2017-03-09

FIC123 NEW WEBSITE


We are currently migrating from our old site to the new site.
 
We will stop posting on the old blogs for a few days, so be sure to update your bookmarks and join us on this new site. One central stop for all your cultural info in Belgium, Europe and the USA.
 
Best regards
 

Harris Museum and Art Gallery - Preston - U.K.

.
Today, the Harris is recognised as one of the leading museums and contemporary art venues in the region. We combine working closely with and for our local community with developing a national and international reputation for quality and innovative programmes. We are a major tourist attraction, welcoming over 250,000 visitors annually.

Since 2005, we have been able to develop our public programmes and make improvements to the galleries, though funding from the DCMS (Department for Culture, Media and Sport) Renaissance in the Regions programme.

The Harris has also benefited from significant funding from other sources including Arts Council England, Heritage Lottery Fund, The Wolfson Foundation, The Art Fund, the DCMS/V&A Purchase Grant Fund, The Headley Trust, PRISM, The Monument Trust, Foyle Foundation, Garfield Weston Foundation, Esmée Fairbairn Foundation, Lancashire County Council, the Friends of the Harris Museum & Art Gallery, the Harris Trust and other local funders as well as from private donors.

The Harris collections are among the finest in the region and include objects of national significance.
The collections include over 70,000 objects. Increasing and recording knowledge about the collections is fundamental to our work. We work in partnership with other museums, universities and specialists, employing the latest scientific techniques to uncover the stories behind our objects, for instance to discover details of the origins of ancient human skulls uncovered during the 19th Century Preston Dock excavations.


 

2017-03-08

Modern Art Oxford - Oxford - U.K.

.
Founded in 1966, Modern Art Oxford is one of the UK’s most exciting and influential contemporary art spaces with an international reputation for ambitious and innovative projects.
The gallery is open to all and all our exhibitions and events are completely free of charge, unless stated.
We aim to make contemporary art accessible and engaging to the widest audience through presentation and participation.
The programme celebrates the relevance of contemporary visual culture to society today. Our agenda is shaped by a belief in dialogue between contemporary art and ideas, and we seek to create new relationships between artists and audiences at the beginning of the 21st century.
 
 
 

 
 

2017-03-07

The Hatton Gallery - Newcastle - U.K.

.
We are undergoing a £3.8 million redevelopment. When the gallery re-opens in autumn 2017, it will be a vibrant and modern exhibition space bringing about a new era for art and learning in the city.
Gallery improvements will include:
  • conserving the architectural and historical elements of the building whilst modernising the gallery to allow for flexible exhibition facilities;
  • a dedicated multi - purpose learning space;
  • improved lighting;
  • a new picture store;
  • conservation and reinterpretation of Kurt Schwitters’ iconic Merz Barn Wall.
 
 
 


2017-03-06

Penlee House Gallery and Museum - Penzace - U.K.

.
Built in 1865 as a gracious Victorian home, Penlee House has been converted to create a first class gallery and museum set within an attractive park. It specialises in showing the area's unique cultural heritage incorporating the historic collections of Penzance Town Council, Cornwall Council and Newlyn Art Gallery.

A programme of changing exhibitions celebrates the skill and craftsmanship of painting in west Cornwall in the late ninetheenth and early twentieth centuries.

Founded in 1839, the museum collections cover 6000 years of history in west Cornwall, from Penwith's awe-inspiring archaeological sites to the area's more recent social history. The recently refurbished social history gallery houses a wealth of artefacts covering the area's fascinating and often quirky heritage.


 
 

2017-03-03

The Whitworth - Mancheter - U.K.

.
A gallery that is historic and contemporary, academic and playful.

Founded in 1889 as the first English gallery in a park, the Whitworth has been transformed by a £15 million development. This is a gallery whose visitor numbers have climbed spectacularly in the past five years, whose contemporary exhibitions programmes have given new life to international collections, and whose risk-taking curatorial team has gained global attention.

