About The Collection

The Gallery holds a Permanent Collection of around seven hundred works of art, mostly two dimensional, but including some three-dimensional pieces.  There are also holdings of Archive material.

The Collection has grown from the group of around one hundred pictures bequeathed by the painter Mary Elizabeth Stormont (1871-1962) to the Rye Art Gallery Trust she founded in 1957.  These works include paintings and sketches of her own and others by her husband, the painter Howard Gull Stormont (1859-1935).  Also there are some works that the couple had purchased and displayed in their home, the Ypres Studio.

The Trust was founded by Mary for the benefit, education and enjoyment of the people of Rye.  She would probably be delighted that the Gallery is now so well-established and appreciated, not only by those in Rye, but regionally and nationally.  The Trustees, friends, supporters and donors, by gift, purchase and bequest, have continued to expand the Collection to its current status.

Our Holdings

Over half of our holdings are works on paper – watercolours, prints, drawings and some photographs.  We also, however, have an important collection of oils and acrylics and in the Catalogue you will also see listed some sculptures and ceramics.  The majority are of early twentieth century British origin, including some by artists of national importance – Burra and Nash who lived in Rye, also Grant, Bell, Hitchens, Gill, Piper, Sutherland, Richards, Cuming and others.

We received a bequest in 1990 from the artist Margaret Barnard (1898-1992) of work by her and by her husband Robert Mackechnie (1894-1975), a member of the Seven and Five Group.  This bequest also included the couple’s collection of etchings by Robert Austin and engravings by Giovanni Piranesi.

The Archives include the Stormont Archive of letters, photographs and documents.  It includes documents relating to Rye Art Club (1920-37), of which the Stormonts were founder members.  We also hold Summer Exhibition Catalogues of the Rye Society of Artists from 1952 to the present.  The Society is a ‘descendant’ of the original Rye Art Club.  Other archives are listed in the Catalogue.

Loans to the Collection

The family of Edward Burra (1905-1976) has generously loaned some letters, studio ephemera and photographs by the artist, which add to our own holdings of paintings, designs, drawings and prints by Burra.  The family of illustrator and designer John Ryan (1921-2009) has loaned a group of book illustrations and TV film designs and Rye Society of Artists has loaned their Collection of work by members.  Other loans are recorded in the Catalogue.

Conservation

As you can imagine, we cannot show all or even half of our Collection at once.    We endeavour to meet Arts Council museum standards in our care and conservation of the Collection.  A log is kept of the length of time a work has been exhibited and works are rested between showings to prevent damage, especially by light.

As funding permits, we have been re-mounting, reframing and re-glazing with UV-resistant glass or acrylic our most vulnerable works over the years.  If you would like to sponsor the conservation and reframing of any outstanding pieces, please get in touch with the Permanent Collection Manager, c/o Rye Art Gallery, to visit and choose a picture.  You will be credited in the Catalogue and on the exhibition label of the work when shown.

Exhibitions

The Collection is normally shown in themed Exhibitions, either mixed together with our contemporary art for sale or grouped as a Collection show.  Information is published in the half-yearly Programme Brochure. 

If you are visiting from afar and wish to see a specific picture from the Collection, please contact the Permanent Collection Manager, c/o the Gallery, in advance to find out if it will be on show or to make the necessary research arrangements.

Collection Images and Catalogue 

With the help of our website designer, Charles Davies from Artlook Software, we will be entering our newer holdings and uploading images to the website as resources permit.

Many thanks to our specialist photographer, Peter Greenhalf ARPS, AOP, for working with us over the last few years.

You will find images from the Collection on the national ArtUK website.  If you click on the blue ArtUK button at the bottom of our menu on the left, you will be taken to their site. 

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