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The Fry Public Art Gallery was opened in 1987 and houses an impressive
number of paintings, prints, illustrations, wallpapers and decorative
designs by artists of the 20th century and the present day who have
local connections and have made a significant contribution to their
field . There is an emphasis on  those
who for a variety of reasons settled in Great Bardfield between
the early thirties of the last century and the death in 1983 of
John Aldridge RA who had lived in the village for fifty years.
Edward Bawden RA who, with his friend Eric Ravilious, discovered
Bardfield a year before the arrival of Aldridge and dominated the
scene for almost four decades, is represented by 560 items. The
Gallery has also acquired work by Ravilious and his wife Tirzah
Garwood, and by those other artists who came to the village during
the Second World War - Michael Rothenstein RA, and his wife Duffy
(now Duffy Ayers), Kenneth Rowntree, George Chapman, and S. Clifford-Smith.
The collection also includes prints and paintings by Bawden's son
Richard, and examples of the very varied work of artists who made
their way to Bardfield in the 1950s - Marianne Straub, Audrey Cruddas,
Sheila Robinson, Bernard Cheese and Walter Hoyle.
Keith Vaughan, Robert Colquhoun and Robert MacBryde spent some time
nearby during the same period, and are also represented, together
with several other interesting artists, among them John Norris Wood,
Michael Ayrton, Isabel Lambert, and Tom Deakins. More recently has
come John Bellany, RA. In 1970 Edward Bawden moved to Saffron Walden,
where he lived until his death in 1989. Also represented in the
Collection are Olive Cook, Edwin Smith, Chloe Cheese, John Bolam,
Paul Beck, David Myerscough Jones and Olga Lehmann, all of whom
are associated with Saffron Walden. An exhibition selected from
the Permanent Collection of these artists is mounted each year.
In addition there is an annual special exhibitions programme.
Opening times:
Open without charge from Easter Sunday to last Sunday in October
annually
2.00pm - 5.00pm Tuesday
2.00pm - 5.00pm Friday
11.00am - 5.00pm Saturday
2.15pm - 5.00pm Sunday
also Open 2.15pm to 5pm on Bank Holidays
Groups visits outside public opening hours are very welcome by prior
arrangement .
Contact Details:
Fry Art Gallery, Castle Street,
Saffron Walden, Essex CB10 1BD
Tel: 01799 513779
Email: info@fryartgallery.org
Website: www.fryartgallery.org
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