Part of the University of Manchester, the Whitworth is a gallery that is a place of research and academic collaboration, and whose education and learning teams have generated new approaches to working with non-traditional arts audiences.

Yet despite its ambition and change, the Whitworth is also a gallery that has retained a sense of the personal, the intimate and the playful. It is a place that its visitors love, and feel that they own. For them and for us, the Whitworth is simply the gallery in the park, one of the most remarkable galleries in the north.

A £15 million development has transformed the gallery, doubling it in size and creating new spaces that embrace the park it calls home.
 
 
 
 

2017-03-02

Manchester Art Gallery - Manchester - U.K.

.
The success of Manchester Art Gallery has always depended on the support and patronage of it’s supporters.

Opened in 1834, our building was originally named the Royal Manchester Institution for the Promotion of Literature, Science and the Arts and was entirely funded by private philanthropists passionate about art and the difference it can make to people’s lives.

Today we continue to rely on our supporters to provide a key source of income to Manchester Art Gallery, one of the city’s oldest and greatest cultural institutions, and the Gallery of Costume, which houses one of the most important collections of costume in the country


 
 

2017-03-01

Museum Of Modern Art - Machynlleth - U.K.

.
The Tabernacle was converted in the mid-1980s from a Wesleyan chapel into a centre for the performing arts. Since then MOMA MACHYNLLETH (known as MOMA WALES until 2016) has grown up alongside it in seven beautiful exhibition spaces.
Throughout the year MOMA MACHYNLLETH shows Modern Welsh Art, featuring leading artists from Wales, works from the growing Tabernacle Collection, and in August selected entries from the Tabernacle Art Competition. Many of the works of art are for sale.
The Auditorium of The Tabernacle has perfect acoustics and pitch-pine pews to seat 350 people. It is ideal for chamber and choral music, drama, lectures and conferences. A fine Steinway grand piano has been purchased. Translation booths, recording facilities and a cinema-screen have been installed; the oak-beamed Foyer has a bar; and extensive access for the disabled has been made possible by a lift.
The Machynlleth Festival takes place in the Auditorium in late August every year. During the week eminent performers take part in a wide range of events, from choral singing and jazz to chamber music and poetry readings. Special features are the Hallstatt Lecture on some aspect of Celtic culture and the Glyndŵr Award for an Outstanding Contribution to the Arts in Wales.
For the rest of the year the centre can be hired for performances, rehearsals and gatherings. Tŷ Llyfnant houses music teaching rooms and an art studio while the Green Room doubles as a lecture room where Lifelong Learning classes are held. Superb self-catering accommodation for up to four people can be found at walking distance in the New Barn within Royal House.


 
 

2017-02-27

TATE Liverpool - Liverpool - U.K.

.
Tate holds the national collection of British art from 1500 to the present day and international modern and contemporary art.
The collection embraces all media, from painting, drawing, sculpture and prints to photography, video and film, installation and performance.

Scope of the collection

Tate seeks to represent significant developments in art, in all areas within its remit, with artworks of outstanding quality and importance.
British art is represented by artists chosen for their contribution to its history and development, rather than their nationality alone.
While it has traditionally focused on art from Western Europe and North America, has recently expanded its holdings of modern and contemporary artworks from Africa, Asia Pacific, Eastern Europe, Latin America, the Middle East and South Asia.

The collection on display

The collection is on display at Tate Britain, Tate Modern, Tate Liverpool and Tate St Ives and around the world in temporary and long term exhibitions, via loans. Tate rotates the displays at all its sites, giving exposure to as much of the collection as possible.

The collection online

Enjoy the collection online in our art and artists pages. Every work in the collection has its own page, most illustrated with good quality images. Watch slideshows, browse, search, follow themes and learn about the artworks and art movements. Where work is currently on display at Tate this is indicated. We also publish information on works that are part of the fabric of Tate gallery buildings.
The digitisation of the Tate collection was supported by the Heritage Lottery Fund and Big Lottery Fund.

