NEWS
Museum directors and volunteers viewing the newest acquisition
- Grantown Museum bequeathed original painting by renowned Victorian artist Edwin Landseer
- New painting supports special summer exhibition at Grantown Museum on Edwin Landseer and his Highland connections
- Special event ‘Dog Day Afternoon’ to mark the new acquisition on Saturday 24th June 2023
This week Grantown Museum welcomes its newest acquisition to their collections, an original painting by the famous Victorian artist, Edwin Landseer.
The painting was bequeathed by Beryl Goodworth via a national programme run by Art Fund and has been gifted in support of the museum’s summer exhibition Landseer – A Highland Romance. This special exhibition brings together rarely seen works by Landseer to explore his enduring relationship with the Highlands and the way that his paintings have shaped the way people see the Highlands and Highlanders to this day. The exhibition includes paintings from the Royal Collection, Woburn Abbey and The University of Dundee, as well as works on paper from private collections, and photographs from the museum’s own collection.
The new painting ‘The Braggart’ is one of Landseer’s earliest works, painted when he was only seventeen years old. The painting features three dogs representing Scotland, Ireland and Wales and represents an important era in Landseer’s work as he first became famous for his dog portraits.
Grantown Museum manager Dan Cottam said; “We are elated here at the museum, to have been gifted such a special work of art is simply amazing. We feel very honoured. Having an original Landseer in our collection means we will be able to continue to tell his fascinating story even after this special exhibition ends. The connection with this famous and brilliant artist and our landscape is something to be celebrated. This painting shows just how talented Landseer was from an early age. It’s really worthwhile coming to see it in the show amongst his other fantastic works – it’s so rare that we get the opportunity to see significant works of art in the Highlands. We are so grateful to Ms Goodworth, Art Fund and our lenders for bringing this opportunity to us.
To celebrate the new acquisition, the museum is having a special ‘Dog Day Afternoon’ event on Saturday 24th June inviting people to bring their dogs along to have their very own professional portrait taken. Between 12-3pm a photographer will be on hand to capture your pampered pooch and all of the dogs photographed will be entered into a perfect pooch competition. Everyone who brings their dog will also have the opportunity to enjoy the exhibition and the new painting for free.
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Royal Collection Trust, a department of the Royal Household, is responsible for the care of the Royal Collection and manages the public opening of the official residences of The King. Income generated from admissions and from associated commercial activities contributes directly to The Royal Collection Trust, a registered charity. The aims of The Trust are the care and conservation of the Royal Collection, and the promotion of access and enjoyment through exhibitions, publications, loans and educational programmed. Royal Collection Trust’s work is undertaken without public funding of any kind. www.rct.uk
Explore the Royal Collection at www.rct.uk/collection
Garfield Weston Foundation
Established in 1958, the Garfield Weston Foundation is a family-founded grant-maker that gives money to support a wide variety of charities across the UK. The Foundation’s funding comes from an endowment of shares in the Weston family business – a successful model that still exists today. The Weston family have a consistent aim. The more successful the family businesses, the more money the Foundation can donate.
Each year the Foundation gives away its income and donations have continued to grow. Since it was established it has donated over £1.4 billion, of which over half has been given away in the past ten years. In the most recent financial year the Foundation gave away nearly £90 million to over 1,980 charities across the UK.
About Art Fund
Art Fund is the national fundraising charity for art. It provides millions of pounds every year to help museums to acquire and share works of art across the UK, further the professional development of their curators, and inspire more people to visit and enjoy their public programmes. In addition, Art Fund helps donors to gift works of art to public collections, either in their lifetime or in their Will, helping to enrich the UK’s collections for the enjoyment of generations to come. The Art Fund match works of art with appropriate museums and facilitate the gifting of hundreds of works of art each year.
https://www.artfund.org/