Watercolours on display at Towneley Hall in Burnley

A collection of unique watercolours have gone on display at Burnley’s iconic museum and gallery.

Works by Frederick Walker, David Cox and Myles Birket Foster are amongst those forming a part of the new and exciting exhibition at Towneley Hall.

The light sensitive pieces, some of which have not been shown for a few years, are seen as some of the finest in the world, painted by great British artists.

Ken Darwen, Towneley Hall manager, said: “This is a rare opportunity to see a selection of fine water colour paintings from the Towneley collection. The paintings are a small selection of great works held by the gallery and form the start of our exciting exhibition program for 2016.”

The exhibition called Great British Watercolours features 19 paintings dating late 18th and 19th centuries.

A few of the painting on show were donated by local people and others were acquired in the 1920s with the aid of the Edward Stocks Massey bequest. 

Due to the fragility of watercolours, they are not on permanent display at Towneley.

A small selection of the Towneley collection will be displayed each year, to ensure that visitors can enjoy them, both now and for future generations.

The exhibition will run until middle of January and will then be replaced by Tree, Caterpillar and Butterfly, a children’s interactive exhibition which is part of the touring Generation series.

Councillor Bea Foster, Burnley Council’s executive member for leisure and culture, said: “This latest exhibition will not disappoint, and we hope that many visitors will come along to see our latest offering.

“We have had an interesting year of exhibitions at Towneley Hall, and the watercolours will get us off to a fine start in 2016.”

During winter months the hall is open on Saturdays and Sundays between 12pm and 5pm.
School bookings, pre-booked groups and private events can be booked throughout the year on any day.  Entry to the hall is free to children, students and Burnley residents.