The collection on request

Works on paper can be viewed by appointment in the Prints and Drawings Rooms at Tate Britain, which also houses the Turner collection.
Anyone can access Tate’s Archive, which includes the gallery’s institutional records and a wealth of material relating to the collection, such as notebooks, sketches, prints and press cuttings. Tate Library’s unique collection covers British art from 1500 and international art from 1900 to the present day. It includes artists’ books, exhibition and collection catalogues, journals and various publications. Both can be accessed in the Reading Rooms at Tate Britain.
 
 
 
 

2017-02-24

Henry Moore Foundation - Leeds - U.K.

.
The Henry Moore Foundation was founded by the artist and his family in 1977 to encourage public appreciation of the visual arts. Today we support innovative sculpture projects, devise an imaginative programme of exhibitions and research worldwide, and preserve the legacy of Moore himself: one of the great sculptors of the 20th century, who did so much to bring the art form to a wider audience.


 
 
 

2017-02-22

QR-CODE FIC123.BE

.
 
 

Abbot Hall Art Gallery - Kendal - U.K.

.
Abbot Hall was designed as a opulent house by architect John Carr of York in 1759 for Colonel George Wilson of Dallam Tower. Recognised as Kendal's finest building, it was lived in by a succession of different families over the next century.  It was purchased by the Kendal Corporation in 1896 for £3,750.

Together with the Castle and the Parish Church, Abbot Hall was the only Grade I listed building in Kendal. By the 1950s it was almost derelict and threatened with demolition until a group of local people formed a charitable trust and raised money to save it.  It opened as a public art gallery in 1962.

Today Kendal’s finest historic house is an award winning art gallery.  Our exhibitions showcase a variety of works by a wealth of international artists. The Georgian period rooms allow you to glimpse what life was like in another time and provide views of the River Kent and Kendal Castle.


 
 
 

2017-02-21

Bushey Museum & Art Gallery - Bushey - U.K.

.
The Museum tells the story of Bushey and its unique artistic history. It has a large collection of works and articles relating to Sir Hubert von Herkomer RA and his world-renowned Art School. Also on show is the Lucy Kemp-Welch Memorial Trust Collection, including many of Lucy's superb paintings of horses.


 
 
 

2017-02-20

Hastings Museum & Art Gallery - Hastings - U.K.

.
Hastings Museum & Art Gallery is a family-friendly museum with amazingly diverse collections. There really is something for everyone here!

The Museum was established over 120 years ago and has always offered local people and visitors to the town the opportunity to explore art, culture and history from around the world.  The Museum's collections continue to grow and it now has around 97,000 objects of local history, natural sciences, fine & decorative arts, and world cultures.


Website : Hastings Museum & Art Gallery
 
 
 

2017-02-17

The Fan Museum - Greenwich - U.K.

.
The buildings that house The Fan Museum are themselves of great interest and beauty. A pair of Grade II listed townhouses, constructed in 1721, have been lovingly and authentically restored to retain their original character and elegance. The later addition on an Orangery, faithful to the architecture of the period, overlooks a ‘secret’ garden in the Japanese style.

The Museum has cultivated a special atmosphere, perhaps redolent of times past, in which visitors are treated like members of an extended family.


 
 

2017-02-16

The Hunterian - Glasgow - U.K.

.
Founded in 1807, The Hunterian is Scotland's oldest public museum and home to one of the largest collections outside the National Museums. The Hunterian is one of the leading university museums in the world and its collections have been Recognised as a Collection of National Significance. It is one of Scotland’s most important cultural assets.‌

Built on Dr William Hunter’s founding bequest, the collections today include scientific instruments used by James Watt, Joseph Lister and Lord Kelvin; outstanding Roman artefacts from the Antonine Wall; major natural and life sciences holdings; Hunter’s own extensive anatomical teaching collection; one of the world’s greatest numismatic collections; impressive ethnographic objects from Captain Cook’s Pacific voyages and a major art collection.

