Exhibitions

Our current exhibitions

Camden Town to Garden City: work by Gilman, Gore and Ratcliffe

9 March – 30 June 2024
A major exhibition of paintings and drawings by three members of the famous Camden Town Group who worked in Letchworth in the years before the First World War, with loans from museums across the country including Tate, the Government Art Collection and the National Museum of Wales.

The exhibition looks at Harold Gilman (1876-1919), Frederick Spencer Gore (1878-1914), and William Ratcliffe (1870-1955), and specifically at paintings they made while living in Letchworth, the world’s first Garden City. Many of these works have never been shown in North Herts since they were painted over a century ago.

Lord Chris Smith of Finsbury, Chair of the Art Fund, said: ‘There is no better place in the world for an exhibition of the works of Harold Gilman, Frederick Spencer Gore and William Ratcliffe than the North Herts Museum.’

Sir Michael Palin, actor and comedian, and fan of the Camden Town Group of artists, said: ‘What I find so appealing is the attention to detail. They show us, with honesty and precision, the fine detail of everyday life at the turn of the twentieth century. Their subjects are bedrooms, kitchen tables, teapots and mugs. Apart from being beautiful works in themselves, they offer a wonderfully vivid snapshot of our social and cultural history. What people washed in, what crockery they used, how they decorated their rooms. These are very English paintings. They move me most of all because I recognise a truth there. They have captured a corner of English life in a way few others ever tried, and they should be treasured for that.’

Inspired by Arbus – The next generation

We were fortunate to be given a bursary by the Tate in connection with our exhibition ARTIST ROOMS Diane Arbus, which ran from November 2023 to February 2024. This allowed us to work with sixth formers from four local schools: Hitchin Boys, Hitchin Girls, The Priory and St Christopher School. Each student was given access to a disposable black and white film camera and asked to take four shots inspired by their visit to the Arbus Exhibition at the museum.

 

The cameras are unmerciful, have limited focus as they were film, and the students had no delete or second chances. The images produced captured a moment in time and are unedited. Some of these images were blurred or too fark and could not be used. We asked the students to pick one of their remaining images which to them best represented their intention.

 

 

Upcoming exhibitions

Hitchin’s Toy Story

Summer 2024
‘Raffo Pape and Woodward’ with their team of inventive designers have been quietly creating and developing product concepts for the children’s toy industry from their design studio in Hitchin. For over forty years, their designs have been manufactured and sold through major companies like Fisher Price, Tomy, Playskool and Matchbox. Projects include work on brands such as Action Man, Play Doh, ELC and Thomas the Tank Engine.

This family-friendly exhibition will feature a colourful display of original artworks, videos, production toy samples and prototype models from their portfolio to date.

The Snowman

October – December 2024
An exhibition of framed cels from the popular 1982 film, with early versions of the book and a facsimile of the original. Snowman activities and dressing up for the little ones.

Past exhibitions

Find out about past exhibitions here.