Our current exhibitions

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

Spencer Gore, Harold Gilman’s House, 1912 Government Art Collection

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.’

W Ratcliffe, The Red Curtain, 1916

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.’

Richard ‘Dick’ Walker, Hitchin’s Angling Legend

13 February – 7 April 2024

Richard Walker (1918-1985) was born and raised in Hitchin and was honoured with a Blue Plaque on the house where he was born, now 32 Fishponds Road. His grandfather introduced the four-year-old Richard to angling, a specific type of fishing using a fishhook and rod, and he refined his craft at Bearton Pond.

Throughout his life, Walker pioneered many new approaches and invented new technologies to allow people to catch larger fish, and inspired many young people to take up and continue their angling journey. He was dubbed ‘the most influential angler’ by the Canal and River Trust and avid fisherman Chris Tarrant met him once as a little boy, saying recently that Richard ‘completely changed the face of freshwater fishing.’

This exhibition, in The Arches, brings together material loaned from Richard’s family and other kind contributors including photos, many of his books, and magazine articles, either written about him or by him.

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.