27 MARCH – 19 APRIL 2025
Monday – closed (by appointment only)
Tuesday – Friday, 10am-5pm
Saturday – 11am – 4pm during exhibitions (otherwise by appointment only)
This exhibition combines recently acquired works from across the gallery’s specialisms. Highlights include a highly important full-length portrait by Francisco Michans Gargori (Spanish, 1777- after 1837) of a Spanish Court Aviary Keeper and tropical birds, thought to have been commissioned by Infante Francisco de Paula de Bourbon in around 1830; a fascinating view of Old London Bridge by John Cleveley (c.1712-1777), capturing the historic landmark shortly before work began to remove its buildings in 1757; a poignant pastel by Paul Maze (1887-1979), executed in 1917 during the artist’s time on the Western Front; and a beautiful watercolour of grouse by ornithological master Archibald Thorburn (1860-1935), which until recently has remained in a private collection since the 1930s. The exhibition also introduces work by wildlife photographer Harry Blakey and features contemporary bird and animal sculpture by Stephen Henderson, Holly Hickmore and Jonathan Knight.
