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I N T R O D U C T I O N
Last summer's Modern British exhibition was a significant challenge with the various
lock downs restricting access to the gallery. Like all galleries we did what we could online
with presentations and videos and virtual reality shows but we know deep down that our
friends and collectors prefer the real thing and it is good news that the gallery is now open
again. We have made a number of significant acquisitions since the beginning of 2020, and
few of you will have been able to see them until now.
In particular we have acquired very important early unique works by Armitage, Butler and
Chadwick, all from the 1950s and 1960s, the golden era of British sculpture.
For this catalogue we have also once again commissioned short informative essays by the
art historian Judith LeGrove and Gerard Hastings has kindly written entries for the Prunella
Cloughs, Ian Collins for the John Craxtons, and Philip Wright for the 1956 Armitage.
Highlights from the long awaited exhibition of John Craxton's early work are included in this
exhibition. The show has attracted plenty of visitors but numbers we can manage safely.
Modern British installation, 2020
John Craxton: Drawn From Darkness, installation, June 2021
