An exhibition of works on paper from the Unlocking Collections project at the Southampton City Art Gallery, featuring drawings, watercolours, prints and photographs by artists such as John Constable and Paul Nash.
Unlocking Collections is on at Southampton City Art Gallery until 4 July, a show of works on paper that's part of a much bigger project the gallery's been working on. If you've been following the news, you'll know the gallery closed for a while for refurbishment, and while the doors were shut, they didn't just leave the collection in the dark. They used a £26,000 National Lottery grant to digitise around 1,000 works on paper, putting them online so they stayed visible. This exhibition brings a selection of those pieces back into the room.
What you'll see is a mix of watercolour, drawing, print and photography. One of the things that makes it work is seeing the process alongside the finished thing: you get preparatory sketches next to the final versions, like the drawings and plans for Malcolm Drummond's In the Park (St James's). The names running through the show are a good cross-section, too. There's Vernon Hill, James Bateman, Edward Ardizzone, Gwen John, John Constable, Norman Thelwell, Paul Nash, Desmond Morris, and Elisabeth Frink, among others. It's a wide reach, from the old masters to the more contemporary.
The digital side of things is still running in the background. The full set of digitised works is up on Art UK and on the gallery's own site and social media, so if there's something you missed in the room, you can still find it online. And if you're really keen on the pieces that didn't make the cut for the walls, you can see them in storage by booking an appointment with the curator.
Every week we pick 🏆 the 5 best 🏆 things to do in Southampton and send them to your inbox. Just one weekly email, no spam.
By submitting your email, you accept our Privacy Policy
It's been running since 7 March, so you've still got a few weeks left to catch it. Entry is free, and the gallery is at the Civic Centre, SO14 7LP. If you have questions, you can email art.gallery@southampton.gov.uk or call 023 8083 4563.
