Swindon's remarkable art collection now has a reputation as one of the best of British 20th Century Art outside London. Housed in the Swindon Art Gallery, it was established by local benefactor, H J P Bomford, during 1944 from a generous donation of works.

New exhibition coming soon

A national touring exhibition from the Hayward Gallery will be at Swindon Museum and Art Gallery from February 2009.

Matisse: Drawing with Scissors
Late Works 1950 - 1954

will be on show between 14 February - 15 March 2009.

The French painter, sculptor and designer, Henri Matisse (1869 - 1954) was one of the 20th century's most influential artists. His vibrant works are celebrated for their extraordinary richness and luminosity of colour. Matisse: Drawing with Scissors features 35 lithographic prints of the famous cut-outs, produced in the last four years of his life, when the artist was confined to his bed, and includes many of his iconic images, such as The Snail - the original is owned by Tate Collection and usually on display at Tate Modern - and the Blue Nudes.

This Hayward Touring exhibition from Southbank Centre, London, on behalf of Arts Council England will be shown alongside selected works from the Swindon Collection of Modern Art.

For details of accompanying school sessions, please contact Elaine Bennett, Education Officer on 01793 466556.

Currently showing: Echoes: uniting sculptures with a selection of paintings from the Swindon Collection of Modern British Art, co-curated by sculptor James Castle.

See here for Echoes leaflet as a pdf.

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Admission: Free

The Collection

These works form the nucleus of the collection and include many of the major British artists of the day such as Ben Nicholson, Henry Moore, Graham Sutherland, L S Lowry, Paul Nash and many others.

A more recent acquisition was Laundromat Locomotion, consisting of 12 photographs by Turner Prize short-listed artist, Steven Pippin.

Artists in the collection include: Terry Frost, Howard Hodgkin, Gwen and Augustus John, Maggi Hambling, Ivon Hitchens, Christopher Le Brun, and Lisa Milroy.

There is also a significant collection of studio pottery, with works by David Leach, Lucie Rie and Hans Coper among others.

Swindon Museum and Art Gallery are housed together in a building on Bath Road, Old Town, adjacent to the Community Heritage Museum.