The Hunterian is also home to the world’s largest permanent display of the work of James McNeill Whistler, the largest single holding of the work of Charles Rennie Mackintosh and The Mackintosh House, the reassembled interiors from his Glasgow home.

The Hunterian continues in its Age of Enlightenment mission to be a central resource for research and teaching in the arts, humanities and natural and medical sciences, attracting scholars and visitors from around the world.


 
 

2017-02-14

BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art - Gateshead - U.K.

.
Under the auspicious guidance of BALTIC’s inaugural Director Sune Nordgren construction began in 1998: only the south and north facades of the original 1950s building were retained.

Dominic Williams of Ellis Williams Architects, London oversaw the redevelopment of BALTIC from a flour mill into the BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art.

A new structure consisting of six main floors and three mezzanines was secured between the facades which contained 3000sqm of arts space (four galleries and a flexible performance space), artists' studios, cinema/lecture space, shop, a library and archive for the study of contemporary art and the Rooftop Restaurant on Level 6. An additional two-storey structure: The Riverside Building, was constructed to the west of the main building, providing the main entrance into BALTIC, which looks out across Baltic Square and the Gateshead Millennium Bridge.

BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art opened on Saturday 13 July 2002. The inaugural exhibition, B.OPEN, featured work by Chris Burden, Carsten Holler, Julian Opie, Jaume Plensa and Jane & Louise Wilson, and attracted over 35,000 visitors in the first week.

Since then BALTIC has presented over 190 exhibitions of work by 388 artists from 53 countries and welcomed more than 6 million visitors.

The founding director, Sune Nordgren was appointed in 1996 and after close to 6 years, left to take up a new post as founding Director of the National Museum for Art, Architecture and Design, Oslo, Norway. He was briefly succeeded by Stephen Snoddy, who went on to become Director of The New Art Gallery, Walsall and from 2005 Peter Doroshenko, who went on to accept the role of Director with the prestigious PinchukArtCentre in Ukraine. In November 2008 Godfrey Worsdale was welcomed as Director, following an immensely successful time as Founding Director of mima, Middlesbrough Institute of Modern Art. Godfrey Worsdale left BALTIC in July 2015 to become Director of The Henry Moore Foundation.

Sarah Munro was appointed Director of BALTIC in August 2015 with 20 years experience of cultural leadership. Munro joined following a distinguished career in Glasgow as both Artistic Director of Tramway and Head of Arts for the city, where she led the bid to bring Turner Prize 2015 to Scotland for the first time.


 
 
 

2017-02-13

Specex - Exeter - U.K.

.
Spacex enables access to contemporary visual art in the South West via a programme of projects and events. The organisation works with artists to realise ambitions, pursue new directions and take risks. Through investment in artists at a critical stage in their career, Spacex progresses emerging talent. As an educational charity Spacex has an excellent record of delivering innovative and accessible learning projects.
 
Collaboration lies at the heart of Spacex. It brings together artists and audiences, initiating dialogues and partnerships to develop projects and commissions. To ensure sustained development Spacex maintains long-lasting relationships with artists and curators, as well as local cultural and educational institutions, arts organisations and funders.
 
Rooted in the locality of Exeter, the programme aims to contribute to a wider critical debate, regionally nationally and internationally. Spacex finds new ways to capture the interest of a wide range of people, inspiring engagement with and participation in contemporary art.
 
 
 
 
 

2017-02-10

Talbot Rice Gallery - Edinburgh - U.K.

.
Being part of the University of Edinburgh allows Talbot Rice to collaborate with a range of departments, academics and students to make distinct exhibitions.

We believe contemporary art is at its most vital when it creates new connections between different disciplines, engages people with varied specialist understandings and forges new pathways between the present and the past.

