Lytham Hall set to house the Lytham St Annes Art Collection

Lytham Hall is set to be the new home of the Lytham St Annes Art Collection.
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The Hall’s Long Gallery has been nominated by Fylde Council’s tourism and leisure committee to house the artistic gems, following a detailed review of potential venues by officers and elected members.

The Collection, which has been in the care of the council and its predecessor Lytham St Annes Council, since the 1920s, has been with a ho,me since the Fylde Gallery, abive Booths in Lytham, closed just prior to lockdown more than two years ago.

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The new proposal recommends the council’s finance and democracy committee approve an addition of £65,000, to be met in its entirety from the Capital Investment Reserve, to create a safe and secure dedicated space for the art.

Lytham HallLytham Hall
Lytham Hall
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It would further ensure that the display of the Art Collection within the Long Gallery would meet the exacting Spectrum standards required for museum-level accreditation.

Additional funding of £10,000 annually will be recommended to full council to allow for the ongoing resourcing and facilitation of the project.

Coun Michael Sayward, chairman of the tourism and leisure committee, said: “Lytham Hall is a treasured asset of not just Fylde but the entire nation, and while all the venues investigated had much to recommend them, we could not help but be impressed by the Long Gallery’s fantastic potential and the opportunity to showcase the Lytham St Annes Art Collection in a Grade I listed historic attraction.

The Herd Lassie 1876 by Richard Ansdell from the Lytham St Annes Art CollectionThe Herd Lassie 1876 by Richard Ansdell from the Lytham St Annes Art Collection
The Herd Lassie 1876 by Richard Ansdell from the Lytham St Annes Art Collection
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"After the proposed works are complete, the Art Collection will be safer, more secure, and far more accessible to the public, and it is my firm belief that it will be eligible for museum accreditation.”

The council says that should the finance and democracy committee approve the proposal, the council, Heritage Trust for the North West, and Lytham Hall would then move forward in partnership to establish appropriate responsibilities for the operation of the gallery and for the items on display. Proposed completion deadline for the works is March 2023.

The Lytham St Annes Art Collection includes many works by artist Richard Ansdell, after whom the village between Lytham and St Annes is named, with the very first work donated to the Collection his painting The Herd Lassie.

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