tight for all museums, however we still aim to acquire where appropriate the best works for our important collection.