Talbot Rice has worked with most departments across the University, working recurrently with items from University of Edinburgh Collections. Our historic links and collaboration with Edinburgh College of Art have been further strengthened now it is part of the University. Talbot Rice provides support for students and unique opportunities including internships, volunteering positions and student-curated exhibitions


 
 
 


2017-02-09

National Galleries of Scotland - Edinburgh - U.K.

.
The National Galleries of Scotland comprises three galleries in Edinburgh and two partner galleries in the North and South of Scotland. Our collection of fine art is amongst the best in the world.
The three Edinburgh galleries are:
  • Scottish National Gallery
  • Scottish National Portrait Gallery
  • Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art
In addition, the National Galleries of Scotland owns the Granton Centre for Art, a purpose-built storage facility located at the Granton foreshore in Edinburgh.
The two partner galleries are:
  • Paxton House, Berwickshire
  • Duff House, Banff
The National Galleries of Scotland is funded by the Scottish Government and is managed on its behalf by a Board of Trustees, appointed by the Minister for Europe, External Affairs & Culture.
As provided by the National Heritage (Scotland) Act 1985, the principal functions of the Board are:
  • to care for, preserve and add to the objects in their collection.
  • to ensure that the objects are exhibited to the public.
  • to ensure that the objects are available to persons seeking to inspect them in connection with study or research, and generally to promote the public's enjoyment and understanding of the fine arts both by means of the Board's collection and by such other means as they consider appropriate.
  • for those purposes to provide education, instruction and advice, and to carry out research.
 
 
 
 

2017-02-08

Dundee Contemporary Arts - Dundee - U.K.

.
DCA is an organisation that has established itself as a major force in contemporary art, cultural cinema and community and education practice and as a vibrant social and cultural hub. The secret of its success has been the imagination, ambition, commitment, intricate care and hard work of those who conceived the idea of DCA and those who brought it into being and those whose energy and ideas have earned it national and international acclaim while ensuring that it is embraced by the community that is its home. DCA's success is also thanks to the commitment of its audiences who have supported the organisation by visiting, attending, participating, enjoying, challenging and questioning.

DCA's vision is to enrich people's lives through art, culture and creativity.

DCA is an internationally renowned centre for contemporary arts that enables audiences, artists and participants to see, experience and create through our four programme areas: exhibitions, cinema, print and learning.

 
 
 
 

2017-02-07

Pallant House Gallery - Chichester - U.K.

.
Pallant House Gallery opened in its present incarnation to national critical acclaim in July 2006. The remarkable £8.6 million build project, which took nearly three years to complete, seamlessly married the original Queen Anne, grade I listed town-house and the new wing, quadrupling Pallant House Gallery's exhibition space.

"A jewel of a gallery. The brilliance of Pallant House Gallery lies not only in its thoughtful and intelligent curation but in the warmth and welcome of the building. There's nothing elitist about the way this fine collection is displayed - intimate yet with space for reflection and tranquillity." Francine Stock, Chairman of the Gulbenkian Prize for museums and galleries.

Since re-opening the Gallery has been widely acclaimed for its innovative exhibitions and pioneering Learning and Community Programme and has won numerous awards and accolades including the Gulbenkian Prize, the largest prize for arts and cultural organisations in the country, the Charity Award 2013, the highest profile event in the charity calendar, for Outside In, its flagship project aimed at those facing barriers to the art world.

The Gallery's Collection of British Modern art is frequently described as one of the best in the UK. with important works by Gino Severini , Ivon Hitchens, Henry Moore, John Piper, Graham Sutherland, Patrick Caulfield, Michael Andrews, Peter Blake and Richard Hamilton.

Alongside the Collection, there is a rolling programme of first-class exhibitions and displays incorporating national, international and contemporary art. Major recent exhibitions organised by the Gallery have included the first exhibition of Edward Burra for 25 years, the only UK showing of the international touring exhibition R.B. Kitaj: Obsessions and an exhibition on Pop art and music to celebrate the 80th birthday of Sir Peter Blake. Contemporary elements include a regular series of commissions for the staircase of the historic house.

