23 Jun – 02 Oct 2022
The Project Space
Since 2018, The Courtauld has partnered with a range of UK museums and galleries on a collaborative programme of 11 loan-based exhibitions and public engagement activities, inspired by the art collection of its founder Samuel Courtauld and the history of his chairmanship of textile company Courtaulds Ltd.
Supported by the National Lottery Heritage Fund, the Courtauld National Partners programme has worked with organisations in areas where Courtaulds Ltd. once had a significant presence, and provides unique opportunities for audiences to engage with The Courtauld’s collection.
Courtauld Connections: Works from our National Partners will celebrate these partnerships with a specially curated display of five paintings and drawings by major British artists of the 20th century, including Frank Auerbach, John Piper, and Gwen John, alongside two further works from locally important artists Claudette Johnson—who galvanised the Black Feminist arts movement in Wolverhampton — and Edward McGuire, who painted one of the first portraits of the Irish poet Seamus Heaney. Each partner was invited to select one work from their collection that embodied their institution and their audience.
Alongside these loans, many of which have not been seen in London before, the display will also include stories from Courtauld National Partners Braintree Museum and Greenfield Valley Heritage Park, providing a snapshot of the shared history that binds the partners, through Samuel Courtauld and Courtaulds Ltd.
The principal partners included in the display are The Ferens, Hull; The Harris, Preston; The Herbert, Coventry; Ulster Museum, Belfast and Wolverhampton Art Gallery.