Issue 41 Spring web - Flipbook - Page 64
National Art Gallery Officially
Reopens at the Manx Museum
The Isle of Man’s National Art Gallery has officially reopened at the Manx Museum. The redisplay
features a mixture of historic and contemporary pieces by Manx artists or artists inspired by the Isle of
Man and its people. The gallery includes a vibrant new colour scheme, over 130 artworks, creative
story telling interpretation, and a section dedicated to how the collection is cared for.
For over 100 years Manx National Heritage has been
collecting art for the people of the Isle of Man. The
collection is varied and eclectic, including everything
from the earliest-known views of the Isle of Man and engaging portraits of Manx society figures, to an internationally celebrated internment art collection. It includes
works by leading Manx artists John Miller Nicholson,
Archibald Knox, Bryan Kneale, Kevin Atherton and
Michael Sandle; and Manx related pieces by George
Romney, Anthony Van Dyck, John Opie, Samuel Walters
and Alan Millner. Alongside fine art, sit naïve pieces and
folk art, together with sketchbooks by amateur artists.
We have been working hard behind the scenes on this
project for almost 18 months, trying to tackle head-on
some of the issues associated with caring for an historic
collection.
In the past significant artworks were accepted into the
collection in poor condition, meaning they are difficult to
display without prohibitively expensive conservation
treatment. Many other pieces are unframed or are extremely light sensitive, or in some cases were never meant
to be viewed in a gallery setting. We really wanted to show
a high proportion of these artworks, as a number had
never been seen in public before. Thanks to the financial
support of the Friends of Manx National Heritage our
ambition was realised, as many artworks have undergone
conservation treatment, cleaning and reframing to
prepare them for display.
Katie King, MNH Curator: Art and Social History,
explains a little more about the idea behind the ambitious
redesign of the National Art Gallery: “We have around
6,000 pieces in the art collection and it has been a real
pleasure delving deeper to select pieces for the rehang.
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