In 2012 Pallant House Gallery successfully bid for a £1 million Catalyst match-funding grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund to support the growth of an endowment fund. The grant is conditional on the Gallery matching it with funding from private giving over the next four years.


 
 
 
 

2017-02-06

Fitzwilliam Museum - Cambridge - U.K.

.
The Fitzwilliam Museum was described by the Standing Commission on Museums & Galleries in 1968 as "one of the greatest art collections of the nation and a monument of the first importance". It owes its foundation to Richard, VII Viscount Fitzwilliam of Merrion who, in 1816, bequeathed to the University of Cambridge his works of art and library, together with funds to house them, to further "the Increase of Learning and other great Objects of that Noble Foundation".

Fitzwilliam's bequest included 144 pictures, among them Dutch paintings he inherited through his maternal grandfather and the masterpieces by Titian, Veronese and Palma Vecchio he acquired at the Orléans sales in London. During a lifetime of collecting, he filled more than 500 folio albums with engravings, to form what has been described as "a vast assembly of prints by the most celebrated engravers, with a series of Rembrandt's etchings unsurpassed in England at that time". His library included 130 medieval manuscripts and a collection of autograph music by Handel, Purcell and other composers which has guaranteed the Museum a place of prominence among the music libraries of the world.

In 1848 the Founder's Building, designed by George Basevi (1794-1845) and completed after his accidental death by C R Cockerell (1788-1863), opened to the public. Throughout the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, the collections have grown by gift, bequest and purchase; their history is a continuous one which traces the history of collecting in this country over the last two hundred years. If the Museum owed its foundation to a Grand Tourist, it went on to benefit from the shift of taste towards the Middle Ages and the early Renaissance for which the Gothic Revival of the nineteenth century was responsible. By the same token, many of the Museum's early twentieth century benefactors may be counted among the heirs to the Arts and Crafts and Aesthetic Movements. In recent years, the Museum's traditional base of support from alumni and private collectors has been augmented by generous provision from the National Art Collections Fund and other charitable organisations and public bodies, including H M Treasury (under the provision for the allocation to Museums of works of art accepted in lieu of capital taxes). Today, the Museum pursues a vigorous acquisitions policy as one aspect of its abiding commitment to hold the nation's "treasures in trust". The Standing Commission's view is both echoed and expanded by the University itself:

"The Fitzwilliam Museum is one of the greatest glories of the University of Cambridge. It is a museum of international stature, with unique collections most splendidly housed... Like the University itself, the Fitzwilliam Museum is part of the national heritage, but, much more, it is part of a living and continuing culture which it is our statutory duty to transmit".

Few museums in the world contain on a single site collections of such variety and depth. Writing in his Foreword to the catalogue of the exhibition for Treasures from the Fitzwilliam which toured the United States in 1989-90, the then Director of the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC, wrote that "like the British Museum, the Fitzwilliam addresses the history of culture in terms of the visual forms it has assumed, but it does so from the highly selective point of view of the collector connoisseur. Works of art have been taken into the collection not only for the historical information they reveal, but for their beauty, excellent quality, and rarity... It is a widely held opinion that the Fitzwilliam is the finest small museum in Europe".

 
 
 
 

2017-02-03

Bristol Museum & Art Gallery -Bristol - U.K.

.
Explore collections of art, nature and history on display in this beautiful building. Find out about the last billion years of Earth’s history, explore the region’s natural wonders and discover more about peoples’ lives, past and present.


 
 
 

2017-02-02

Brighton Museum - Brighton - U.K.

.
The museum was opened on 5 November 1861 by Richard Owen, the founder of the Natural History Museum. Its first displays consisted of natural history specimens, the town’s art collection, and various items collected from around the world by local residents. The early museum soon outgrew the Pavilion and the town authorities made ambitious plans to create a larger and more professional museum.

