Fylde gallery opens at Lytham Hall

The Fylde Gallery, which is funded and managed by Flyde Council, which allocated £65 thousand for the project will open with the exhibition ‘Centenary’, followed by a year-round changing program of curated exhibitions from the Lytham St Annes Art Collection and visiting collection.

Situated in the refurbished sixteenth-century Long Gallery at Lytham Hall, the new gallery will create a bespoke exhibition space for the Lytham St Annes Art Collection and showcase oil paintings and sculptures in an exhibition that traces the trajectory of the collection from its formation in 1925 to the present day.

It will feature artwork from donors, artists, and advocates of the Lytham St Annes Art Collection donated by the public, and British philanthropy who moved to Lytham, Fairhaven and St Annes from the industrial cities of the North West and is considered to be one of the most expansive and diverse Town Hall art collections in the country.

Comprising entirely of works donated by the public, the first painting presented to the Borough of St Annes on June 29th, 1925 was 'The Herd Lassie' by the painter of animals and genre scenes Richard Ansdell RA donated by John Booth (1856–1941), son of E. H. Booth, founder of the famous grocery business in 1925.

The collection which focuses on high-quality Victorian art includes major historical scenes tells the story of the Lytham St Annes people and their way of life contains works by notable artists such as the Swiss painter Henry Fuseli RA and the landscape artist Charles Burton Barber, as well as works by local and regional artists.

In 1926 the grandchildren of Richard Ansdell RA donated "Lytham Sandhills”. Works of several of international significance, include over 250 works and twenty-five paintings by Richard Ansdell RA.

The most iconic painting, 'The Vision of Catherine of Aragon’ (1781) by the neo-classical Swiss artist Henry Fuseli RA (1741-1825), donated by James Herbert Dawson (1867-1963). The painting was originally lent to the council in 1931 by Mrs Leonore Marguerite Mary Tiller, on behalf of her siblings.

Its theme is a genre history painting believed to be inspired by Shakespeare’s King Henry the Eighth, Act IV, Scene II depicting Katherine who asks her attendant, Griffith, to tell her about the death of Cardinal Wolsey. Although Katherine detests Wolsey for his vast ambition, his accepting of bribes for ecclesiastical favors, and his duplicitous actions, Griffith’s eulogy makes Katherine wish him peace in the afterlife. Following her conversation with Griffith, Katherine falls asleep and has a vision.

'The Deathbed of Robert, King of Naples' and 'A Classical Lake Scene (Carthage)', both painted by the landscape and marine painter George Sheffield Junior (1839–1892) gifted from Major Edwin Henry Booth and John Kenyon Booth, in memory of John Booth, 1943 are among other works.

The collection’s core is genre scenes including 'In Disgrace' by the sporting and animal painter Charles Burton Barber (1845–1894) bequeathed by Dorothy Ward Mosedale in memory of Ward and Elizabeth Mosedale (née Dales), 1970 and 'Boys Playing' by genre painter of landscape and children John Morgan (1823–1885). bequeathed by Harold Frederick Hughes, 1976.

Peter Anthony, General Manager of Lytham Hall the Grade I country house and parkland managed by Heritage Trust for the North West said;-

“I am absolutely thrilled to see this project come to fruition and thanks everyone involved in making it happen”.

“The team at Fylde Council have been wonderful to work with every step of the way, along with the passion from the Friends of the Lytham St Annes Art Collection, who have all wanted to see a facility like this for many years. So many people, including a number of councillors, have campaigned to improve the availability of this extremely important collection, and have wanted a special designated space where the public could view it weekly, so what better place could it be than the only grade 1 listed building in Fylde”.

“This historic mansion and estate was home to the colourful Clifton family for three and a half centuries, I think they would be very proud to see this collection on show in their historic seat. As an accredited museum already, it is its natural home and with 260,000 visitors a year this gallery will certainly be ensuring as many people as possible get to see these great works of art. It is fabulous news for Fylde and fabulous news for Lytham Hall".

Cllr Jayne Nixon, Fylde Council’s Lead Member for Tourism, Leisure & Culture, said: “We’re thrilled to open Fylde Gallery and share this incredible collection with the public. This is a significant milestone for Fylde, and we believe it will attract visitors from far and wide. Lytham Hall, as the ideal venue to display these works of art, provides the perfect setting to appreciate the beauty and history of the Lytham St Annes Art Collection. We invite everyone to come and experience it for themselves.”

The gallery will be open Thursday, Friday, and Saturday 10 am to 4 pm from 31 January 2025.

Its upcoming Programme of Exhibitions includes:-

CentenaryLytham St Annes Art Collection 30/01/25 – 02/05/25

Savage BeautyRichard Ansdell15/05/25 – 15/08/25

Paintings inspired by nature and the elementsMargaret King 28/08/25 – 07/11/25