Smith Greenfield is delighted to be a corporate partner of Watts Gallery – Artists’ Village, an enchanting museum in the Surrey Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty that houses an internationally important collection of art by the great Victorian artist, George Frederic Watts OM RA (1817 – 1904). During his own lifetime, G F Watts was widely regarded as one of the greatest painters of the Victorian age. Amongst many outstanding achievements, in 1884 G F Watts was the first living artist to be given a solo exhibition at New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art, an exhibition that attracted over 1 million visitors.
Celebrated for his portraits – today, London’s National Portrait Gallery retains a room dedicated to G F Watts – great allegorical works, sculpture and more, a new exhibition at Watts Gallery puts the spotlight on a lifelong interest for the artist: the potential for art to be a catalyst for social change. Art & Action: Making Change in Victorian Britain considers how, from the 1840s until the end of the 19th century, G F Watts was one of a number of artists who sought not only to comment on social problems but to use their art to actively help solve them.
Bringing together major paintings by G F Watts with key works by Sir Luke Fildes, William Morris, Sir Thomas Kennington and more, the exhibition reveals the Victorian roots of art activism, and reveals how many of the issues highlighted by these artists remain pertinent today.
To further demonstrate this, Watts Gallery – Artists’ Village has organised a series of talks with leading contemporary artists, curators and changemakers to share how the desire to improve lives and to shape the future continues. Amongst those to be taking part is acclaimed artist Dr Chila Kumari Singh Burman whose Winter Commission for Tate Britain has just opened.
Whilst the doors to Watts Gallery – Artists’ Village are temporarily closed during England’s second Covid-19 national lockdown, this fascinating exhibition can be explored online via wattsgallery.org.uk and also on Smartify, the world’s most downloaded museum app. Art charity Art UK is also featuring the exhibition, and you can read an article by the exhibition’s curator here. To find out more, please visit wattsgallery.org.uk
Steve Smith, Managing Director of Smith Greenfield, says:
“This is a hugely challenging time for our museums and heritage charities, who have been forced to close their doors once again. Through our Corporate Partnership with Watts Gallery Trust, when Friends, Patrons or members of Watts Gallery – Artists’ Village take out or renew an insurance policy through Smith Greenfield we are able to make a donation to the charity, helping Watts Gallery Trust to raise vital funds.”
If you are a gallery, museum or heritage charity and would like to find out more about Smith Greenfield’s specialist insurance, please contact Steve Smith at Steve Smith steve.smith@smithgreenfield.co.uk or telephone 020 8603 3730.
Photo: Luke Hayes Photography