In 1873 Brighton Museum moved to its present site, along with the town’s public library. Although it occupies land that was formerly used as part of George IV’s stable complex, the building was built especially for the museum — indeed, it was one of the first purpose built museums in England.

One of its founders was Henry Willett, who lent – and later donated – his collection of Popular Pottery to the museum, where it can still be seen. Willett had made his fortune in brewing, and was not only an avid collector, but a passionate supporter of museums. Willett’s example of generosity and participation has been followed with donations and legacies from many local residents over the years.

A key figure in the museum’s development was Henry Roberts, director of both Brighton’s museum and library. Under his leadership, Brighton Museum developed an international outlook, and curated exhibitions of art from many countries across Europe. His greatest success was a 1910 exhibition of French Art that featured works by Monet, Cezanne, Degas, Matisse, Gaugin and other leading artists.

Although a classic Victorian town museum, Brighton Museum continued to attract visitors during the 20th century. One popular souvenir that could be purchased by visitors was a book of 12 ‘real photographs’ of the museum’s collections

At the turn of the millennium, Brighton Museum was transformed thanks to a £10 million redevelopment. The entrance was moved from Church Street to the Royal Pavilion garden, and its galleries were redesigned with new interpretation. Improved access was provided for disabled visitors, and an Education Pavilion was constructed for teaching purposes.


 
 
 

2017-02-01

National Media Museum - Bradford - U.K.

.
At the National Media Museum, in the heart of Bradford, we explore the science and culture of light and sound technologies and their impact on our lives, as we aim to inspire the scientists and engineers of the future.

Our galleries and exhibition spaces help us showcase world famous collections in photography, film and television. Our team of Explainers present learning activities which look into our collections and exhibitions in more depth. And our three cinema screens – including an IMAX theatre – allow us to showcase the best films from around the world in Bradford, the first UNESCO City of Film.


 
 
 

2017-01-31

Blackwell, The Arts & Crafts House - Bowness-on-Windermere - U.K.

.
When the architect MH Baillie Scott built a holiday home overlooking Windermere for his client Sir Edward Holt he created Blackwell, a masterpiece of twentieth-century design; a perfect example of the Arts & Crafts Movement.

Enjoy a lovingly crafted day out at one of the most enchanting historic houses in the Lake District. When you visit you are invited to relax and immerse yourself in all the beauty and craftsmanship of Blackwell. We encourage you to sit and soak up the atmosphere in Blackwell’s fireplace inglenooks, which have fine examples of tiles by Arts & Crafts designer William de Morgan. The inviting window seats offer stunning views of the surrounding Lake District scenery. You can appreciate the house as it was originally intended, without roped-off areas.

Blackwell retains many of its original decorative features, including a rare hessian wall-hanging in the Dining Room, leaf-shaped door handles, curious window catches, spectacular plasterwork, stained glass and carved wooden panelling by Simpsons of Kendal. The rooms contain furniture and objects by many of the leading Arts & Crafts designers and studios - metalwork by WAS Benson, ceramics by Pilkingtons and Ruskin Pottery and furniture by Morris & Co., Stanley Webb Davies, Ernest Gimson and Baillie Scott himself.

Recent acquisitions of furniture by Baillie Scott are on display, including an oak and ebony inlaid barrel chair with slatted sides, sideboard and a set of dining chairs. Blackwell offers more than most historic houses with several rooms displaying historical exhibitions that explore different aspects of the Arts & Crafts Movement.

The original gardens were laid out by Arts & Crafts garden designer, Thomas Mawson, in a series of terraces to achieve the very best views from the house over the lake towards the Coniston fells. Today, Blackwell is bordered by beautiful flower beds set against a terrace of York stone paving, providing shelter for garden chairs and tables, surrounded by fragrant flowers and herbs. On the lower terrace there is a long sweep of lawn where visitors can stroll and take in the intoxicating beauty of the Lake District whatever the season.